In preparation for my essay, I need to do research on some theorists and ideas, as well as some books i can use for reference, as a literature review is required. I already have the groundwork for my essay and I know what i’ll be talking about, but i need some theoretical backing to really give a spine to my idea. Based on the advice of my teacher, I’ll be looking into hyperreality and the work of philosopher Jean Baudrillard.

First, I’d like to read about the theory of hyperreality, as I feel that it will be more helpful than knowing about the philosiphist himself. As a quick description, hyperreality is an inability to distinguish fiction and reality; It’s where the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred. This works very well with my theme, and I feel that this theory could serve as the glue that holds my idea together and makes it coherent. Hatsune Miku is a fantasy figure who is more involved in reality than most are; She holds real life concerts and has real ads, but she isn’t a real person. I feel that most fans of Hatsune Miku don’t see her as an actual person (myself included); we know she’s fake and we look at her more as a character, as you would for your favourite character from a tv show or movie, while enjoying her music, but obviously there are people who allow Miku to overstep the boundary between fantasy and reality and view her as more human than she is, such as the man that married her.

In terms of linking hyperreality to Japan as a bridge between the concept and Miku, I’ll read up on it a little more; if i can tie ideas of social pressure, alienation and other things to hyperreality, I can strengthen my essay and give it some context.

Anyway, back to hyperreality. An example of a common hyperreality is Disney land, where a whole false world has been constructed and is presented as real, with actors never breaking character and everything looking exactly as it does in the movies. Hyperreality, as described by Baudrillard, goes beyond simply not being able to distinguish reality from fantasy; It involves creating a symbol of something that doesn’t actually exist and accepting it as something real; Disney land isn’t a land, it’s a place that doesn’t exist, but through symbols, construction and acting, it becomes something real, both real and fake at the same time. Santa Claus is a similar case; he’s a symbolic figure made to represent Christmas, and children engage in hyperreality by believing that he’s real, but he’s a fictional character. in Miku’s case, she somewhat represents a perfect Japanese idol; a young, pretty girl who lives for fans and maintains a ‘relationship’ with them, despite not knowing them personally; she gives her life to fans, which ideally is what Japanese idol fans want from idols. To link this back to my ideas, I could ask; why do these hyperrealities exist? bringing up more common sights like Santa and Disneyland help people to understand an abstract idea like Hatsune Miku a bit, so I’ll continue using them as reference points.

Why does Santa Claus exist? The origins of Santa Claus can be traced back to St. Nicholas, who is the saint of children, but I don’t think that’s relevant to my essay; I want to look more at what he represents and why people believe in him, and link it to why people start to allow Miku to take more of a real world pace in their life. Christmas is an important holiday in the west, and one of the biggest events of the year. People and businesses alike benefit from Christmas hype; it gives people a little escape from daily life, which everyone needs, and it increases consumerism, with gift giving being at the centre point of the holiday. First, I’ll focus on the side of the consumers and people. Santa is ‘alive’ because people believe in him; namebly children. Children are young and innocent people for the most part; they’re naïve and still learning about the world. Santa is a man who will gift children on the condition that they behave well; he gives children the drive to act properly throughout the year, and rewards them for it. For kids, he’s a generous and kind man, giving without receiving anything in return, and also a driving force to keep children in line; he doesn’t expect too much from you, you just have to behave. He’s different from teachers and parents, who often give commands and rules that you might have to follow against your will; he has one simple rule, making him more of a fun and easy to impress adult.

It could be argued that Santa, for kids, serves as an escape from the pressures of regular adults; in a child’s life, adults tell you what to do and you have to accept it, not gaining anything in return and possibly unhappy with the commands you’re given, but Santa gives gifts and is often presented as a jolly, laughing man. In a way, he’s an idealised perfect authority figure for kids, which kind of links to my idea; People enjoy Hatsune Miku because a relationship with her is like one in which you don’t have to worry about her reacting like a real person, and a relationship with Santa is one in which a child is rewarded and not put under a lot of pressure. It’s like a relationship without as much emotional investment; in a way, you can feel more while doing less. There’s less pressure on consumers to do the right thing like there is in the real world, but you still feel the fulfilment of retaining the relationship.

