JEAN BAUDRILLARD WHY HASN'T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED 7
T RAN SLATED BY CHRIS TURNER
WITH IM ACES BY ALAIN WlllA ...
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JEAN BAUDRILLARD WHY HASN'T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED 7
T RAN SLATED BY CHRIS TURNER
WITH IM ACES BY ALAIN WlllA UME
}
\ CO N Te N TS
Fo reword
\Vhy Hasn't Everything Already D is:Jppe m:d? Sugull Boo k.. 2009 J('~n
Ib udrillard. i>oMrq" l1 /(J.N "·~ · '" I JI
ruhli~hc<1 by nr.ongcmcm ,,·j,h !",d irions dc 1: Herne, c/ o Agcn(;(' lmer.lIfe PIcHe t\~IICf & t\wxic~ AU ngh ts rCK rv('.;I.
Engh;h tr.on ;.bn(m C Om' T urna 2O.Y.l
Im ages C 1\1:.111 \'fillaulIlc 20()') T his co mpi1:arion C Sn b'llil Boo ks 200')
FlrSI puhhsh«lm English
ISUN -IJ
hr &a~.'ull iSoah, 2009
9781 'JOM '} H 08
Rrilish Uhrary Cataloguing.in.Publicalion Data A clrlll'1.'llC" ITcu rd fur Ihi~ book l~ a,",ubble from II ..: Ih ilhh 1i br...r Typc~1
and de.o;igncd by Sunlln"'1 U.1. Cakulta
9
FOREWORD
He that hath no t, from him shall be taken even that whi ch he hath (? latthew 25: 29).1
'W' hy is there nothing rath er than someth ing?' T hi s is Lcibni z's '1ucs tiot1 , exactly reversed . It is also a radical way of taking o ne's !c:wc of meta physics. \.
TbrJoms is
1101 n Oll' Oil
hring, hul Oil
tI)t
IIolbi/~p".
I 3
J£AN BAUDRILLARD
WHY HA SN 'T EVE RY TH IN G A LREA DY DISAPPEARED?
;\ I:lccdonio Fe rt1:lndt,z. th e l\rgen tini:Jn wnter ;Jnd frien d of
B ()rgt:~,
N ihili sm ?
10,
nihili sm is precisely th e fo r-
h:ld alre;Jch' r:lken the ex-
getting of th e no thing. It is th e system th:tt is ni -
len gth ~ : ; E \'e r ~'
hi listic through its powe r to cons ign eve ryt hing
j U~1 011
to ind iffe rence. 'f he sys tcm is '!ruly negn io ni st',
th e I'pthing, btu no t entirely, On th (' j\uthing.
to usc 13:t udrilbrd 's ex press ion. ~ in cc it is a denial
pl oration of tht, nUlhing [() grc:u
th ing o n-a nd incl uding- th e Nothi ng,
there
i~
more: some (If it s illlerstices. which are
of th e no thing. a denial of :111 illusion. There re-
IlUT11 I.: WlI S.'! J e:1I1 Ihud ril b rd pushes its limit s
main s th e ch:tll cnge o f radi cal tllOught whic h
eve n furthl..'r :l nd sa tLlr~II CS th e iT1l crstict.:s. It's a
gambl es on th e world being illu :-> iun , which hr·
ques tion of bei ng logical. \\ c imaf,rlnl.:d th:lt Good
pOlhcsizes
was the product of dimin:ll ing b ·il. tht, l: tert1:l1
th an so mething :lnd which 'huill s clown th e no-
the product of dimin:lling the Tempor:!1 or the
thing thai run s benea th the appare nl contin ui ty
All the produc t of dimin:ll ing the N othing, AI -
of Il1 c:t ning'.
W:lys thi s IOtalit:l rian temptatio n to uni fy. to reduce dU :ll ity. [() dil11in:lte I: vil. to exterminate the
th~1
Thi s isn't contrary of
:I
:I
Ih en: is
perh~p s
nothing rathe r
cOlllr:t rr mc tilph ysics, but Ihl:
mct:lph}'sics.
nothing. W'e ha\'e rid our ~ekes of the :tl11biguit y of I hI.: world. \'\ e ha\"e
(0
l e~rt1 to d~ l1Cc
with , hc nothing;
thi s i ~ Ihe g rc:t l ga me and the g r:tl1d style: 'the j\othing is
~I ~
essc llli:d to life:t s :u c air and wind
to the !light of th e do\'c:: 1 a refe rence to t-.: alll 's 'light dm'C" which im agi nes it wou ld fh beller if i, cou ld ove rcome :til res ist:tflc c.
,
5
\X 'hen I spe:lk of timl:. it is n01 YCt \,\'hen i spe:lk of
:l
pbce, it has d isa ppc:m:d
\'\ ·hen i spe:lk o f a man. il!..'·s already (Il::ld \'\ ·hcn I spc:lk o f timc. it :ltrc:ldy is no Illtlrl:4
!.I ·.T l ':-; Sp l.., .....
th en . of Ih e world from which
human beings ha\T di sappea red . It 's a llUl:stioll uf di sappC:Ir.IIlCl:. n01 exha us4
nnn, ex tinctitln or cx termination . Thc cx h:lllsr.io n of reso urces, th(' cx tinc tion uf spl:cics -thcse are physi cal processes or narur:ll phe no mena .
9
JfAN 8AUDRIlLARD
WHY HA SN 'T EVERYTHI N G ALREADY DISAPPEARED ?
' \!ld th :lt 's the whole difference. T he human
li vel y a l ienated. ~ T hi s is th e
1110ll1C lll
wh cn
species is dou btless the only o ne to have Invcntcd
huma n bei ngs, while se tt ing abou t aO:llysi ng :lOci
:l specific mode of di s:lppea rllnce that h:l s noth .
tra nsform ing the wo rl d, rake th ei r !ca\'e of it,
ing
whi le at the sam e time le nding it forcc of rca li ty.
10
do with Na ture's bw. Perh aps cven an
:lr!
of di sa ppear:tnce.
\'('e ma y say, th cn, [hal lh c rca l wurld begi ns. parad OX Icall y,
l.ET 'S BEG I1\: \'\ tTIl
th e d is:1 ppeara ncc of th e re:ll.
10
d isappea r
:1.1
the ve ry samc tin1c :lS
it begins to ex ist.
We have talked eno ugh abotH the murd er of re-
By th eir c.:xce pt:ion:d f:lcuhr fur knuwl edge,
aliry in the age of thc media. vi rru:11 re:11iry :md
hu man beings, while giving meaning. valuc :I nd
network s, withou t enelui ring
rea hty
whcn the rea l began
10
10
:111\', ;:,IIre:lr deg ... ree
ex ist. I f we look closely.
\\'e sec that the rea l world begi ns , in th e modern c
10
th e wo rl d , :1 t the S:\l11e ti me begi n
:I
process of di ssolutio n ('to :In:il}'se' me:l ns liter:t.ll )' 'to di ssolve').
:lge. with th e deci sion to tr:t nsform the wo rld ,
But doubtless we have to go b:lck cven fur-
do so by mea ns of science, an:ll\'tical , knowledge and the impleme ntatio n of technol -
ther- as far as concept's :l nd bngu:lgc, By rep resenti ng thi ngs to o ursel ves, by nami ng them :l nd
ogY- lh:lt is to say Ih:ll it begi ns, in Hannah
co nccprual izing th em, hU1l1:l1l beings call them
Aren dt's word s, wi th the inve ntion of an
into ex istence and at th e sa me time h:-' slen th eir
Archil11cd ean poi nt outsi de th e world (o n rh e
doom, subtly det:lch thcm fro m their brUl e rcaliry"
basis of the invention of the telescope by G:llilen
ror eX:1111ple, the cbss struggle ex ists fro m th e
and the di scovery of modern mmhcma[ical ca l-
mo ment
culatio n) by which th e n:u-ur:11 \\"o rld is d efin i-
its g reates t in te nsity o nly before being T1:ll11ed.
