because of the ubiquity of the code that incessantly attacks passive receptacles glued to their
screens.
VII.
Conclusion
In the recent episode of South Park entitled “The Hobbit,” Parker and Stone articulate their
apprehension concerning the disappearance of the reality principle in the modern world. Using
irreverent, lewd humor that some people might consider to be offensive, the creators of this
animated series often tackle important social issues. Additionally, Parker and Stone incorporate
vulgarity into their satires in an effort to disarm the viewer making him or her more receptive to
the message. Given that “The Hobbit” asks legitimate questions that urgently need to be posed,
Parker and Stone’s attempts at fostering a meaningful dialogue should not be minimized.
Whether we like it or not, the inception of integral reality is upon us because of the omnipresence
of banal simulacra that have superseded the real. In modern consumer republics where
everything has been commodified, objectified, and fetishized, the female body is no exception to
the crisis of simulation. As seen through the lens of the perils of computer-generated femininity
highlighted by Baudrillard, it is our very humanity that symbolic exchange now threatens to
efface.
Works Cited
Barron, Lee. “Living with the Virtual : Baudrillard, Integral Reality, and Second Life.” Cultural
Politics 7(3): 391-408.
Baudrillard, Jean. Amérique. Paris : Editions Grasset et Fasquelle, 1986.
_ _ _. La Société de Consommation. Paris : Editions Denoël, 1970.
_ _ _. Seduction. Trans. Brian Singer. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
_ _ _. The Intelligence of Evil. Trans. Chris Turner. New York: Berg, 2005.
Cline, Alex. “Statues of Commodus-Death and Simulation in the Work of Jean Baudrillard.”
International Journal of Baudrillard Studies 8(2): n.p.
Dant, Tim. “Fetishism and the Social Value of Objects.” Sociological Review 44(3): 495-516.
Dixon, Kathleen and Daniela Koleva. “Baudrillard and History and the Hyperreal on Television,
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