For the first time, Guy Debord's pivotal work Society of the Spectacle appears in a definitive and authoritative English translation. Originally published in France in 1967, Society of the Spectacle offered a set of radically new propositions about the nature of contemporary capitalism and modern culture. At the same time it was one of the most influential theoretical works for a wide range of political and revolutionary practice in the 1960s. Today, Debord's work continues to be in the forefront of debates about the fate of consumer society and the operation of modern social power. In a sweeping revision of Marxist categories, the notion of the spectacle takes the problem of the commodity from the sphere of economics to a point at which the commodity as an image dominates not only economic exchange but the primary communicative and symbolic activity of all modern societies.Guy Debord was one of the most important participants in the activities associated with the Situationist International in the 1960s. Also an artist and filmmaker, he is the author of Memoires and Commentaires sur la societe du spectacle. A Swerve Edition, distributed for Zone Books.
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"In all that has happened in the last twenty years, the most important change lies in the very continuity of the spectacle. Quite simply, the spectacle"s domination has succeeded in raising a whole generation moulded to its laws. The extraordinary new conditions in which this entire generation has lived constitute a comprehensive summary of all that, henceforth, the spectacle will forbid; and also all that it will permit." Guy Debord (1988)
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About the Author
Writer, filmmaker, and cultural revolutionary, Guy Debord (1931--1994) was a founding member of the Lettrist International and Situationist International groups. His films and books, including Society of the Spectacle (1967), were major catalysts for philosophical and political changes in the twentieth century, and helped trigger the May 1968 rebellion in France.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
De Bord is not an easy read. Locked into that European, let's make it as hard as possible to understand language of the left. Take a bow Deleuze, Guattari, Althusser, Marcuse, Habermas et al.
Unlike the above with the exception of Marcuse, who is a kindred spirit, the effort is worth it. More kernels of knowledge tumble out of De Bord than Nietzsche. The difference is, Nietzsche is a wade through a swamp of reaction to find the uncut diamonds. These need to be prised away from his misanthropy. De Bord is a streamlined philosopher in comparison.
He has more to say and conceptualises it succinctly when the language is decoded. Whilst Marx concentrated on economics, De bord analyses the banality of everyday life. He paints a vision of a poetic existence,a Dyonisian fusion of art and living derived from the imaginative desires.
A huge impact on punk, live this day as though it is your last. Drawing on energy to invigorate rather than destroy. This little package sent shockwaves throughout the 80's.
Rebellion succumbs to mammon, the lure of cars, men/women/s available bodies, houses, the appollonian stability enticed many to lay down their cultural cudgels.
How they rue the days when Dionysius, the pipes of Pan and the intoxication of Bacchus were consigned to under the bed shoe boxed? Constant substance use fuelled intoxication leads to eventual disaster but De bord was calling for a revolution of everyday life not for alcoholism.
Instead in the UK the grinding treadmill consumed young bodies and spat out dull grey lives. The lesson of tedium encased in this book, the Dionysian life, is not a template for a slow form of suicide.... Read more ›
Unlike the above with the exception of Marcuse, who is a kindred spirit, the effort is worth it. More kernels of knowledge tumble out of De Bord than Nietzsche. The difference is, Nietzsche is a wade through a swamp of reaction to find the uncut diamonds. These need to be prised away from his misanthropy. De Bord is a streamlined philosopher in comparison.
He has more to say and conceptualises it succinctly when the language is decoded. Whilst Marx concentrated on economics, De bord analyses the banality of everyday life. He paints a vision of a poetic existence,a Dyonisian fusion of art and living derived from the imaginative desires.
A huge impact on punk, live this day as though it is your last. Drawing on energy to invigorate rather than destroy. This little package sent shockwaves throughout the 80's.
Rebellion succumbs to mammon, the lure of cars, men/women/s available bodies, houses, the appollonian stability enticed many to lay down their cultural cudgels.
How they rue the days when Dionysius, the pipes of Pan and the intoxication of Bacchus were consigned to under the bed shoe boxed? Constant substance use fuelled intoxication leads to eventual disaster but De bord was calling for a revolution of everyday life not for alcoholism.
Instead in the UK the grinding treadmill consumed young bodies and spat out dull grey lives. The lesson of tedium encased in this book, the Dionysian life, is not a template for a slow form of suicide.... Read more ›
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book - in conjunction with some secondary literature and other NOT RANDOM situ texts - is one of the few which can come to revolutionise your perception ALL THE WAY DOWN. Of course : it is obscure and relies on a familiarity with alot of marxist terminology - but it bares, and demands, repeated readings which demonstrates how these concepts have alot of life in them! If I was to formulate its thesis then today it would be : you are always watching others do things instead of doing something which would exceed the gaze of another watching you. This is the road towards de-reification et al...