:1Ild
10
10
~ I arx
names il. But it no doubt ex ists in
11
WH Y H AS N 'T EVERYTHI NG A LREA DY DISAPPEARED?
thank s ro the deployment of a limi tless tec hn ol· ogy. both menta l and material, human bei ngs are 'j
capablc of fulfilling all their pOlcntiali ties :md , as a consequence, di sappear, givi ng way
to
an :u ti·
ficial wo rld that expels them fro m it. to an integral perfo rman ce that is, in a sense, the highest stage o f ma teriali sm. (l\ larx: the idealist smge of inter·
.,
preratio n, and the irresistible tr:msformatio n that leads to a world withou t tis.) That wo rld is per· fec tly o bjective since there is no one left to see it. Havi ng become purely ope ratio nal. it no lo nger
.
'.
ha s need o f our representatio n. Indeed, th ere no lo nge r is any possible representa tion of iT. Fo r, if what is proper to hum an beings is not to
rea lize all th eir possi bili ties, it is of th e essence
of the technica l o bjec t 10 exhau st its poss ibilities and eve n to go quite so me way beyon d th em, stakjng out in that way the definitive d emarcation line between technica l objects and human beings, ro the po int of deploying an in fin ite l
ope ra tio nal potential agai nst human bei ngs
IS
HAN 8AUORIllARO
\ltl'rW,trth , thing
t,
It
mneh d('cJmcs. The 1110111COI ,I
tUllled, the moment reprc~(,nlauon Jnd
concept' tah' hold of 1)C~n,
10
It, t,
the !l10Il1COI when
lo!'c II' l:ncrg~'-wllh lht' risk that
II
11
wIll
bcco!l1e a truth or impll'l: Itself a~ ideology. \X 'I: I1U\ ',1\
the "a me of Ihe: l ' nconsciou:- and
II'
diS.
emcry b~ Frcud. 111:- whe: n a Ihing i!' beginning 10 dl:o.,tppclr thai dll' concl:pl appea r:-;,
T he 0"1.
"';\\:0.
I k gd, tllCS out at dusk.
T ,lhe: gloh,lli/.llIon: If tl1l:rc i!'i so much t.tlk
of
II.'"
01,\ IOU'
t:lct,
I' perh,lp' bccau,e
It
.1'
Indi'plHablc realiry,
lh,ll
I' ;llread~' no longer at II"
hl:lghl ,till! wc ;I re alfl'ad~ contending with "O!l1C.
thll1g d'e. Tlm<; thl: rc.11 \'anl,hc:, Into Ihe concept. But \\I1.It ., e\ l:Il Illorl: p;lrJeio,\lcal 1<; the ('xactl, op
pO ... I1C: 1ll0\ l'l1ll'1lI b~ \\hICh concepr...
;tIlt!
idea,
(but ;11'0 pIUIlI.l"les. utopia" dreams and til::-i rc.;) \,1I11,h IIll0 their \Tn fultilmC:1l 1. \X 'h{'l1 en:f\
thing d"appcar, Il\ c'cc!'s of reality. \\'hc:n,
"
JEAN BAUORlllARO
Il11pl\"ln~. sooner
thcm . . c!n:s .IIH\
or later. their
d''>'lppc'lrancc. Thu .... the Illodern world forc<;.cen by ,\I an.
dmcl1
011 h~
the work of Ihe ncgau\'C, by the CIl -
gmt: of col1tr:ullction. bcc:1mc, by the \'cry excess
of
liS
fulfilmcllt. another world in which thing!'>
no long1..'r
('\TIl
need th eir opposites in order to
Oi ... l, in which I1ghl no longer needs sh:tdc, the fl:l11in1l1c no \ongc r needs the masculine (o r vicc
\cr ... a?), good no longcr need ... c\'ll- and the
world no longer need, us. I I 1...
,l11el: of
\u:n: we
'iCC
thm the mode of (I!sappc:u-
the: hUIlUI1 (and n:lIur:llly of cn:rythmg
rd
Gunther \nelcr.. · oUldau:dncs .. of
human lX'lIlg.... the cchp ...c: of nilies. etc.) is pre.>
cl\ch the product of
:\11
Internal logic. of a built
in ob"oil:',ccncc, of the hum:1Il mce's fulfilment of
II'
mo'" g r;lndio, c projcct. the P romcthc:\11
prolect of nla!'tcnng the.: uni versc, of accJuiring c:-.hauslln:: htlowlcdge. \,\ 'c:
~cc,
which pn.'clpltalc<; 11 tow:\rd"
I.
ttlO, that il is Ihi ..
liS
dis:\ppcamncc.
JEAN BAUDRlllARD
WHY HASN'T EVERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?
All th is may gin : Ih e impression or illu sion
But d isappea rance 11l:l}' be concei'-ed differ·
of a raw.1sLnncgr. of an evolution at the end of
en d y: as a singular event and th e o b iect uf a
which we would h:1\"e passed beyo nd tha i
specific desire, the des ire no lo nge r to be there.
va ni shing poin t Can cili speaks of, wh ere, wilh·
which is no t nega tive at all. QUi lC to the contrary,
uu t rea lizi ng it, Ih e human race wo uld have left
disappearance may be the desire to sec what th e
rea li ty and hislOrr be hind , where an y distinctio n
world looks like in o ur absence (phutog raphy) o r
bet,vee n th e tr ue :lnd ,he fal st: would have
lO
di sa ppea red , etc.1I
yo nd all mea ning, beyond th c hu rizun of d isap.
see, beyond th e end , beyond the subject. be·
In which cast: \\'e and our bodies would be
pea rance, if there sti ll is an occu rrence of th e
mncly the ph anlOll1 limb. th e weak link. th e in-
wo rld , an unprog ram illcd nppear:lIl CC of things.
Emlile.: mabd y of
techno logica l appara rus that
i\ domain of pure appea rance. of the wo rld as it
n:mo ld y Gust as thought wou ld be
is (and not of the r'lI/ world , which is on ly ever the
merely the inf:mti le mabdy of AI o r th e hllm:m
w'Orld of represcnmtio n). which can eillerge o nlr
being the infantile malady of th e machin e o r the
fro m the disappearance of all the added values.
domina tes
LI S
:I
real the inf:mtilc maladr of th e \·irrual). All th is
'fh erc arc here the first fruit's of :111 an o f dis·
reillains confined still wil hin an evolutionary per·
appearance, of anotlll:r Slr.ll cgr. The disso lution
spcClive th:u seTS evcrything in tcrm s of a lin ea r
o f vallies, of the real. of ideologies. of ultim:lt c
tr:ljeclor y, from urigin to end , frolll cause
to
ends.
cffcct, fro m birth to death , from appearanct:
10
ciisappca n l nee.
But there is simultaneo usly a ga me, the pos· sibi lity of playi ng wi lh all th ese things; th e pos· sibility o f an an, th ough
20
11 0 1
in any W :1y:111 an in
21
WH Y HA SN ' T EVE RY TH I N G A LREA DY DIS APP EARE D ?
much m o re cluiekl y than animal sp ecies, by the :tccel er:nio n it imp:tns 10 :t n evo luti o n th :'! t no lungt: f ha s an ything n:u u r:il :il)oUI iT. D o ing so not out of ~ om e d t: ad l dri \'~ o r som e inVillutive.
reg r ess l \,~
d ispOSiti o n towa rd
undiffere ntiat ed fo rm s. but fro m
go :ts far as possible in Ih e
:\11
impul se
t:x pr~ss i()n
to
of :,11 il s
po wer, all it s f;'tculti es- IO the point eve n o f dreanllng of abo hsh1l1g d ea th , N ow, \\'h:lt is muSI s urpri sing
IS
Ih al th is
amount s to th e: S:ll11e th ing. Thi s ex trelll e
~n
d ellvo ur o n th e pari o f li fe (o r n f I ~ ro s . if. by that te rm , o ne und erstand s Ih e d e pl oym e nt of :111 ca paCi t ies, t h t.: d ee pe n ing u f kno wkdgc, con sci o usn ess :ln d jollissflllrt') :lrri vt:s :1I Iht: saill e o u tco m e: th e vinu :'! l di sappc:'! ran ce of ,h c hUI1l ;'t1l sp ecies, as tho ugh th:1I d estin y were prog rammed somt:wh ere li nd we we re m erely d Ie long -Te rm exeClIl:lnl S uf the prug ramme (w h ich irres istibly
brings to m ind flpoplosis. Iha t prucess b y which a cell is pre-p rog rammed to die).
