simulacra

Simulacra are representations or imitations of people, objects, or events. The term is the plural of simulacrum, from Latin simulacrum meaning an image or likeness, derived from simulare, to imitate. In philosophy and cultural theory, simulacra refer to copies or likenesses that may bear little or no relation to any original reality.

In classical thought, simulacra were images or idols and copies used to discuss questions of mimesis, authenticity, and the status of representation. The concept has since been used to analyze how likenesses function within perception, culture, and social life, and to distinguish different relationships between representation and supposed originals.

Jean Baudrillard advanced a prominent postmodern theory of simulacra and simulation. He argued that in late modernity signs and images can come to function without any reference to a real object, producing a self-contained system of meaning. Baudrillard described four regimes of representation: the image as a faithful copy of reality; the image that masks or distorts reality; the image that bears no relation to any reality; and the final stage in which simulacra precede and determine the real, creating hyperreality.

In contemporary usage, simulacra describe media representations, brands, virtual environments, digital avatars, and other constructs that operate as independent systems of meaning. The concept is applied across studies of media, culture, technology, and philosophy to examine how signs shape perception and social life in a mediated world.