Do you mean provide you a link to it or delete it, haha? I don't think I'd set it up at this point but, if you did mean you wanted the link, it's at patreon.com/tomnicholas Hope you enjoyed the video!
I wish this kind of critical analysis was all over our schools to be honest. We grow up completely unprotected and unaware of the forces at play that structure and limit our whole existence.
Check out the channel "Knowing Better" (if you haven't already) for all of the important pieces of history that were deliberately left out of your schooling
My parents primed me from an early age to hate it. As my dad put it, the “spivs” who used to go door to door selling scams in the 40s, who were derided and got spat on, are now the people running the world.
Its too complex for most to understand for people who are just reading the texts. Too complex for even undergraduate university classes. I barely understood it as a student It s mostly useful for creators...in a cultural consumption "market", media makers, artists, designer etc. And and even then its pretty much hard to put it into practice do to the "market" place or product.. We were thought Guy Debord, and and lot of French theory, in the 90's in what was a unique, cutting edge undergraduate university program unheard of at the time. I had 4 years of theory classes dealing with media and culture...still nothing to show for that learning. The only thing you can do with it is become a professor. If you are in the U.S or Canada that's the equivalent of 8 university courses with nothing to show for it...except if you can somehow try to graft a few ideas in one of your productions. WE leaned it for the incoming digital revolution, and its even more relevant than ever before, but there is not much the average "worker" or person watching youtube videos can do with it .
It’s important to emphasize that it’s not social media on its own that represents Debord’s concept of spectacle, but social media plugged into the market economy. This is where McLuhan’s the medium is the message meets Debord: the content of social media is the market system. People like to blame social media for the effects we’re seeing, but we forget that the medium of the market economy sits on top of and dictates the expression of how social media is used. This is a great explanation of the spectacle, however. Appreciate it 👏
I think it's more accurate to say social media is the culmination of that system. Social interaction are human kind's most important and sacred activity and the monetization and corporate control of it puts a lot of people seriously on edge. Social media for many is the commercialization of social interaction and NFT's are kind of the monetization of even the things we already own. That trend is already happening with microtransactions and games as services and they will try to expand it further.
I grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s and I was always frustrated by seeing intelligent, capable people throw their lives away on superficiality. My country, which was supposed to be based on participatory democracy and the Bill of Rights, was really driven by a mindset of obsessive and shallow commercialism. When I adopted a Marxist view, I realized that the “poor proletariat” were not really the prevailing example of the oppressed around me. It was primarily the aesthetically poor, rather than materially poor. Debord’s description of survival being redefined as the constant struggle to become caught up on image and style very much resonates with how I felt. I have been only slightly familiar with his beliefs. I’m going to read more of him. Thank you for this excellent look at his ideas.
Tom Nicholas what are your thoughts on The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem? From my knowledge I believe it is also from the situationist movement
I always find Red Bull an interesting example in this regard. How they went from being a producer of 'energy drinks' to being an overall 'extreme sports brand'. Can't remember I ever saw an ad really focusing on the 'great taste' (and maybe for a reason?) or actual effects of the drink, rather than linking the drink and the brand to people challenging themselves and doing 'cool stuff' and extreme sports...
tbf, apart from the weird extreme sports events stuff, i think red bull's marketing is fairly straighforwardly about the properties of the product (i'm sure there is some image stuff in there too, but not to the point where it obscures the product itself). they don't talk much about the flavour, sure, but it's an energy drink: they don't want (or perhaps need) to say "it tastes good"; it's more important that "it gives you wings" (to put it in their own terms)
As a kid in grade school, one can kind of get that feeling of spectacle when the rest of the kids are showing off the brand clothes they wear as status and/or identity.
Wearing. brand names goods is so much lower and less important than what situationism is talking about I despair. Nike are actually pretty good quality. The point is to be free of the FEAR that makes you believe anthing.
Thank you for this great presentation, Tom. Its very refreshing to see genuine interest and sincerity when going over such complex issues, without ironizing too much and keeping a positive tone. You made 16 minutes feel like 5, so thanks again for keeping it real
Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Maintaining a balance between complexity and video length is a constant battle so I'm glad to hear you didn't find it too long! A lot of the script ended up being cut along the way, haha!
The Debord reference in the American psychological horror film, I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), written and directed by Charlie Kaufman brought me here! Deep gratitude.
@@kubhlaikhan2015 Yes, that’s why I graduated two years ago and got a first in the essay talking about this text and Debord as a philosopher. I referenced this video as I was researching.