19
JEA N BAUORlllARO
the cultural :lIld aC~lhctlc sense, but sOlllething
clo"er
to:1
marna I an.
,\n It<;clf
In
on the ba<;l<; of
the modern period exi~ls only It<;
cltsappearance-not
JUSt the
~Irt of making the real disappear and s upplaming
it with antHher :->cc ne, but the
lift
of abolishing
IIself 111 the course of its prac tice (I lcgcl). It was
br doing this that it cOl1sli tLlII.:d an e"e lll, thm it wa .. of (kcisi\'e importance. I say 'was' advi~t:dly,
fur art today, though know
It
\I
has disappeared, doesn't
has disappeared and-this is the worst
of it-conunues on its trajectory in a \,cget:lli\,e ';;Iale. ,\nd become ... the par:tdigm of c\'erything that sur\'\\es it, o\\'n dis:tppc:trance. Th e re arc
tho<;c who phn on their disappt:amnec, make of il
:\'> :I
lISC
1t\,1Ilg form, l'Xp loit it by excess, and
there arc tl1O:-e who :Ire in a stale of disappea rance :lnd who survive it by default. It is dear that the political scene, for cX:llllple. merely reneets the shado\\'s of a cave and the--disembodied-
2l
JEAN 8AUORIllARO
iud~el1lent
m CIlI
WH Y HAS N't EVERytHI NG ALREAOY OISAPP£ARE07
is te rrifying in itself, but th e judgt:.
of GIKI without God . , .
And in f:lel thc subjt:ct- tht: :-. uh ject as age ncy of wi ll. o f freedom. of represen tatio n:
\X 'c,: l1l:ly thus suppose that c\'eryth ing that
the sub ject of power. of knowledge. o f his-
disappc:lrs-insri rution!', \'alues. prohibitions. ide·
tory-is di s:l ppe:lTing. but it le:l\'l,:s its ghosl be-
o lo,l!;ics. even ide:ls--cominues to le:ld a cb ndes-
hind. its nllrcissis tic doubk, Illore o r less
tine t:X iSICIlCC ~lIld t:xe rt :ln ocellI! influence, as was
C:l t left ils g rin hovering. The su bjec t disapp{'a rs,
s:lid of Ih e :lIlcit:nt gods who, in the Ch ri sri:l l1 era.
gives way to a d iffuse, /loaling. insubsl:lllti:ll sub-
ass ulllt:d th e fo rm of demon s. 1':\,erv, thill 11 th:1I
jectivity, all ectop la sm that envelops e\'cryth ing
dis:lppe:l rs see ps back int u ou r Jives in in fin itcsi-
li nd tnlllsfn rm s evc rything into an imm cnse
Illal dose!', often more (bngerou s than the visible
sounding board for a di se mbodietl, empt y con-
~
au thority
th ~1t
ru led {)\,t:r
LI S.
In o ur age of IOler-
sciousness-ali things radiating nut from
:IS
:I
th e
sub-
ance and tml1$parency, prohibitions, controls and
jcc[i\'ity \\'ithOlil objec l; c:lCh mo nad . each
inequa liti t.:s disappea r o ne by o ne, btu o nl y thc
molecule ca ughl in the toil s of:l defi nitive narcis-
ben er 10 bc imernali z('d in the
111 (~ ntal
sphcre. \X C
might even suppose o urselves to be following in the
tT'ack~
of ou r prt:\' iolls li\'t:s, not to spellk of
the Unco nsc iolls. Nothi ng c\'cr di sa ppea rs.
!JUI
sism, a pcrpcftl:ll image-playback. This is thc im:lgc uf an end-of-\\urld subjcctivit y,
:I s ub jccti\'it~
for
an cnd of th e wo rld from which th e subject as such h:ls di sappe:l red. no longe r h:l\'ing anyth ing
let's not get into pampsrcho logy. l .c t's star wi th
left
psycholo,l!,r and look
little at the di sappear:lnce
this b fefu l rurn of t:\'e Ilf S, and , in a Sensc, it no
of th e subject, which is, more or less, th e mirror
lo nger has anything st:lnding over :lg:liTlSI it- nei-
image of the di sappcllr:lIlce of the rcal.
ther objects, no r th e real. nor the Other.
26
:l
to
g mpple \\'ith. Th e sub jt:ct is th e victim of
27
• WH Y HASN'T EVE RYTHING AL READY DISAPPEAREO?
bei ngs lh al muve around in it, but d o su (Illi te unwitti ngly (it wo uld take
100
lo ng
10
li st every-
thing 1hat has di sa ppea red in th is wa r -in stitu-
tio m , n ducs, indi vid ua ls). It is, un fo nunat cly, (Illit e pu ss ibl e th aI wt: ou rsel ves, as a spec ies,
al ready fo rm pan- in the fo rm of clo ning, con1 plilcriz:1.tio n and t.he netwo rks, fo r ex:unplc-o f th is artifi ci:d sur vival , of rhi s prolong:nion
10
perpcrui ry uf so m ethi ng ,h:11 ha s d isappea red ,
bu t JU St keeps o n and o n d isappea ri ng. \,'I/ hcre ls th e whole an is
10
kn ow how
10
d isappe:lf be-
fo re d ying and instead of d ying. At any ratc, no thing JUS t v:t nishcs: o f everyth ing ,h al di sa ppea rs th e re re m ain traces. Th e p ro ble m is what rem ain s when eve rything l1:1.s d i:mp pcllred.
It 's a bi t likt: Lewis Cn rro ll's
C heshire Ca t, whose g rin still hovers in th e air afte r the res t of him ha s vani shed. Or lik e th e judgeme nt of God: God di sa p pears, but he !cil\·es behind hi s judgem ent . Nu\\~ a ca t's grin is alread y som ething Icrrif}'ing, but th e g rin wi th · o ut rhe cat is even more terrifying .. . Ane! God 's
25
JEAI\I
8AUDRlll~RD
()ur grc.:;ltt.: .. l
~H_h n"~lfit.:'i
onl~
\\"lIh tht'lr th"appe:lr:lncc.
1111
(.K1 \I
1)1:-. \Pl'l \R \'( 1
now dut':Hen u ..
I:-! 'OT,
then. simply
L1ut of the \Irllul Ir.lI1 . . mul:ltion of IIw
lIIisf (II (/"11111"
of
of n.:(\l1n, hut that of Ihe diYI
tht.: ,uhltTI 10 IIlfinuy. of a serial pulver-
'Hl!1of 1/,111011
thin~l'.
of con .. ciou,ne:-;~ imo all the
of realin. \,'c.: might
";1\,
intc:r~lict.:~
at a pinch, rhat con
"Ctou"oc .... (Ihe "ill, frecdom) is everywhere; 11 mc.:rge .. \\"lIh tht' course of
thlll~s
and. a" a rt.: .. uh.
become .... upertlllou", T his is the analysis CaHIi lullblllllgcr hllll ..clf made of re1i,!-,rion: a rehwon which accommod,Ht'" to the world. which atlune .. lI .. clf 10 the (pohtlcal. socia l ...) ,,·orld. heC011ll'"
'iupertlllous. It I.. for the samc rC:lSOi1-
bcelll't.: ICC tin.'
II hCCllllC Incrc:l'1I1gl~
merged with ob-
han:lhn' -that .ut. ceasing to be different
from life. ha .. bl:comc
~upt.:rnuoll:-;.
Onl: might argue, alternatively. Ihat there h:\\I.: been
~oml:
lence. threats.
