Hyperreality of Food Consumption Culture in the Postmodern Society

Abstract

This academic paper aims to find an answer to the question whether the hyperreality of food consumption culture sign as the cultural way of life in the postmodern society in the concept of postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard can be taken to analyze such phenomenal situations.

The study findings have showed that the hyper-reality of food consumption culture in the postmodern society is the sign value based upon food meaning which has been transformed from basic value to sign one - the cultural aspect of postmodern food
consumption - this is not due to the food expiration for consumption, but the end of its sign value because it is not in a memory image of man in the society, causing it to be outdated, obsolete, out of main stream and without sign value any longer. Baudrillard viewed that the media and advertisement is the influential institution of instructing men in the society. The advertisement renders a new meaning of food commodity. More importantly, the media and advertisement disseminate such sign to consumers broadly and thoroughly in no time. Nowadays, people in the digital society have become the victimized delicacy of media and advertisement which install the food identity into the memory image of man in the society aiming at the sign consuming, leading to the consumption culture of sign in spite of the fact that such culture is in the vortex of hyper-reality caused by human simulacrum.