@@livcorley4341 I congratulate you. But if you think situations are a literary theory you need to know that it is more. It is about life, and the more it is intellectualised the more you are doomed to live in a mere spectacle of it.
@@milztempelrowski9281 true, Debord replaced the metaphorical cavern by the real stage, and pointed the company managing the stage thru a Marxist view.
Saw the 'Spectacle' reference used on Frankie Boyle's New World Order tonight- needed more info. This was really well explained, thank you sir. (sounds like Debord was on to something)
"Spectacle is the sun that never sets over the empire of modern passivity." Great video (as always), makes me want to re-read Debord. And yes, please make more. Are there any other situationist texts you'd recommend?
Thank you, really glad you liked the video! While he predates the Situationists themselves, I would recommend the work of Henri Lefebvre whose ideas heavily influenced them. It can be tough reading at times and, as someone who writes a lot about non-global cities, I find his argument that the entire world is now "urbanised" to sometimes be a little bit of a sweeping statement. Nevertheless, his discussion of the relationship between space and power is absolutely fascinating.
Raoul Vaneigem's "Revolution of Everyday Life" is one my favorite of any books I've ever read. The effects of Debord are presented in a more academic manner by a lot of Jean Baudrillard's work especially from the mid 80s until the late 90s. For a good intro to the more fictional or artistic writings, try Michèle Bernstein's novel "All the King's Horses". But the films are great as well: Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" Debord's "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni" (a Latin palindrome meaning "We Spin Around the Night Consumed by the Fire") a "Post-Situationist" work, but still very good. Rene Vienet's "Can Dialectics Break Bricks" where he satirizes political theory by overdubbing a wu shu/ kung fu film with dialog of worker's struggling under capitalism (very bad description, but great film nonetheless) Isidore Isou "Venom & Eternity" -This is Lettrist, a precursor to the Situationists. More contemporary progeny from this movement would be The Invisible Committee in France, and The Bernadette Corporation (a contemporary arts organization with revolving membership). For other information check out notbored.org, library.nothingness.org, or google Luther Blisset (used as an anonymous persona, and the political/artistic output that stems from that).
@@henrybemis9956 Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will definitely check all of those out. Was not expecting the films, but as a self-described cinephile, those are very much appreciated. Now I'll just have to track them down, which I imagine could pose quite a challenge.
This exists in places that are truly shocking to think of. For instance, the military is full of this valuation of appearance over substance. In the Army, much more emphasis is placed on your physique than your marksmanship, to the point where if you're overweight, they take you in and tell you that the reason they have weight standards is to "ensure a neat and trim military appearance". How well you shine your boots and press your uniform likewise has more effect on your prospects for promotion than how well you know your job.
Second if you still haven't made it! I feel like Trump is the logical conclusion of this phenomenon and has an intuition for how to use and create spectacles thay is better than anyone.
Just stumbled across this video, but delighted to find that it's still fresh, accurate and necessary three years later. Many thanks for offering such a clear & concise overview of what I think is one of the most important texts of the 20th century!
To hear such a brilliant analysis out of the mouth of a fella that looks like he's all of 16 is a Situationist endeavor in itself. A fantastic audio/visual transposition. Great stuff.
you should read The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. He breaks it down on such a deep level as to explain Debord in my opinion. Very critical author and legendary piece of work by him.
If you like Ellul, you should give John Zerzan a try, particularly he books "Twilight of the Machines" and "Running on Emptiness", which are both for free online since he is an Anarchist
WOW I am seriously thankful for this video. I am currently writing an essay about Debord and his Society of the Spectacle and you made his ideas so much easier to understand!
I just want to note the truly excellent timing- immediately after you said we were bombarded with visual advertising, before during and after our RUclips videos... I got an ad.
Thank you very much for this video, I’m trying to read the book for a second time yet still struggling to stay focused. Your explanation is very clear and certainly helps a lot.
The thing that gets me is that we are all a part of the spectacle. Very rarely in our day do we not feed into it. We talk of the spectacle as if it was a monster that was created by some external factor, but in actuality it is us who created it. We all have our own part to play. More crucially we will just keep rolling down the hill in a bus with no breaks until the wheels fall off or we run off the cliff edge.
I'm going to talk about this a little more in the follow-up video. Or, more accurately, I'm going to focus on attempts to subvert the Spectacle and whether they can ever be successful.