'8
po .. iti\'(: di~appc:\fllllces: of vio-
illne~s
or dt.::llh, but we know tha t
, WHY HASN'T eV ERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?
everything repressed or eliminated in this way re-
sults in a malign, viral infiltration of the social and individual body. IT IS, THEREFORE, IMPOSSIBLE to assign disap-
pearance--disappearance as form-to some particular purpose or end (any more than we can with appearance indeed), either in the order of Good or In the order of EviL Apart from all the phantasies we maintain around it-and in the entirely justified hope of seeing a certain number of things disappear ooet: and for all-we must give disappearance back its prestige or, quite sim-
ply, its power, its impact. We must reinvest it not as a final but as an immanent dimension-l would even say as a vital dimension of existence.
Things live onJy on the basis of their digappearance, and, if one wishes to interpret them with entire lucidity, one must do so as a function of their disappearance. There is no better analytical grid. · 0
31
HAN 8AUORIllARO
h\' ln~ IS
be lllg!' not to fultil :til thei r potc.:nr ia litic!', it
of the essence of technical objects
1O
e;.,.hawa
all of their" and to deplo} the.:m despite all oppO"lI1o n. dC"I)ltc human be ings them5cl\'e5. \\'hich implic5. in th e longer or shorter term, the disappearance of humans. /\t th e en d of this irresistibl e proCCS5, 1C:lding to a pe rfectly object i\'c universe. \\'hich is, as it \\'ere, the sup reme stage of n.:,dit)'. th t re i5 no sub ject any longer; there is
no
OIlL:
th t: rc
10
"ec
H.
T hat world no longer has
need of us. no r of o ur representation. f\nd the.:re i~. ind eed. no lo nger am possible representation
of it.
'11) II J.I
...,n{
,n
1IIIs Tit '\.=--ITI<)\. to
the hegemonic,
there is no finer :In:tlog} than that of the photograph
th ~H
ha s becol1lt: dl,lQTal. being liberated at
a s1l1gle stroke from bOlh the negalive :t nd the.: rea l \\'orld. And the conseclllt:l1cCS of both these things :Irc inc:tlcllbble, though Oil diffen: nt sca les. of cou r!'t:.
34
Thi ~
mark s th e e nd of a singubr
JEAN BAUDRlllARD
WHY HASN'T EVERYTHI NG ALREADY DISAPPEARED'
I' (\ IV I.l!)J()'. J ~Jt \t.J . :-.TKI _":-.
th e total ambigu-
savou rs, would be the cur rent des ti ny of the
ilY of Oll r relation tu the rt.:;J1 ;Jnd its d is:lppc:lr-
il11:lge. of th e d is:1ppe:l r:lncc o f th e image in th e
ha ~
ino:u rablt:: mo\'t.: from tht: :In:.Jogic:ll to th e digi -
Ami Ihal is the sou rce of its fasci -
tal. Tht.: dt.: s tin ~ of the imagt: being eXt:l11pbr~
na llon. Behin d \'irilial rea lity in all ils forms
fo r th e invemion of th e technical imag{' in a11l1s
(tc1ematics, IT. eligiliz:llion. etc.), the rcal has d is-
forms is our laSt grea t il1\'cmiol1 in the unremit-
appeared. t\nel that is Wh:ll fa!'cinalcs C\'l;f\'on e,
ting llLieSt for
According
trllth
anct.:. Bt.:hind evcry di ~a ppeared.
10
im :l~ e.
sOllle thin!4
the officia l version. we worship tht:
(0
:I ll
'ob jeCl ive' re:tl ity, an objec tive
be mir rored to
LI S
by technology ... It
real :lnd the reali ty principle, bu t-and this is tht.:
would seem that the mirror has gOt caugh t up in
source of all the
the
CU ff C11I
suspe nse- is it. in fact.
tht.: re:ll we worshi p. o r its di sappearancc?
~I S
and ha s transfo rmed e\'cryth ing into a
\'inual, digital, compu te rized , nume ric;) 1 ' rc:d iry'- th c
\'\'e may. the n. take thc sallle ge ncr:ll si tua tion-cxactly the sal111;-c.:i ther
~~me
d es ti n ~'
of the im:lge being merel y th e
tin y de tail of thi s anth rupulogical n: \'ulutinn .
a cu rse.:1S th e
commonplacc critical ve rsi on h:l s il. or:lS:1 pl easure into which we ca n rCtrea t, :lS a h:lppy cven-
O N THE HEGEMONIC AND THE DIGITAL, . ,
lU:llit y so to spc.:ak.
\X'hCI1, from aTl exct:ss of re:lliry, e\'e rp hing dis-
A co ntradictory two fuld posrulale thm not , in
:IIW
appe:lrs th:ll1k s to th e deployment o f
C!1Il -
\\':1\'. be resolved.
:l
lim itless
mel1l:11o r ll1:lt cri!l.t technology, when hUIll!l.n beings arc capabl e o f fulfi ll ing :ltl th eir pOlemi:ll i-
'1'111
FI t"\. I-.5T IU .L:::.TIt\TIO;'\.
o f this s),stcl11:ltic van -
ishing of a rea lity, whosc tw il ight, as it were, one
31
,
li es. then, by th at \'cry loh n. they ent er a wo rld that ex pds thc.:m . Fu r, if it is char!l.cterisli c of
33
WHY HAS N 'T EVERYTHI NG AlR[ADV DISAPP£AR£D?
presence for th e objec l, since it 1n:1)" now be d igil:1ll )" Cl II1 Sl rtI Ctt:d , ,\ nd the l: nd of Ihe
~i ngu lar
mo me nt o( th e ph tJlog r;lph ic ;lCI. sin ce th e
1111;111e Gill now be im mcdi:uck, ~
t: r!l~ed
o r recon -
stru c led, An d the end of th e irrefu l:lbl e
I C~ l j
mon y of Ih e nega ti ve, Bo th the timc-b g and
di stance di s:"Ippl':"Ir :11 th e
~ :lT1le
ti lll e, :lIld with
thel11 th:"lt blank between objl:ct :lIld i l1l:"lge that \\':"IS the ncg:"l l-j\·t:. T he tradition:ll phOlogr:lph is :111
im:lge producl:d by Ihe world. which. th :..nks
to th e med iu m of film. still i l1 voh'l:s:1dime nsi on
of represent ation. ·flle digital il1l:lge is an image th ai comes straigh t out of th e sc ree n ;lnd becomes submerge,-I in th e m:.. ~s uf :..11 th e o th er images fro m sc ree ns. II is of tht: ord er of flow, and i!'
:I
priso ner 10 the aUIOI1l:l!ic operflli o n of
the c:lI1,e r:1. \X /hen ca icublioll fmd th e d igital win O llt
over fo rm, when softw:.. rc wins
Ollt
over the
eye, ca n we still spe:.. k of phi HI Igr:lphy?
J7
JI AN 8AUORIUARO
dc<;um of (!1glll/;lllon looms o\er the world of the Illlnd ;lIlcl IIll' whole range of thought.
\\111\\1
IllRt
1111
;-,\\\1
:'(I'\RIO,
term for
term: with programmes ba sed on the 0/ I binan con"lrLlCI, \\ hleh i" a kind of integral calcu lm. Ihl'
cnurc
s~
mbolic articulat ion of languag(' and
thought dl'i:tppe:lfs. Soon there will no longcr be
"u"pell"ion of thought between illUSion and
realu\'. T he re will be no bLinks any more. no
SI -
lences. no cOlllradtcllon- just a single continu Oll"
110\\, :t "lIlglc IIlll'g rated Ci rCUIt. ,\nd
computer Intellige nce lend .. Hsclf
to--Of,
more
accur.ucly, like the digital in the ca;;;e of tht: lIll:1gc. forces us lillo-
clpncit)u"ne""
()f
the sa me faciliry, the same
pn)(luclion and accumulation.
of 'photo '" nthe~i~' of the whole of the possible n::11. Thl'- giganlic- illu sion is to confuse thought with :t prolife ration of calculation:.- o r photography wuh a prohfcr:H lotl of
40
ill1agc~.
,\!lel
..
