Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle

Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle

For decades, Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle was only available

in English in a so-called "pirate" edition published by Black & Red, and

its informative, perhaps essential, critique of modern society languished in

the sort of obscurity familiar to

political radicals and the avant-garde. Originally published in France in

1967, it rarely receives more than passing mention in some of the fields

most heavily influenced by its ideasÑmedia studies, social theory,

economics, and political science. A new

translation by Donald Nicholson-Smith issued by Zone Books last year,

however, may finally bring about some well-deserved recognition to the

recently-deceased Debord. Society of the Spectacle has been called "the

Capital of the new generation," and the co

mparison bears investigation. DebordÕs intention was to provide a

comprehensive critique of the social and political manifestations of

modern forms of production, and the analysis he offered in 1967 is as

authoritative now as it was then. Comprised of nin

e chapters broken into a total of 221 theses, Society of the Spectacle

tends toward the succinct in its proclamations, favoring polemically

poetic ambiguities over the vacuous detail of purely analytical discourse.

There is, however, no shortage of justif

ication for its radical claims. Hegel finds his place, Marx finds acclaim

and criticism, Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg add their contributions, and

DebordÕs own insights are convincingly argued. It becomes evident quite

quickly that Debord has done his homewor

kÑSociety of the Spectacle is no art manifesto in need of historical or

theoretical basis. DebordÕs provocations are supported where others would

have failed. The first chapter, "Separation Perfected," contains the

fundamental assertions on which much of

DebordÕs influence rests, and the very first thesis, that

the whole of life of those societies in which modern conditions of

production prevail presents itself as an immense accumulation of

spectacles. All that was once directly lived has become mere

representation. establishes DebordÕs judgment; the rest attempt to explain

it, and to elaborate on the need for a practical and revolutionary

resistance.

By far DebordÕs most famous work, Society of the Spectacle lies somewhere

between a provocative manifesto and a scholarly analysis of modern

politics. It remains among those books which fall under the rubric of "oft

quoted, rarely read"Ñexcept that few ca