Great content! Thanks Tom, I've already read Debord, and as a lot of French writers, his writing is kind of cryptic, but your analysis is pretty clear and straightforward
It can definitely be a tough book to crack in to and I do actually find the style of it to be a bit of a weakness particularly in comparison to "Comments on..." which Debord published later which is actually incredibly engaging and grounded in solid examples of what he's talking about. Glad the video helped you find a way in to it!
hi! could you please share your dissertation as it may help to understand this work further in a more modern context. currently struggling a little so it might help haha
Excellent introduction to Spectacle. Wow. Thanks. I'm going to find a copy. Over the last several weeks Dec2022 -Feb2023 the NYTimes has published several articles and an audio interview about a Luddite Club, a group of young teens in NYC seeking to free themselves from their phones and social media. I wonder if these teens intuited/felt, at the end of their childhoods, that there is more to life than what the society of the spectacle was providing them.
Thank you for this very clear synopsis. I read the book and agree that it is quite dense and challenging to read. Placing it in historical context also helped with unpacking its message. I agree with your assessment.
I've read Society of the Spectacle three times, and I think your video helped clarify my understanding of augmented survival a little. Everything else was also accurate as I understood it. Good video
Hi all, sorry for being a day late on this video! Schedule may change a little over the coming months as I've got a PhD to finish! Hope you enjoy this vid and find it a useful insight into Debord's work. More episodes of What the Theory? can be found here: ruclips.net/video/YpyobkolyVE/видео.html
Outstanding video. It helped me to understand my life, as I was born in the American suburbs in 1967. By pulling back the scrim to display the pulleys, levers & and shifting backdrops constructing the reality into which I was born, your explanation of the book permits individual healing. Why would I use such lofty language? Because living within a landscape constructed by the perceived need to always be selling and buying hollows out the soul and troubles one's psychology. Recognizing and understanding the sources of these elements is crucially important.
I'd be so APPRECIATIVE if you did a video on Raoul Vanegeim's "The Revolution of Everyday Life", not nearly as well known as the Society of the Spectacle, but far more influential in my development as a post-left anarchist
You asked for it so I made it! If you'd like to check out my follow-up to this video in which I look at the spectacle and recuperation, pop over here: ruclips.net/video/_wl3HCKQ6WI/видео.html Enjoy!
at around 9:20 another really famous examples is Nike's CEO who said "the one still selling a product is an idiot, as of today one sells a brand" or smth
Absolutely, the difference between "marketing" a product and "branding" it is really interesting to look over. I mean, something like Supreme in particular is almost entirely rooted around that notion.
@@Tom_Nicholas I realize this comment is a year old, but reading the original comment, my brain screamed “that bs Supreme-branded building brick they were selling, Augh!” Glad supreme came to someone else’s mind too
@@Tom_Nicholas this is why i always review something before i buy and i really dont care if the brand is popular or not what i care about is the quality of the product itself.
Hi Tom, this is truly interesting and nicely put, reminds me of the artists termed Pop Art, who kind of explored similar ideas on their canvases. It also reminds me of a quote I found from a book called 'Crash' by J.G. Ballard - “We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind-mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery, the increasing blurring and intermingling of identities within the realm of consumer goods, the preempting of any free or original imaginative response to experience by the television screen. We live inside an enormous novel. For the writer in particular it is less and less necessary for him to invent the fictional content of his novel. The fiction is already there. The writer's task is to invent the reality.”
This book seems right up my alley of interest, but from the comments sounds like it might be too complex for me to actually make a go of reading it. Thank you for your videos, you really have a knack for making subjects more accessible!
I red in "The psychology of the beautiful and the ugly" that we moved from a society of the spectacle to a society of the one man show. Very true as you said towards the end
Hello, I stumbled upon your video right after I watched Debord's Society of the Spectacle film and I want to thank you for your explanation because I found myself struggle understanding the content of the film. I would really appreciate if you make a continuation of this video. Great work and thank you very much!
Really glad it helped you out. Yes, the book/film itself can be a little tough to crack into. I'd suggest reading Debord's follow up "Comments on the Society of the Spectacle" in which he goes over some similar ideas yet in a slightly more easily comprehendible manner.
Outstanding. The premises and analysis presented in the book as capsulized here should, to the thoughtful person, seem manifestly evident. Much here seems to tie into Freud's and Bernay's insight that people act and respond to emotion much more readily than to facts. Very sad but oh, so true.
Hello from Taiwan! I'm just new for your channel and regretted not finding it earlier! I'm quite interested in culture studies. Thanks a lot for such great videos! The introduction is super clear and helpful for a beginner. :)
Hiya, thank you for your kind words, I'm so glad you've been enjoying my videos and hope you've found them insightful! Do let me know if there's anything you'd like to see a video on in the future!