, JEA N BAUDR IHARD
THb I~ ;-"OT \ 11 RI.! Y "
WHY HASN ' t EVERYTHI NG AlREAD Y OlSAP PEAR£D 1
I.Pb() l)l ~
tcchno logy: with thi s ru rn
to
in the hi~ lUr} of
to menti o n the magic o f th e im:lgt.:'$ t.:l11 ergence
the digita l. th e
as it is d evelo ped),
whole of :lIlalo/!,ue photograph y, th e im:lge in il ~ en tirety -conc eivcd a~ th e conve rgence of th e
It is the wo rld and our vi sion o f th e wo rld that is ch;1. nged by thi s.
light from th e obj ec t with th e light from th e gaze- is s:1 crificc d. is doom ed fure ve r. As di~iti
PARTI Cl' L\ RI.Y 1;-': T IILSE RLCI~:-"T T I\I I..S o (
r3pid technu logical progress, the :Ibsurd ide l h3S emerged of °libemting' the re:ll by me;1. ns o f the im;1.gc, :Inc! of 'libemtingOthe image by l11e:1I1S o f
zmion ad":1 l1cc!', soon th ere will no longer be any film . :l1ly light -sensitive slIfbcc onto which things inscrib ed themsd ves nega ti vely. °f herc will onl y be an image $oftw;1. fe pa c b~e, a d i~6tal effect runn ing
th e digiul . The 'libera tio n' o f th e rcal 3nd o f the il1l:lge arc s;1.id to be effects o f profusio n :md pro ·
thc bil1ionrh o f a pixel and, a t th e sa me time , unprecedent ed e:-lse of pi cture- ta kto
liferati on. Thi s is to forgct the dcwcc o f ch;1.1lcnge and risk involved in th e pholOgT;1.ph ic act, the
ing, of image -playb ack and o f rhe photo -synthesis" of anything whatc ver, Metap ho ricall y, th e
fra~';lity and :Imbivalcncc ()f the relatio n to the ob-
ject- th e ' failure ' o f th e !!;aze, we might say. That is all essc nri:ll f O photo!!.raph y- and it is :t rare
sophis tica tion o f th e play o f prcsen ce and absence, of appea rance ;1. nd disapp ca mncc -allth e
thi ng! Yo u canno t liberat e pIH ,tt'~"l ph}'!
sop hi sticati o n o f th e photographi c aCl-d isa ppca rs wi th the coming of th e digital (the phlll u , gr:lphic ac t causes th e ob ject in its 'rea lit y' to vani sh for a mome nt ; the re is no thing o f th e sort in the virtu;1. 1 image, nor its digi t;1.1c;1.p ture- not
38
ultra-
O nc!.: aga in, thi s is :tIl JUSt o ne tin y exa mple o f wha t is happe ning on :1 m:tssivc sca le in :IJl fields -parti cularly in th e field s o f tho ught, con·
•
ccpr s, bngu :tge and repres ent ation . Th e
S:ltll C
39
WHY HASN'T [V{RYTHING ALREADY DISAPP(ARED?
th e fu rt he:r
\\T
W) in tha t d irutioll.
tlll: fllnh ~ r
we Sh :lll be: from ,h e s~ crc ' -:lI1d th e pl ~:l ~ ure: of b()th. T he e:xtlrbita l1t pri\'il q.:,c: granted
10
the
br:lin. n o t itl ~ t in th e n c urosc i ~ ll ce~ but in :111 field s. is symplOma lic
or th is. i\:( )1 It) m e mion I,c
l ':ly's rCCt.:111 propos:ll on cnt:in~'c r in t: the amoullt
of
I
hUIl1 :Ul
brain lilli e a\'ailable (for Coca Cob. :ld ·
vc n s) . w hich
cis m :I nc! I-i e:l d
W :IS
excc(xlcd in ill\'oiull ta ry cr ni .
ri d ic liloll ~ n ('ss
hy the p rupos:d uf th e
or Cul tllf:ll ,\fffliri' of th e P:lris C il"y 1!:tIL
Chri stoph e G ira rd : '\X 'h:11 we w:lnt is 10 llI :lke the brain anibb1c. n o t fo r :Id \'c ni :- int: :l.nd cflpitaL but for C ult urt.: :md C rea tion !' Il owc\'cr thi s m a\' \\TC)n ~. be, wha t is totall, . ' hC:ld cd is
(0
lie Ic rl11in:l1.
see th e hrain :lS:l rece i,'e r. :1
:l
synap-
sc ree n f'lr br:lill i m a~e r } in r(':l l
rime (in thi s sen se. it ii', :11
:l
pinch, k s", ah"tml to
corrd :lI c a 'ru llctinn:d' b r:li n wit h :111 :ld n .: rti sing m :lrke t ,h:\I1 to st..:e it a:- the \'chicle for 'C re -
:lLiun'!). In short, in h 'cping wi dlthc abe tTant as s llmplio n flf the whol e
or
cOllltlluniC:l1io ll
th eory ('\'\ 'c a rc a ll ull\\"illiTlt: receivers :lncl tr:lIl :--
.,
HA N BAUO RtUA RO
shutter relc3se aix)hsilmg the world and the ga/c for:1.
a ,~nCllpc.:1 fH'lik IIIOrl thai tnAAers
Ill(HllCI1I,
the maclllllic performance of the ima!!c--disappear!'
III
digItal, Ilumcncal processing.
,\11 thts IC:lds Illc\'itnbly
to
the death of pho-
tography :, .. an original Illtxi iulll. \X 'ilh the an:1 -
loguc imagc it is the csscncc of photography that disappcar~.
T hat im:lgt: sti ll
:ltlcSlcd 10
tht.: lh c
presence of :\ subject to :-tn objec[--{mc laSt rc pm"','!.: from the
dl"'''Cllllnatl0!l
\\,,)\ c th.u hc.:s
store for
111
and digital udal
liS.
The problem of reference was already an al mo ... ,
lIl ... oluhlc
one: how
., It \\
IIh n: prc<;t.:IlI:lf1on? BUI when, \\'lIh the \'ir-
l'i 11
with the real? I low
lu,11. the n :f<.:rcl1I dl':lppC:lr~. wht:n it dis:lrpC;lr~
Into the technical programnllng of the il11:lge, \\hell there I" no
l()n~er
world :-ct o\'cr .again." a
the SItU:1.tl0n of :1. rC:1.1
li~ht - ~cn~itin; film (it i'l
the :-.I111e with 1.lI1gU:lgc, which is like.: the.:
~e.:miti\·e.:
tilm of idc;\.,), then there is, ultimatdy, no po:-:-.iblc.: reprc<;CIlt:lIlOn
46
:111\
more ..
WHY HASN'T EVERytHING ALREADY DISAPPEARED?
JEAN BAUORlllARO
l11il1c: r:o: "), once: you mo d d the: brni n o n comput -
Fo r thaI hegemony i" notiling olht:r Ih:l11 the re-
t:rs, sc:ci n~ it :1S :1 supe r machine in th e image of
absorption o f any neg:lI i\'it y in human affair". the
othe: r digi tal l11:1chine:s, th en th e brnin and (\'ir-
reduction to th e simpk sl lInll:1r ~ forlllub, th e
tu:i1) rea lit y simpl y illt crf:1ce, o pe rate in a loop
formula to which th e.: re i:o: 110 alt e rn ,lI ive:. 0/ 1-
with, or m irro r, e::lch ot her in nccordance with
pure difference o f pot en ua1.
:1
wh ich the.: aim
Into
single p rogr:u111l1c- th c whole resulLing in wha t
is to have :l1l conl1i cI:' \',Ini:;; h d igll:1l1 y
we c:lll Aflifi cb l Intelligence o r A I. \,\Iilhin th is
THE VIOLE N CE DO N E TO THE IM AGE
fram e.: work , in which wc havc d e.:fi nitively p rivi -
T he ulril11at~ \'iolen ce done to the im:1ge.: i:<> thc
Ie.:ge:d th e.: brain as a str.ll cgic source of tho ugh t-
viol ence
:H
the ex pense o f :l il y o ther fo rm of intelligence,
part ic u1:1r1r th e intel ligence of E vil , which is rd eg:ltnl to IIll: zonc of lIsd e:ss fun ctions -\\"l' as sure it of Ilcge: mo nr. o f hegem o ni c po werprecisely in th e like:ness of the po we r that reign s in the geopolitica l sphe.:rc. The: sam e mo no po ly, the S:1I1lC pyramid:11 symhesis o f po wers.
of
the:
cgi- compul e r-ge nc rc:l lcd
im:lgc-which em ergc" r.... millfo from l1um ~ ri ca l calcula tio n and th e comput er. This PlII S:111 e.: nd nCIl to the inl.lgil1lng of tll(' image. to its fund al1lcnt:11 'llIu ,",lIm' put er gcnernLio n, th e r~ fe n.; nl lh cre: is no place e\'en
tor
T ill S 1) 1 ~S CR mES
an ove rall hege mo nic
proce:o::o:. :lnd thi s is \\'hy th e digressio n o n photography :1nd the.: dig it:11 can serve as the micro mo del for a generalized analys is of he gc l11 o n ~·.
