Simulacra and Simulation in Bret Easton Ellis' Glamorama
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The thesis aims to examine Bret Easton Ellis’ Glamorama (1998) in the light of Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation, which has been of crucial importance in terms of adjudicating the notion of reality in a postmodern context. The first chapter is intended to focus on the novel’s film-making part, which is also a simulacrum inside and outside other simulacra. The second chapter analyzes the recurring elements of the novel, including reflections in the mirror, songs, lyrics, titles, celebrities, look-alikes, brand names, photos, phrases such as “Disappear here,” “something in me collapses” or “sliding in and out of focus,” regarding them as forms of adaptations to the simulacra, discussing whether escaping the simulacrum, the ‘reality’ of these signs and models, is possible for anyone. The third chapter deals with the notion of knowledge, trying to find answers to questions, for instance: can anyone know for sure that he is part of a simulacrum? Can this knowledge be acquired? It attempts to examine the problematic of seeing and believing, and discusses whether either of them can be regarded as less manipulated.