Schopenhauerian existence and hyperreality in the Silo series universe

Based on the series narrative Silo (2023-), the study examines, within the framework of Baudrillard's simulation theory, how individuals develop a way of existence in simulated universes -regardless of whether they are directly born into these universes or subsequently involved in them- and whether it is possible to avoid a Schopenhauerian ontology within this simulative reality. As a result of the hermeneutic analysis applied in the study, it is concluded that in simulation-based and closed systems, the life practices shaped by the illusions in which individuals live and the existential attitudes they adopt reveal that they cannot avoid the understanding of existence put forward by Schopenhauer, both at the system level and at the individual level. In this context, it is seen that cinematic narratives set in simulation universes have a natural tendency towards a Schopenhauerian form of existence and that the ways in which individuals construct their existence can be largely explained by Schopenhauer's concepts of will, suffering and fate. Keywords: Simulation, Existence, Will, Baudrillard, Schopenhauer, Narrative, Silo