User:KacMDX/sandbox

= Contribution A (Hyperreality) =

Use Value
Use Value refers to thing's that are tangible, necessary and needed such as food and housing. Humans need these things to survive meaning it's value becomes intrinsic. An item's use value will solely depend on it's utilty.

Exchange Value
Exchange value refers to how much something is worth on the market, making it possible for for things such as jewellery to be worth more than a house, which leads to commodity fetishism. A diamond will appear more valuable not due to it's use value but due to it's exchange value on the market. So, for example, someone may purchase an expensive watch for the fact that it will not depreciate in value, rather than a simple gold chain since the price of gold fluctuates more.

Sign Value
Sign Value refers to what an object can signify, rather than it's immediate exchange or use value. Today, sign value is often the sole reason for a consumer to buy something. For example, someone purchasing a Gucci jacket may do it for it's use value, but mainly because of the brand, and wearing a more expensive brand will give the idea that said person is wealthy. Baudrillard believes that consumer items are further fetishized by their sign value, for example, a celebrity wearing a certain brand of clothing may boost sales as people perceive that brand to be more valuable than before, simply because they wore it. A good example of this was the tail fins on the back of American cars in the 1950's, despite them being counter productive they symbolised speed due to air travel at the time being glamourous and something only the rich can access. A more modern example of this is Apple, the iPhone's value isn't measured solely based off of it's utility or the price of manufacture, it also derives from other Apple products such as the Ipad, AirPods, Macbook etc. Baudrillard also argues that Sign Value is dominating in the postmodern era.

AI Influencers
Lil Miquela and Fnmeka are both examples of AI influencers, that have achieved online fame. The influencer marketing industry is currently worth $8 Billion today, and is set to be worth $15 Billion by 2022. Lil Miquela alone has accumulated over 3 Million unique followers on instagram and Fnmeka having over 201 thousand on instagram and over 9.5 Million on TikTok Lil Miquela is estimated to make around $8,500 per sponsored post, and has worked with relevant brands such as Prada and Calvin Klein, Fnmeka is a cyborg looking, AI influencer and artists that creates rap music. Fnmeka also embraces the hypebeast style. Having AI Influencers become a part of day to day life further blurs the line between what's real and what's not, aided by an ongoing worldwide pandemic that forces people to stay in-doors, so it's no surprise that people frequently view these AI's pages.

= Contribution B (Simulation & Simulacra) =

Pastiche
Pastiche is what's used to describe artistic works that clone a time period, artists or simply other works.

Bricolage
Levie-Strauss coined the term Bricolage in relation to when something is created using things that are available, or as a construction of several media's.

Post-Modernism
Post-Modernism is a late 20th century concept that covers arts, architecture and criticism which depicts the escape from modernism. The post-modern is more critical of itself and earlier art's as well as supporting the distrust of theories.

Photoshop & The modelling industry
An example of simulacra is the use of photoshop on pictures of models and celebrities, and how the industry today almost refuses to share "real" images of models and celebrities. A person's idea or image of a celebrity will often be an altered one, an unreal one as that's what they are constantly being exposed to, images that are altered making us identify with the altered image more than the real. Most celebrities are no stranger to photoshop, despite staying in shape and in some cases already appealing to today's beauty standard. Actor Blake Lively said "It’s our job as actors and/or models to be in shape. We have access to gyms and trainers and healthy food. And then on top of that, 99.9 percent of the time the images are Photoshopped

In today's world it's easier than ever to edit yourself without any real skill, anyone can do it with the use of Apps such as Facetune2, or simply using Instagram's edit features. A study by company Case24 concluded that in London, 81% of people wouldn't post a picture online that's unedited. People now more than ever want to alter reality, and change the outcome of their pictures and are able to do so. Facetune2 currently sits at 50,000,000+ downloads on the Google Play Store. The app not only offers features to change you appearance but hides some of them behind paywalls, requiring people to pay small fee's to unlock particular features, capitalising on people's want for simulacra.

Recently Khloe Kardashian was called out when she requested an unedited picture of her to be deleted, she interestingly compared thing such as doing her nails and makeup and wearing heels to having good lighting, and having her images photoshopped and altered. This statement blurs the line between actual make-up, and an Instagram filter as they do the exact same thing, only one is virtual whereas the other is physical. This becomes more evident when it comes to beauty influencers who create before-after make-up videos that enforce the use of make-up and good lighting. which has been popularised by people like Kylie Jenner.

Pastiche

 * A prominent example of pastiche is Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" as it blends the western and Kung Fu genres.
 * Use of genre's such as Jazz, Blues and RnB in Hip-Hop songs.

Bricolage

 * Creating Instagram story using Instagram's readily available tools.
 * Using old computer parts to create a new one

Post-Modernism

 * The work Marilyn Diptych from 1962 by Andy Warhol

= Peer Contribution A (MahiMdx) =

Genies
Genies is an online avatar creation tool, where you can create "The fantasy version of you". This avatar creation tool has already been used by several celebrities such as 50 Cent, A$AP Rocky and most notably Offset from music group Migos who has already used his Avatar to for a sponsorship rather than himself. Gucci has also taken part in Genies allowing consumers to purchase digital goods for real money. These avatars can also be sent as GIF's through Giphy This new wave of virtual characters that are meant to depict yourself further enforce the hyperreal climate of today's society as it allows people to reinvent themselves online, creating any perception of themselves they so wish. Genies currently has over $110 Million in Total funding and a total of 56 Investors. Genies was founded by Akash Nigam, Jake Adams and Evan Rosenbaum in 2017. Genies partnered up with Unity to gain benefits such as custom library assets, integration with AWS, shading tools and many more. Genies agenda is to create a secondary online world where people can freely express themselves in any way they like, in an online virtual world amongst others too. Genies is available both on the Google Play store and Apple app store to download to the public, and it also offers many in-app purchases such as Gucci branded clothing (All of which is completely digital).

= Peer Contribution B (MahiMdx) =

Parody
A copy of a particular genre, text, artist, or work that is purposefully made more exaggerated for the sake of comedy.

Instagram
Instagram can be argued to be a simulation of reality as according to Jean Baudrillard a simulation is simply a model of the real and Instagram does just that, it shows a version of something in the way the person posting wants it to be seen, therefore often it is shown in a way that does no reflect reality. Instagram allows users to create accounts, and upload any content they so desire, giving them the ability to alter what others perceive as reality, which can be done very easily with use of very simple methods such as using camera-angle's, filters, lighting and retouching. Instagram allows anyone to post virtually anything that doesn't violate community guidelines, meaning a user could make a completely fake, and unauthentic version of themselves and no one will be able to tell from the pictures alone.

Although it can also be argued that Instagram isn't necessarily a simulation as people can also post images that more closely reflect reality, and can also be found in the real world.

Pastiche

 * South-Park using anime style animating and following a genre specific plot line.
 * Pacific rim is a pastiche of Kaiju and Mecha genre's in cinema.

Bricolage

 * Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein
 * Gilbert & George - Gordon's Makes Us Drunk

Parody

 * The Walking Deceased
 * Scary Movie franchise
 * Super Fast
 * Borat
 * The Dead Dont Die
 * Fifty Shades of Black
 * Anuva Hood
 * Holmes & Watson
 * Spy Who Dumped Me