44
in
COI1l -
lI1ge.:r e:\t~t1' and
the n:~ll to 'u kc p1:1ce',
being i ml1l cdi:1td ~ pn KllIce:d a<; \ ' lff U.11 Rea lit y, D iglt al pnx iliction
,\1.1.
III I II
,",i n c~,
C r:1 ,",C'"
th e.: inugc ,11' (/",,10-
,ejJlr, it erases lhc rcal as :..( ltm:tl ltng c lp:lbk
( )f
I.x.:i ng
'imagi ned', The photog tilphlc :I( t, Ihi " lllon1c:!l1 of di s appc ~mlll (c
of both th e sub ject ,mel Ih l: o b ject
in the same installl:mcou" con fron t.ll iol1- the
45
W H Y HASN'T EVE RYTHI NG AL READY DISAPPE A RED?
TIIERE IS \'('O RSE,
\Vh:\{ di stinguishes th c an:lloguc
image is that it is the pb cc where a fo rm o f di s:lppeara ncc. of di st:lncc, of 'freezi ng' of th e wo rld pl ays lI se1f o ut. "rh:l t nothi ngness al th e hea rt o f th e im:lge which \X'arho l spokc o f. \\;1hcre:ls, in th c digital image, Of, mOfe generaUy, t.he cgi, therc is no nCb":l.tive :lily longer, no
I
,In inSl"fucti on and
a progr:lllllll c, agg ravated by auto mat.i c di ssemination from o nc medium to the o ther: comput er, mobile pho ne, T V sc ree n, elc.- the llutOTl1atic nanlre of rh e network- respo nding
10
the auto-
mat.ic nature o f th e constru ctio n o f the im:lgc. So should we save absence? Shou ld wc save the void and thi s nothi ngness at the hea rt of th e image ? AI any
mlC,
rcmov ing I11 c:l.Iling b ri ngs o ur
thc essential point: namel y, thaI rh e iTl1 l1gC is more impo rtant than what it speak s about- j uSt as language is morc importan t r.h:lTl what it signifies,
49
JEA N 8AUDRIllARD
BlT IT
\It
wa~, i\ul
ST
WH Y HASN'T EVERYT HI NG ALREADY DISAPPEARED?
\I _~(}
RI
\ 1 \ 1' \1.1 1 , to
lonl
it~clf :I~
itself in somc
lhe illl:lge in which the d ivi nity W;IS dirc,:clly
r:l ke
prcsell1-:ls in th e \'eil of Ih e Il ol} F:lce lll-w:I:-
ror :U1 i m:l g{~ , It must r{'Il1:1in :I fiction, a f.-Ibk
:Il1t hc mic- :l1l foil" rf tllllolI/aliqllt' of lhe d ivin e
and hence ec ho the irn:sukablc fiction o r th e
(:I CC without :l ny hU111:l11 h:l nd h:l\'ill ~ int ervened
C\'CI11 . It mu st nOi bc caught in its own trap o r let
("a cllt:iropuie1.ic'), through a ki nd of
it'~elf
n: /lecl
itself bl: im prisoned in
mediulll ,
1101
1111: i Tl1 :1ge~ pby lxlck.
lr:lIl s lc r~
priming ana logous to thc m:g:lli n : or th e phlli o.
T he worst thing, in ou r \' iew, is JUSt thi s im -
gra phic film. On the othe r h:md , they violcml y
possibi li ty of a wo rld withollt il11 age -pbyb:tck-
rcjccred :11 1 ico ns prlldu ced by hlll1l:ll1 h:l nd
a world that is :tlways c:lug ht, ca pturcd, lil m cd
(,cheiropoil: lic') which for them were mere
:l nd photogra ph ed e\'l:n 1>I.: fore it is ~ee n. Th is is
lIbCr.l o f th e di d nc,
a T1lo!'l:t1 d:lI1gcr for the ' rc:l1' wo rld, but also for
s illl ~
By COll1 r:tSI, th e photogr:lphic :lCI is. in
:1
the il11:tge. since. when it merges with the real and
senst:, 'achei ropui elic'. As aut o m:ltic ligh t. writi ng
si mpl y im lll erses it self in th e real :md re· cyck s
Ih:lt neither p:lsses through th e rea l nor Ihe ide:t
ii, th erc no longe r is :l ny il1la~e-:11 l e:t~ t
uf the re:ll. pholOgf:tphy 1ll:1Y ht: ~:l i d , by thi ~ :tu·
/1f)l
as
cxct:p tion,:ls illu sion, :ls p:mtlld \\·orld . In th t: \·i-
lut11:1t:ici t); 10 be the prutut)ve of
~ 1I :l 1
the wo rld, wi th no interference (mm human h:lIld.
!low in which wt: :Ire cu rrentl y s ubnlt:r~ed,
Ihere i" n'l eVl:n th e tim L' 10 become an im:lge.
The world produci ng itself
:IS
:1
lit cr:llness of
r:ldiC:11 illusion,
:I ~
I d ream of an illl:lgt: that wou ld be th e iail -
purt: tr.1ce, \\;thOlH :tlly simubtioll, without hum:tn
of thl: world's singubrit y. :is
il1l er\'c mion :l nd, :lbo\'e all. no t :ts truth, for, if
drl::ll1lt of b\ the Iconoclasts in th e famous
there is onc ~ lIpJ'enH': pnxluct of the hUI1l:lIll11ind ,
Bynntinc controversy. T hey contended th:l! o nly
th:t! product is truth :tnc! objccti\T rC:llity.
flrl' tllIlOlJltlliqllf
50
51
WHY HASN'T EVERyTHING AlREADY DISAPP[ARED?
physical- !
th e carpel'? T he V:mi shing Pllin! o f the Pic rurc. ~ I.KI \I.ITY IS ~O'\ II.TIl"( . :1.ltn os l i n c vjLlhlc.: in
ph olOgra phy. fo r th e rcasoll th:u the C:lI1H:r.l (c:o: p cc ially th e dig ital ca m c f':l) ICl1 d ~ tuw:ml s till: in -
finite ex ploita tio n of its possi bilities. Fnr bck of :1 11
intu iting of th e d ct:l il of th e world. fo r want
of full y plumbing il s m C:lIling and c xh:llI sling ils ~lpp Ca rat1ces,
th e sc ri:ll digil:'!l im:lgc fills ,he \'oid
by sclf-muILipli cuioll. In the limi l (:1St.' which is o ur presc m con dit ion. we arrive
,
:11
an un stop -
pable seri es of shots. But this is no lo nger :l pho tograph :Ind , lil e rall y spea king. it is no
l o n~(' r
(,\,(,11 :1.11 im:lgc. T hese
shot s may be said. r.ahcr. tn be pan o f the murder of the image. Th a, murde r is hei ng pe rpc lF.lt ed
continually by aU the
il11 age~
th:\I :lCculllubt<.' in se-
rics, in ·,hcl1l:lt.ic' seque nces. w h ich illustrat e thc same evcm
tlt/lltlllSetll/l.
which th ink th ey :lrc acclI-
mulating, but are, in fan, canC(.: lling e:tc h t Hiler t Jut, ti ll th ey reach the zero degree of info rm :llioTl .