There’s also a sense of excitement that comes with Santa for kids; he isn’t ever seen, but proof of his existence is verified through his love for milk and cookies. There are a couple reasons why this is significant; firstly, it gives kids something to be excited about; things you cant obtain are often more appealing than things that you see every day, such as the idea of having a nice car, a beautiful partner or a lot of money; keeping an idea alive despite never having obtained it is exciting in it’s own sense, and this offers children a sense of excitement every year. Will this be the year they see Santa? they won’t know until the end of each year. It’s also significant as it humanises Santa a bit and makes him relatable; kids like cookies, and so does Santa, giving them something in common. It stops him from seeming intimidating, as he has some traits that allow us to see ourselves in him. Miku is similar in this sense; her given age, height and weight add a sense of realism to her, as well as her personalisation as a quirky and cute individual who gets excited and enjoys trying new foods; humanising these characters makes it easier for us to see ourselves in them.

As for companies, Santa benefits them greatly as he can be used to sell Christmas to people; we’ve all gone out and purchased a Santa jumper or stocking before purely because he was on it. Having a fantasy figure that a lot of people engage with as a mascot for sales is really effective; Santa is somewhat the face of Christmas, and so companies benefit from his cultural significance and. Ironically, he is somewhat appropriated by companies; his character is someone who loves to give and see others happy, but companies use him as a tool to get us to spend money. I guess you could also look at it from another angle; Santa is a symbol of giving, and so you give money to companies in the spirit of Christmas. Some people become more generous spenders as Christmas approaches; it could be argued that it’s ingrained in our heads that seeing Santa means we should be more giving (semiotics comes to mind) because of the connections most form with him as children. It’s almost like he’s training or a mental plant to get us to spend more whenever we start to see him around. Companies like coca cola have used Santa for marketing before; we should all be generous and share a coke with someone, we can all be a kind, Santa-like figure. Santa can be used as a tool to trick us into spending more money in the name of generosity; but perhaps I’m getting a bit off topic.

I’ll move on to speaking about Disneyland, which in my opinion is more about fantasy and delusion in a sense; an idea of a utopia, which can’t exist in real life and is therefore a manufactured fantasy.

Hyperreality is significant because it links to real world issues, such as consumerism and the fear of how others perceive us. We always feel the need to show off and prove our worth to other people; we try to own the newest phones, cars and TVs so that other people will think we’re wealthy and well kept. In japan, there is more pressure to get married than there is here in the west, where it’s arguably common for people to not marry or not have kids, and there isn’t too much of an expectation for it nowadays. Despite societal expectations and pressure to get married, Japan’s marriage rates have been falling every decade due to things like people not having enough time to seek a partner because of work, but the pressure is still there; this could sort of begin to explain why people like Kondo, the man who married Miku, choose a virtual bride, it serves as a solution to the issue and pressures of life without any emotional investment. It’s like putting wallpaper over a broken wall; it doesn’t fix the issue, but it’s out of sight and so it’s more tolerable and less unbearable. In today’s age, it makes sense that hyperreality and the digital world would cross over, as fantasies are very accessible through the internet and we live in a very digital age.

Another point about consumerism and hyperreality could be that society tells us what we want, and we satisfy these ideas through fantasy. We, as well as japan, live in a capitalistic society that places value on individualism, hard work and money, as well as a sense of traditionalism. This is the case in conservative japan; a lot of old traditions die hard and are still around, such as the pressure to find a partner to settle down with, linking back to kondo. In our own lives we’re pressured to have a lot of money, valuable belongings and friends, and we somewhat engage in over indulgence and hyperreality by listening to songs and watching movies about this kind of thing. Music and film are constructed to convey certain messages and lifestyles, but we, whether we admit to it or not, to some extent allow these things to influence our own views and desires, arguably engaging in hyperreality. ‘I should look like this because it’s how actors in movies look’, ‘I should achieve this much by this age because this celebrity did it’; thoughts like these are products of capitalism, and we promote them through fantasy, in turn reinforcing these thoughts to ourselves and aiming for them. It’s less like fantasy influences reality and more like reality creates the desire for fantasy, which in turn reinforces the things we aim for in reality and makes us more desperate for them.