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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)
--This text refers to an alternate
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'One should bear in mind when reading this book that it was written with the deliberate intention of doing harm to spectacular society' Guy Debord. Originally published in France in 1968 The Society of the Spectacle is a brilliantly lucid analysis of the forms of social control and domination under modern capitalism. Since its publication it has had an enormous underground influence both on active revolutionaries and on radical cultural and political theory. Prescient in its condemnation of the image as the tool used by Capital to alienate us from the reality of our everyday lives, The Society of the Spectacle is more relevant than ever in the era of information and virtual technologies. This edition includes a short, sharp introduction by Martin Jenkins which draws out the continuing relevance of Debord's work for today.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 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...
16 of 18 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. It is about undertaking a personal revolution in spirit, form, belief and understanding to create a society/soviet of young gods. It is the opposite of the open plan office, the chicken factory, the Vauxhall Vectra/Ford Mondeo, Neighbours, x factor, big brother, holby city, saatchi annoited piece of art nonsense, turner prize, grammy award, oscar nominated, critic directed , designer label alienated piece of trash.
Take up a brush, spray can, guitar, computer and recreate the world in your image but also learn about yourself and others in the process. Never be consumed with hubris. This is the root of all descending lives based on an essential lack of self security.
The book is a guide to change, hidden amongst the many mediocre tomes clamouring to subsume the individual in a morass of mediocrity.
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. It is about undertaking a personal revolution in spirit, form, belief and understanding to create a society/soviet of young gods. It is the opposite of the open plan office, the chicken factory, the Vauxhall Vectra/Ford Mondeo, Neighbours, x factor, big brother, holby city, saatchi annoited piece of art nonsense, turner prize, grammy award, oscar nominated, critic directed , designer label alienated piece of trash.
Take up a brush, spray can, guitar, computer and recreate the world in your image but also learn about yourself and others in the process. Never be consumed with hubris. This is the root of all descending lives based on an essential lack of self security.
The book is a guide to change, hidden amongst the many mediocre tomes clamouring to subsume the individual in a morass of mediocrity.
31 of 37 people found the following review helpful
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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 1 month ago by Ben_W
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 14 months ago by Rosscoe
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 18 months ago by Slow reader
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 18 months ago by A. JARVIS
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
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
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
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
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
A truly SPECTACULAR piece of cultural theory (boom, boom!)
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... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2000
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