‘Counterfeit’ Isn’t Culture

This reward of validation is seemingly a cry for attention from those desiring the same appreciation as the highly celebrated, counterfeit bodies. These ‘real self’ users aren’t sparking a revolution. They are uprooting the meaning of authenticity as they continue to enforce media’s focus on physical appearance — this time showing the imperfect rather than the perfect.

Celebrity life is indifferent to the counterfeit bodies portrayed on social media. In an era of drastic socioeconomic change, only certain voices are given the chance to speak about societal problems. And with that, they provide an artificial performance. The importance of their voice is designated by a higher social class — a class that refuses a voice to those facing the issues, or those making real change. Celebrities watch from their safety nets as they tearfully discuss the inhumane treatment of the poor. So, is it really for change, or just attention?

Celebrities are constructed for the public eye, becoming replications of humans that we then celebrate. We don’t care about their messages; we care about their appearance. Fame recognises that society desires ‘perfection’, so they craft this through celebrities that trot along stages and give powerful speeches. They render their image as a counterfeit of authenticity — a new version of self that shadows who they once were, but still seems real. Celebrities have reconstructed progressive politics into an artificial performance that gives no benefit to the issues faced by society.

And for us as university students, we now have the opportunity to become counterfeits of our own voice. The new revolution of AI-assistance and ChatGPT is further transforming the meaning of individual voice in work and study. Communicating ideas through a string of words and phrases is an innate quality that defines human expression. The ability for AI to perform a near-identical task is obviously fascinating to many. But does this not then destroy the true nature of knowledge, growth and work? As students we are placed in an environment that should give us knowledge, yet will a growing community rely on AI assistance to express the ideas they are taught? Is it still our student voice? Or is ChatGPT and AI eroding our trust in innate human qualities — constructing an illusory ‘reality’ where counterfeit voices overarch growth and knowledge?

This is the problem with today’s ‘authenticity’. There is none. There is no real self within the world, nor is there a place for people to be authentic. We have all become counterfeits of who we truly are, because we are trapped within a world engrained with people-pleasing and attention-seeking. And when we oppose them, we become a theatrical display of revulsion towards this social construct. The newly performative, progressive politics that fame has ensued, and the emerging loss of student voice is trapping us in a world where counterfeit culture is the accepted reality.

It’s time we face the truth— in today’s world, everyone is a counterfeit. No-one knows true authenticity because, in the intertwined realms of media and public judgement, we craft a new image for everyone to see. We are counterfeit products pressured to be real and perfect, happy and sad, definite in our choices but unwilling to make mistakes. It just isn’t possible. Can our world transport back to a place of authenticity, or are we forever trapped in a cycle of self-replication and varying personalities? Can we collectively move towards an authentic reality, or have our moral values grown too accustomed to this artificial world?