55
HAN 8AUOII'llAIiO
T1I1IU /..., (.RI \1 \111 (T\IIO, 10
a<;cnbing mean
111j.{ 10 the photographiC 1Il1age, To do so I, nuke ohlec,,", ..,Irlkc
,I
"eke .. bq,~111
111
"oon
;1"
of
po"e
IhlllgS
them -
the light of meaning as
Ihl'Y fed a subject's ga7e upon them.
II \\ I \\ I I.I"Y
10
po<;c, \nd
to
'()"J
a \\1
Irld
\I \\ \" lhal
had the deep-sca led phan -
would go
Oil \\'llhOUI liS?
Th e
poetic lempI.lI10n 10 M.: e the world in Our ab"enCl:. free of am hUlllan, all -loo -human will? The IIllen'l' plc;l"ure of poetic language li('s in "cclng J.lIlguage opeC"lting on ils own. in its Illa
.
.
lenal,,\. :1.I1d lileralu\, without Iransitll1g through lllean1l1g-thi" is wh:1I fasClnatcs us. It is il1(' same with anagrams or anamorphoses. with the
'figure in the ca rpel', l1 The \'nnishing Point of l ':l1lguage.
\1 \, '()J PHOTO(,R WHY :1150
be said
10
fUI1Clion
as 'revealing', in the I\\'()-tech nical and mCla -
52
lEA N 8AUDRIllARD
muge
\U,
nude. In the pn't,
10
(he day" of the
'rcal world', so 10 .. peak, photography wa<;, as Ihnhe"i argued,
\\']{nc~~ to
"ence, to sOl1lethll1g
lIUl
,lIld for .111 IIIne. h)r
11"
III
real
(bd
tlmc
an insuperable ab
had been p rc~ellt once
pan. rhe digital photo is
and bC;lrs witncss to something that
take place, btl! whose absence ~igni tie "
nOI
Ill)t hll1g.
In till'. digiul hberahl'flllOIl of thc photogr:1plllc act, 111 Ihl ..
impcr~on
process in which
the medium Itself gcncral l;s mass-pnKluced im a~e ... \\'lIh
we
C;\Il
no mher Il1lerCeS"lon but the techlllcal,
'ee seriality
111
its consummate form. In
the licld of ullage ... Ihl .. 1<;, as it were. the e
of .\1. \,\ 'e
hy
(lignal Cll1lCrn
;1
I1U\ Ihtl<,
regard the Image .. taken
gcne rall~
as an infinite
with ,III the pO"'lhditics of manipulallon,
~c ric s pla~,
correcllon, inugc pl:lyback and all rhe thing" that afC 1Il1lhlnk,lbk in the 'analoguc' world. It "al .. o
the end of any suspe nsc: the image I:; thcrc:lt th e.: .. a me lillle as the scene- .l
58
ridicul()ll ~
pnlmi .. cuity
r
I JEAN BAUDRILLARO
WHY HAS N "
There j" a vi olence done to rh e world in rhls way. but there i~ :ilso a \'iolence don e
image.
h)
Ihe
s o\crcig1ll~
10
th t:
uf images. j\;u\\', an
image has to b e sO\e n~ ign; it has
10
have;: its own
(VERYTHI N G ALRE A DY DISAPP[ A RED?
1\ total de· regubtiol1 of th e il1la~e-pho ·
togrnphy ca n get lost in I1K Ilt:ltion. in
:t
:I
mind boggling fr:lg-
technical delirium of visi bil it} at
all costs, where everything inSISt's on
~Ippca ring on
symbol ic space. If th ey arc li\'ing images-'aes-
:l fr:tct:ll o r microscopic sca le. It's not :ll1latt er of
thetic ' (.lu:ililY is no t at issue hc n.:-th cy ensure
disaplx.-aring into the pby of forms any more. but
the t.::\i~ten cc of that ~y mbulic ~ pacc by dimimlt -
o f an automatic substitution. whe re the world it -
ing an infinite number of other spaces frOln il.
self zaps from one im:tge to the o ther in precisely
T here
a pe rpe tual ri\·:tlry betwee n (tru e) im -
th e S:Ulll.: way as the individunl c:m di ssolve him -
ages. But it is exactly th e o pposi te {oelay wilh th e
sel f imo th e m ental di:lspora o f ,h e nt:\"wurks :tnd
d igi 1:!1, when: Ih e parade of im:lgcs n:semblcs th e
the reby :utain a de finiLi\'c spectrali!'y.
IS
sC,] lIcncing o f the ge no me.
T hc ulLim:ttc stage o f thi s d c-regulation is the cgi. From faked phutos of tht: d ying D in na to
T il L OI'I'O:-ITI. 1'I ',R':" IJI-CrJ\,I"
ph~ in liS pure :lb slr:lClioll-
would be
phologra -
roIIi mmlltll'---el1vi -
srudio-manufacrured TV rt: pI Jrt s. tht: immedia te live shot. taken nt
:111
irrevocable m o ment, is pas t
sinn ing:1I1 alrc:ldy photog raphed world in one's
lInd go nl.:- b st gli mm cr of :lcrunlirr in a virtu:l1
head- withou t there being :l ny need to material·
dime nsion \\'he rc im:lgcs no lo ngl.: r h:lvt: the
ize it in aC lu:l1 shut s- by imagi ning the world
slightest connecrion wilh lime.
precisel y as the len s Ir:ln sforms it. Th e innt:r ecstasy of photography. as it wcre.
In the vinu:l1 im:lgc there's no longer an yth ing uf that punctual ex actitude. Ih:1I p"l/rllllll in time wh ich is th e 'poim ' w11l.:11 tht: :l11alugu e
56
57
WHY HASN'T EV£RVTHING AlR£AOV OISAPP£AR£O?
J(AN 8AUORIllARO
the choice has been madc :l11d it is cmbo d icd in
to oper:ll c within an illlcgr:-tl indi\'iduality, free
from all hislOry and $ubjl.:Cl.i\'c constraints ...
I
the supremacy o f Artificia l
I nldli~c n ce.
At th e cnd -point of this ri se of the machim:, in which al1 human intelligencc is encapsubted-
IT IS ,\TTIIE OlT I' 1{ 1.l\IIT !'I
:1 ll1:1 chine which is now :Iss tlfcd of total auton-
appe::tral1ce, which h:1s, it wou ld !"eelll. been uni -
o my as a res ult- it is cl c:u that mankind ex ists
vcrs:1.l ly accep tcd. but whose d ynamic ulti mately
only :\I the COSt o f its 0 \\" 11 dc:uh. It Ix:coll1 cs illl -
remains mys tcrio us (\'\ '11:1.1 do digi fal
Illort:'ll only by p:'lying th l.: p rice of it s tcchn()log-
o f ? as Philip r.::: . D ick mig ht have :1. sked). thaI
iC:'l1 di s:'lppC:lli UlCC, of its in scription in the d igital
somc rroubli ng p::t radoxiC:ll (llIcs liu ns :trise:
order (Ihl.: Ill CIl1:'l1 di:1 !>pora of the network s).
of this: systc mat.ic di s-
1. Is ('\'c rything doom cd
10
~ h cc p
drcam
disllppea r---( Jr,
mo re precisely. ha sn'l eve ryt hing alread y disap~ J"lII . !'I\ \ !lU)1. (JI
\ 1.1 \'1'( . DI~PI.R!)IU:-".
tllc ide:1.1
pea red? (\\'h ich connect!" lip with Ihc vcry dislant
spider, which !"pi ns its web and is silllu itaneous ly
p:mldox from a phi losophy th:1I nc\'cr was: Wi lY
spun by its web: Or bCller slill. ' I :1.111 1l0l the spi -
IS TH E RE NOT Il ING R,IT II " R T ll tlN
der who wC:I\'es Ihe web. and I am nut c\'cn a fl\'
SCH IETH ING')
c:lUglli in the wcb. I :tm the web it self. strea ming
2. \'\ 'hy isn't everything
off in all direc tiun s with no ce ntre and no self
3. \,\'c arc fa sci naTed by ,hc ph:l1 l1 :ISIll of :1I1
Ih:lI I c:-In c:tllmy 0\\"n.'12 But Ihi s is Th e o pcn form of immortali ry and in realiry. so far :IS the human species is concerned.
