ABSTRACT
In Chapter 6, the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) provides the most striking manifestation of Baudrillard’s concept of the precession of simulacra. Reality has now become the alibi of fantasy. As a result, not only does any possible divergence between imagination and reality disintegrate, but architecture is suddenly catapulted into the midst of a disproportionate symbolic exchange, becoming the battlefield encapsulating a form of representation unfolding and anticipating all possible scenarios through catastrophic films. Blockbuster movies such as Apocalypse Now thus re-write history retrospectively. While an application of Baudrillard’s precession is provided by discussing the destruction of the WTC by a group of terrorists inspired by a Hollywood remake of the original film Godzilla, the parallel Baudrillard builds between the Twin Towers and the DNA helix, punch cards and the binary code is also illustrated. Duopoly, according to Baudrillard, is ultimately monopoly.
