The Image and the Hyperreality

The Problem of Symbol Emptying

Abstract

The study explores the concept of hyperreality and its impact on the relationship between image and reality, analysing how the image has become a subject that exercises violence on bodies and perceptions. Through philosophical and anthropological approaches, it examines how the repetition of images in hypercommunicated contexts empties symbols of meaning, creating a supplanted reality. Methods include analysis of key authors’ theories and observation of contemporary phenomena such as social networks and the dematerialisation of the body. The findings reveal that hyperreality transforms identity and environment, generating new forms of symbolic violence. It is concluded that it is crucial to understand the image as
a political and cultural tool, proposing its destabilisation in order to recover its human use.