62
uni \, ('I"~ al ?
in tegral rca li fY. by fhe :llph:1:md Olllct:a uf d igi lal
,
progml11 l11 ing. T he rl.::l. i is th e Ieitillotif :lnd ubsess io n of all di scourses. BUI arc we not fa r tess
63
WHY HASN'T EVERYT HING ALREADY DISAP PEA RED ?
(wha t a m:l rvcl, by Co ntr:l::; t, is the slow g rad ual risi ng
to
th e surfact: of th t: imagt: in th e Pobroid
ca mera!). 'fhl ::; i::; what the digi tal b ch: th e rim e of e me rge nce, failin g which it is merel y a ran do m segme nt of the uni ve r::; al pi xclli zatio n, which no longc.: r ha s anything tv du with th e gaze, no r with th e pia), of th e negative. the play of d istance. A new view of th e world , glo b:tliz:tcio n's view o f the wo rld : th e sub jectio n of everything to :t single prug ramm e, th e sub jection of :tll images ('Q:t single 'ge no me', Thi s is why il is a mi stake
(Q
rega rd the move
tec hni cal advance, as
:1
10
digit:t l as :t mere
supe rio r form of au-
!Umatia n o r eyen, indeed, II finallibenu-inn o f the Image. Fo r th is really is the b st straw. this :tspir:ttion to
d ear the wa y, with the digital, for the integral
im:1.ge, free from an y real -wo rld constraints. And we would nor be forci ng the analog), if we exlend ed th is sam e revolution to hum:l n beings in general , free no\\-; thank : ;
to
this digital intelligence,
61
WHY HA SN 't EV ERYTHING ALREADY DISAPPEAR EO'
nen;r re ill y bCl:n taken into
,
cons id t: r~lI i() n,
except
in :1 Iluml)!.;r of r:lpidly s:lcrificed ht:resies).
\
D Ui\ 1.1'1"'1'. Th e inviubblc gold e n ru le of dllalil"Y. And th cn.: ':o; no need ttl g n b:lck
to
:11\.
thropology'5 roOl5 to rediscover thi 5 mdie:11 d elllet11 of hllm:lt1 being; it is present everywhere: it is what
n OI
o nl y leavc:o; Ihe ~l lI t..:s l i(Jn s po sed
:l bove etero:llly in sLi spen se, but :l lso etcrn:lll y ,hw:lrt s hum:ln und ert akings (:lll b:lsed on syn· dH.:sis, intt..:g r:dity and lh e dclibc r:ll c fo rgelling of all rCfr:lClOry form s, of eve rything that canno t o r wil l not be in tt..:grated or reco ncikd .. ,). Funcbmcmall y.lhc
N OR~ I A I .
hUIll:! n being
:llw:I}'S lives in a SI:lI e of d epcndency o r cou llt e r· de pend ency: he i5 dcpc nc\t;nl on his mode l (wI1:IIc\'cr it
111 :l )'
be: mode l of
:lnic)Il,
social or
imagina ry project), but. :11 the :o:1I11e lime. perina· nendy challengi ng th:1I l1Iodel. l ie is Il1Ol.i":lI cd and cOlll1tcr· mori\·aled in the sam e 1l1()\'em cnt . The re is no need for psycho logy o r psyc ho:lI1:ll ys is or, indced. :l.Ily hlll1l:1Il science.: for lhis. Thc.. c scicnccs
67
JEAN BAUDRILLARD
fascmated by th e real than b\
liS
vanishing.
liS
IneiuCt,lble dl..,apPC;lrJnce? 4. WhIch gin: ... me to th e Inliy m,-srcnous llllc..,,,on: how docs tim Irresistible global power succeed
111
1I11differentiaung the world, in wiping
out Its c:\trcmc si ngula rit y? ,\nd how can the world be so vulnerable to thi.., IilJuicbtion, this dict'llorship of integral re:tli ty, and how call it be fas cl11:Hed by it- not exactly fascinated by the real
but
b~ the disappcar:lI1cc of reality? Th ere j ...
hO\\"(:\"cr,
,I
coroll a[\'
LO
this: what is the source of
the fragIlity of thI S global power, of its ,·ulnerahllny to mll)or
('\'CI1I",
lClIltIII them<,cke<,
to c\-em .. that are imignif-
('fO)..'\IC
(',-ems', terrorism.
but
:tl"o the plctun:" from .\bu Ghr:ub, etc.)?
DOl I nll~~, If \\'c
,lfC to
a\"old these 1I1soiublc
llue"tlons. \n: ha\c ttl fefcr
10
thaI Olh cr amhro -
pologic:d rn-olutlon. exactly antithetical to our cur rcnt diglt,ll ' re\"(}iutlllll ', that is never takcn lilt<> con"'ldcLlIion (wc mIght cven sal it has
64
JEAN BAUOR!llARO
(il:lhnhc. n ;lltnlo(llIou:-. Th e !-!OC'i
dllpliclr~
merrih
ovcr to thc othcr side. If !'ublectl\"c
appears
111
Iro!1\'
disappears-and H dl!'-
the play of the (lIgllal- th en irony be-
comes ubjccli\T. Or It becomes sile nce.
I' 1111 111.(,]"1'(. \\ \,:. 1111 \\(llm.
It was
onl\·
:lfterward " thar th(' Sikncc camc.
T he end It self h:lS cllsappc:ucd ...
jmll((lf)
70
!()(r
W HY HASN'T EVE RYT HING MR ( AOY DISAPPfAR(O ?
JEAN BAUORlllA RO
CX ISt only 10 reconci le th e irreco nc ilable. t\ s
T his raises th e whole (llleSllOn of the intell i)!;encc
:1
of Evil.
cOnSC(l lH::nce, human bcings do :llw:l\'s bOlh \\'h:11 < , th ey need
LO
fo r lh eir model
10
succeed :md all
\\:'e an.: simplifi ed by technicalmanipubtio n.
that is necessa ry for it 10 fa il. Here agai n. there's
r\nd thi s sim pl ification goes off on a c rn}'
no need of :l ny wea kening o r pc r \"(: n~ i o n or de:l th
course \\·hel1 we reach d igiral manipul:uiun.
dri ve. It is from [h ei r p rima l duality Ih:1I hum:1I1 What beCO meS :ll t.hi s point of th e vCTltrilo-
bei ngs derive th is :llwl.go ni stic energy. Thi s is the n Onl1:l1
hum;ln bei ng :lnd eve rything rh:lt sets
abom reconcil ing him with himself ;lnci finding ;l so lUTion TO th e Icillest.ion s raised above is of the o rder of superstitio n :l nd mystification. "
'-luKit)' of j
l : v il ? l~
It is th e S:ll11e wilh the r:ldical -
iSIll of yun::; whe n it d ese rt s Th e ind iv idual. reconcil ed with him self :lnd humoge nized by t.he good offices o f the digital. and when all criri c:d thinking has di s:l ppe:mx l, radi ca li sm passes in to
T he A BN OH,i\ j t\L individ u:l1 tOday is th e on e who nuw livcs o nl y in a unilal eral po sitive adherence
10
thi ngs. Th e vcm riloC]ua cil), of Evi l IXlsses into tech no lugy i tscl f.
what he is or what he docs. Total For duality can be neit he r climin:l1 cd nor
subjection and ad juslmcm 14 (th e perfcctly no rma li zed bci ng) . Co untlcss ind i\'id llals have go ne o\"er
10
rea lil\'. . tu t.heir own rcalin', , b\', elil11i nat -
ing all considerati o n of lh e du al and the
liquidat ed- it is rh e rul e o f the gam e. Th e ruk of :1
kind of inviulable pact Ih:1I
~ cal s
lh c revcrsi bil-
ity of things.
inso luble. And th e mystcry of t.hi s positivc crys-
I f their own duplicity dese rt s hu man beings.
I:lUi z:u ion, of this suspensio n of do ubt :1bom the
t.hen the ro les :l rc reversed: it is the machin e Ihat
rcal -
goes gag:l, that fal le rs and bccolllcs pe rve rse,
68
necessa rik, real- wo rld rem:l1n s e nnre.
69
