the society of the spectacle
Guy Debord’s THE SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE, originally published in 1967, is easily the most important radical book of the twentieth century.
Contrary to popular misconceptions, Debord’s book is neither an ivory tower “philosophical discourse” nor an impulsive “rant” or “protest.” It is an effort to clarify the nature of the situation in which we find ourselves and the advantages and drawbacks of various methods for changing it. It examines the most fundamental tendencies and contradictions of the present society — what is really going on behind the spectacular surface phenomena that we are conditioned to perceive as the only reality.
This means that it needs to be reread many times, but it also means that it remains as pertinent as ever while countless radical and intellectual fads have come and gone. As Debord noted in his later “Comments on the Society of the Spectacle” (1988), in the intervening decades the spectacle has become more pervasive than ever, to the point of repressing virtually any awareness of pre-spectacle history or anti-spectacle possibilities: “Spectacular domination has succeeded in raising an entire generation molded to its laws.”
Debord’s strategy is to cut through the mass of false solutions so as to open the way for real ones. His method may seem negative and abstract, but his aim is positive and concrete. No matter how many times you read his book, you will never really understand it until you use it. Which means using your imagination and experimenting for yourself. The purpose of the book is to help you do just that.
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Ken Knabb’s translation of THE SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE is online at http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord
The translation is also available in book form — http://www.bopsecrets.org/cat.htm
A new PDF version is online at http://www.bopsecrets.org/images/sos.pdf
Debord also made a film of his book, which is available in various formats — http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord.films/index.htm
Related texts by Debord and other members of the Situationist International
are online at http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/index.htm
September 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
would you mind elaborating a little bit: what kind of pre-spectacle history is repressed? what kind of anti-spectacle possibilities are excluded from thought?
do you mean by the former a world before wage slavery? and by the latter the emphasis on presenting things before a public, on directed action towards the image and visibility - civil society becoming an awareness raising campaign, the need to go public about an issue?
… writing as someone wrestling with soc. of spec. myself, and probably not doing a good job.