Description
This paper discusses the disconnections of binary oppositions caused by simulations, specifically it discusses the ways in which our conceptions of virtual spaces, interactions, and selves are recontextualized through the narratives of William Gibson, M.T. Anderson, and Neal Stephenson. This discussion is framed through a discussion of Las Vegas as a place of almost constant deterritorialization. As such Las Vegas functions as a microcosmic representation of the very issues surrounding simulated space, selves, and interactions, since it serves as a place where the virtual space, self, and interaction are all privileged and, possibly more importantly, where we can see individuals treat spaces, selves, and interactions differently because they are acutely aware of their hyperreal/simulated/virtual nature. It is also important to note that these issues arise in three different modes of representation: the literary novel, the popular comedy film, and the short televised commercial, which deterritorializes our conception of heteronomous (popular) and autonomous (high) art. Similarly, Gibson's Neuromancer, Stephenson's Snow Crash, and Anderson's Feed illuminate ways in which portions of our society privilege virtual space, selves, and interactions and how the treatment of virtual space, being, and interaction is affected by its hyperreal/simulated/virtual nature. These treatments of virtual space, selves, and interaction deterritorialize the reader, since they cause the disconnection of many traditional binary oppositions associated with virtual spaces, selves, and interactions.
