Editing Hyperreality (section)

{{Short description|Term for cultural process of shifting ideas of reality}}
{{About|the concept of hyperreality as it applies to philosophy and sociology|hyperreality in art|Hyperrealism (visual arts)|hyperreality in music|Hyperrealism (music)|hyperreal numbers in mathematics|Hyperreal number}}
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'''Hyperreality''' is a concept in [[post-structuralism]] that refers to the process of the evolution of notions of reality, leading to a cultural state of confusion between [[Sign (semiotics)|sign]]s and symbols invented to stand in for reality, and direct perceptions of [[consensus reality]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lawson |first1=Tony |last2=Garrod |first2=Joan |title=Dictionary of Sociology |date=2001 |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=9781136598456 |page=114}}</ref> Hyperreality is seen as a condition in which, because of the compression of perceptions of reality in culture and media, what is generally regarded as real and what is understood as fiction are seamlessly blended together in experiences so that there is no longer any clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins.<ref name="Tiffin2">{{cite journal |last1=Tiffin |first1=John |first2=Nobuyoshi |last2=Terashima |year=2005 |title=Paradigm for the third millennium |journal=Hyperreality}}</ref>

The term was proposed by French philosopher [[Jean Baudrillard]], whose [[Postmodernism|postmodern]] work contributed to a scholarly tradition in the field of communication studies that speaks directly to larger social concerns. Postmodernism was established through the social turmoil of the 1960s, spurred by social movements that questioned preexisting conventions and social institutions. Through the postmodern lens, reality is viewed as a fragmented, complimentary and polysemic system with components that are produced by social and cultural activity. [[Social reality|Social realities]] that constitute consensus reality are constantly produced and reproduced, changing through the extended use of signs and symbols which hence contribute to the creation of a greater hyperreality.