Hyperreality

I have been very impressed By Charlie Brooker of late. Not only the exceptional Black Mirror series, but the "How TV ruined your life". It makes me think, because the idea that he is addressing is known as hyperreality.

This is a vital concept for us today, even though we may not yet know it, and I think Brooker is excellent because he makes this idea accessible, whether he knows it or not.

The concept of hyperreality is that the reality we see and experience is not really any connection to any form of objective reality. Rather, the perception we have is a modified and controlled perception, dictated to us by the media (of all sorts - the internet is included in this). For example, we get an impression of the level of violence in the world around us by the media - the news and papers can very easily give us a different perception to the reality.

One example is the recent horrific attack in Woolwich. What actually happened was two very disturbed people attacked an innocent soldier form the local barracks. Of course, if you watched the news, there are a number of other perceptions you could easily draw from this:

1. That the perpetrators were Muslim, and represented Islam.
2. The attack was part of a bigger conspiracy.
3. The soldier was a soldier and therefore not innocent.
4. Islam is a dangerous religion.
5. All Asian people are Muslim

none of which are entirely accurate. Of course, some people - the EDL in particular, take some part of the perverted logic and respond appropriately.

What is clear, in general, is that the perception we have of events goes through two important filters. the first one is the filter of the presentation of that information. This includes when someone tells us something that has gone on - so the report we have of an event that someone else said has a filter reflecting that persons interpretation of the event.

The second is our interpretation of events as relayed to us, based on our experiences and understanding. Our perceptions will change the was that we see events, or the aspects that we latch onto. Both of these will change the interpretation we put on events that we hear about (and, the first will affect events we experience directly).

All of which means that we do not have a realistic perception of how things are. We don't know what is actually going on. We have a particular perception of the reality around us and no-one has this accurately.

What this also means, of course, is that the stories we have of Christianity are also seen through the filters of other peoples perceptions. The biblical stories, the stories of the saints, the current stories of events around the world are all delivered to us through these filters. that does not mean that they are not true, what it means is that we need to interpret the stories we have based on what we know of the people telling us the stories. What is more, we need to listen to stories knowing our own perceptions. Stories that challenge our perceptions are probably the most important ones, because they make us reconsider how we see the truth.

Hyperreality does not mean that nothing is true. It does mean that we cannot perceive reality without the various filters that everyone has. It means that our personal take on reality does not, in fact, have any more claim to an absolute truth than anyone elses. Once again, it doesn't mean that objective truth does not exist, just that we cannot claim to be able to grasp this, because our perceptions will warp our concept of truth.

It is a difficult concept to get around, which is why I so like Charlie Brookers take on it. What is all means is that just because we read something, or see something on the TV, doesn't mean that it is true in whatever way we decide to interpret it. That should make us think before telling people that something we believe is "true".