Summary - Hyperreality of services

Summary - Hyperreality of services:

Title: Hyperreality of services.

Author: Haider Ali TAHIR.

Publisher: Pakistan Today.

Date Published: 30th November 2012, 6:45am

URL: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/?p=236032 [accessed 30/11/12, 1:32pm]

Themes: Hyperreality.

Summary of article:

Pakistan, a country known for its poverty, has inadvertently created its own false reality. With western intervention of fast-food chains, the country now appears refurbished and modern, even though the country is corrupt both socially and politically. "What most people do not understand is that this phenomenon is replacing our reality with a ‘fake reality’."

It goes onto compare this concept of "hyperreality" to that of the iconic Disneyland. "Everything about Disneyland is real, yet at the same time extremely fake. The park creates its own reality with various stimuli, which dictate how people react to it." 

Key Quotes:

• "...hyperreality is basically the substitution of reality with a fake reality."

My Response:

Batting aide the peculiar origin of this source, it as provided me with an understandable summary of what hyperreality is. This article has really intrigued me; especially its use of Disneyland as an metaphor and the real-world transformation of Pakistan. Coming from an inhabitant, the author considers the western world a 'hyperreality', so what would the West view as one? For my EPQ, I will research this concept, perhaps I will ask the English department in my college for more information.