33 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
As trenchant as Foucault and as dogmatic as Wittgenstein, rarely has a work of political or cultural criticism provided such a thorough-going and penetrative exposition of the modern world's formulation of life as commodity. Debord's approach is refreshingly independent of conventional leftist thought, owing little to the positivist teleolgy of Marx of the ruralistic utopianism of Kropotkin. Though not without its faults, especially his sometimes confused and overly 'clever' prose, Debord's work is a true modern classic, a revolutionary text for the consumer age. Far from seeming dated it becomes more relavent with time - witness the growth of surrogate programming (gardening programmes, cooking programmes and 'fly-on-the wall' documentaries) of fabricated experience as commodity. I reccomend this book to anyone who feels bemused by the banality of everyday life.
44 of 53 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Absolute genius. A lucid, miraculously acute dissection of the true nature of consumerism and commodity culture, which seems even more pertinent today, what with the ever-spiralling drive towards globalisation and the free market. Debord is wonderfully dogmatic, yet the cogency of his argument mean that we have no problem whatsoever in being spoonfed. But, be warned *THIS BOOK COULD CHANGE YOU LIFE* This book truly removes any blinkers, and exposes you to a world turned on it's head, mediated by this sinister, over-arching Spectacle. Also, from a literary point of view, it is very easy to become enmeshed in Debord's epigrammatical style, and certain passages need to re-read for full comprehension. As a result, THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED, and is not, I repeat not, A LIGHT READ! Laid out as a compendium of ~200 theses, vaguely resembling a series of (ultra-cryptic!)crossword puzzles, it includes discussion of (to list but a few points) the cult of celebrity, out-of-town shopping cenntres, festivals, holidays et al. as well as a huge no. of more conventional topics for analysis (e.g. the proletarian class, time, urbanism, marxist discussion etc. etc.) So, overall, a brilliant elucidation of Situationist theory. It has changed the way I think, and it is no over-estimation to say the way I live as well. I just hope that Debord's masterpiece is re-discovered in a big way over the next few years REVOLUTIONISE EVERYDAY LIFE. LIVE WITHOUT DEAD TIME.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
...though perhaps not one for the faint-hearted (good lord, and to think someone translated this prose from French?!) Few other books have matched this one for me in their being able to grasp and articulate things that many of us have thought but we always thought were ineffable. Debord is proving to be even more prescient with the passage of time. To think that this book came out of the classic crass Leftist period of the late 1960's, when many college professors were making pro-Chairman Mao diatribes to their freshman sociology students, makes it even more amazing. Yes, the Marxist influence is not lost but this is _not_ some crass rehash of leftist student pamphlets of the 1960's. Some passages are so poignant in their effect that they take several readings to sink in. This is a book for thinkers: not a book for holier-than-thou Lefties or any number of our current slew of 'capitalism gurus' or 'market experts' which are still attempting the Sisyfus task that Marx failed at. Debord is the biggest true believer of the Unbelievers and he truly defies classification. If you wanted to get into Baudrillard but found him too droll, or are searching for an excellent introduction to the current psychology of the mass consumer market that avoids all of the hyperbole, this book is for you. If only Debord would have written as much as he drank - the number of books about him versus the number he actually wrote is a testament to the clarity of his thought.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A nice new edition of a prescient and urgent text
This is an attractively presented edition of Debord's excellent neo-Marxian critique of capitalism, including an interesting new introduction. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ben_W
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a life changer...
...bringing clarity to how we are manipulated by the whole of the mass media, describing in unique precision how the spectacle (pure capitalism within globalisation) is bulldozing... Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2011 by Rosscoe
5.0 out of 5 stars
fundamental reading for anyone wishing for a counter attact on the...
i cannot recommend this book high enough, it is essential reading. tough written over 30 years ago, much of it apply more then ever. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2010 by Slow reader
3.0 out of 5 stars
don't bother
there are much better translations, such as the one by Ken Knabb; that can easily be found online for free. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2010 by A. JARVIS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging and rewarding, a good intellectual stimulus
I'm very glad I purchased this book; I bought it on recommendation of hearing a Will Self talk about psycho geography as well as having socialist leanings. Read more
Published on 2 May 2009 by J. Rowe
2.0 out of 5 stars
starts okay then fades
The opening couple of chapters introduce the interesting idea of the 'spectacle'. Unfortunately this is never really explained and after chapter 4 we are left with nothing more... Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2008 by booky
1.0 out of 5 stars
Completely torturous, unreadable, piece of navel gazing garbage
I cant believe that this book has had a single positive review and am tempted to believe that there something of an "emperor's new clothes" dynamic going on, intellectuals tell you... Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2008 by Lark
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disconcertingly accurate statement of things in general.
Don't let the other reviews put you off, this is a great book, although I've not read this translation. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2001
1.0 out of 5 stars
Personal helicopters
To put things into perspective, this is a Guy (boom boom to you too, dewd) who reckoned everyone would have their own private helicopter by c. 1980 - prescient, huh? Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2001
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