Understanding what is “real” versus what is “perceived”, or if what is perceived is real, or if everything or nothing is real, is a problem that crosses time, culture and academic discipline from philosophy to religion, and from history to literature. But segregating real from perceived poses a special problem for the study of media. Toward the beginning of this century film theorist André Bazin famously argued that film would (and should) move toward “reality”. While Sergei Eisenstein counter argued that the ideal of film ought not be to move toward the so-called “real”, but rather toward the fullest expression of emotion through the juxtaposition of signs; what is real happens between the frames, and the understanding of the real should be left to the viewer. Sadly, their debate seems to have ended with Bazin’s victory and the media’s continuing attempt to create the real, and thus, blur the lines between the real and the replicated. (cont.)