Putting on a False Face to Save Face --- A False Face is a metaphor for a type of behavior that occurs when a person presents him or herself in one sort of identity, but then as the plot unfolds, he or she shows another face. A technical term that helps to explain the purpose of the false face in culture is the rhetorical device of the simulacrum.

Although the term ‘simulacrum’ has been around since Plato's time, it is really only in the 20th century that it has acquired the significance it has today. The two most important names that have come to be associated with this concept are Jean Baudrillard and Gilles Deleuze.

The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are the significations and symbolism of culture and media that construct perceived reality, the acquired understanding by which our lives and shared existence are rendered legible.

The main argument being put forth by Baudrillard is that nothing in our culture is “real” in the true sense of the word. Everything that we consider real is simply a “simulacrum” which is just a representation or copy where the original no longer exists, like a statue of a person or picture.

The 20 years of media representation of the conduct of the Afghanistan War is an example of a simulacrum propagating a false reality to perpetuate endless war. All the official media, military and government pronouncements promised imminent success with the next surge.

However, the release of the Afghan Papers prove that this was propaganda. It was a false narrative intended to distort public perception of reality. Baudrillard’s interpretation is apt as this was “just a representation or copy where the original no longer exists.”

Source author: John D. Hipsley jhipsley@igc.org