Disney and EPCOT

Jean Baudrillard makes the argument that simulation occurs to take away from the true reality to create a hyperreal, or a simulacrum. A simulacrum is, in it's most basic definition, a representation or semblance of an image. Baudrillard's most famous example of simulacrum and hyperreality is Disney, specifically the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.

The founder and namesake of the Disney Corp, Walt Disney, was an extremely experimental and progressive thinker for his time, namely during the 1950s and 1960s. However, there were many ideas that Disney wanted to put in place before his death in 1966. The most well-known of these is the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT as we know it today. However, the EPCOT that we are familiar with is not the original concept that Disney had in mind. As Disney explains in a short film, he wanted to build a model utopian community based on the developments of communications, education and technology where EPCOT would be an actual city with inhabitants living under their own jurisdiction. The design of the city follows a radial concept, where the center is the main hub of urbanization, which dwindles outwards the further away from the center you get.

Although the entirety of Disney's design for EPCOT was not established, his brother Roy continued with the development of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida after his death. As an homage to the original concept, EPCOT was built as a theme park in Florida in 1982. However, it is not a community where people can live, but pays tribute to cultures from all over the world, as well technological innovations. The concept of today's EPCOT is that visitors to the Disney Resort can indulge in an international culture such as French or Mexican, without having to actually visit that country. This is a prime example of simulacrum and hyperreality, as people can participate in a semblance of a culture, which then works to remove itself from the reality because people believe the EPCOT representation to be true.