Hi Gabriele! Sorry, just catching up on some comments. If you haven't spotted it already, then the follow-up is live on my channel now! hope you enjoy!
I appreciate the hard work and time you put into these videos. The moment you mentioned Apples earlier adds and how exactly they were selling an imagine I felt nauseous.. I read somewhere in these comments someone mention how they wish this kind of critical analysis was all over schools and what not, yeah , I’m just glad it’s here. I’ll be picking up the book. ❤
Excellent examples of image- based advertising. I'm sure Mitchell and Webb are laughing all the way to the bank.. What makes it really scary is when news borrows these ad techniques, and we shift our position accordingly. Basically what you say around 11:35.
I had to rewind in order to hear the year of which the book was published again, because I couldn't believe that you said "1967", when the descriptions given completely sounds like the problems we have today. _Thinking about how many messages from philosophers and books are more than relevant today, makes it such a shame that people read so little today (and I too read a lot less than before)._
I am familiar with Guy Debord, and am a great admirer of your videos. The only occasional critisicm [sic] I very occasionally proffer has to do with historical context. You did mention 1967, an important year in French life because a year later the Sorbonne was occupied and de Gaul called in the army. As much as I admire the temerity of Neil Young during the Vietnam protests during the same time period the Paris occupation was much more important in context of Algeria and French society in general.... or not depending on one's view point. Possibly people forget Sartre waiving pro Mao placards around ... I waded through L'etre et le Neant sorry for missing accents but that was hashed over Heiddiger a Nazi supporter, don't get me started. 1968 in France, was definitely not the summer of love. So I read Debord framed by those events. Apart from that a lucid explication of his ideas.
I was really happy to see the link up there when you said you could go more in depth if the viewers asked for it. But then subtitles switched to spanish in the second video and it brought me back to the hellscape reality we're living in
thank you thank you thank you---I had to read this for a class and I was terribly confused until I watched your video---thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
I am French and I was curious to know what an American would say. (we can not say that Marxism is very popular ideas in the USA ah ah). And your video sums up Guy Debord's idea perfectly. Capitalism has changed man, he has become a being who never stops putting on a show (instagram, there are only beautiful and happy people). A part of the world has disappeared from our eyes
Thank you so much for all of this! The first chapter is a reading assignment in my literature class. The historical background you provide helps me to understand what he wanted to express.
Great video! I just came to see how to pronounce "Guy Debord," but ended up staying for the whole thing! You have a very clear and direct way of breaking down the content without losing the substance of it. I would watch a follow-up video.
Joan Didion's 'Insider Baseball' and the entire book of political essays in which it appears is a brilliant, scathing examination of politics as empty spectacle and I strongly recommend it. Focused on the years from Bush 1 to Bush 2, it's also a set of fascinating insights into how we got where we are.
Thanks a lot for the effort, I'm french (randomly ahha) and decided to dig again into Debord (randomly) .. not whith the book but looking for some youtubers around. And I discovered in the comment that Debord became so unclear even to native french. Half because, well .. rampaging idiocraty, and half because Debord described the 'matrix' taking place, so he could see before/after .. while nowaday people are born within, and I should say, the matrix becames more and more 'perfect' in its illusion.
I completely agree about rampant consumerism but I do like shopping - and I like my shiny things. Saying that some people enact Situationist scenarios all of the time, go for a walk, visit a gallery or a stately home or whatever your interests are.
Cheers Dan! Enjoy the book. I'd suggest reading Debord's later book "Comments on the Society of the Spectacle" first as it's written in a slightly more straightforward tone and will give you a decent grounding in what Debord's trying to get at before delving in to Society of the Spectacle itself which can be a bit allusive at times...
I happened upon this video as I am re-reading England's dreaming by Jon Savage. You helped fill in major gaps and I am marveling how awesome it is now to read such a dense book now and look up ideas online to help me understand what is going on. I did not have that luxury in 1992. PS I subscribed and I am looking forward to watching more of your videos. Thank you!!
Zizek encapsulates desire in the same way. Desire is not "what do I want" but instead "what do others think I should want" it's always rooted in the "other"
DROP YOUR PATERON
Do you mean provide you a link to it or delete it, haha? I don't think I'd set it up at this point but, if you did mean you wanted the link, it's at patreon.com/tomnicholas
Hope you enjoyed the video!
@@Tom_Nicholas hahha sorry I went to part two and found it there! Your stuff is awesome!
I love how this can genuinely be interpreted both ways.
I wish this kind of critical analysis was all over our schools to be honest. We grow up completely unprotected and unaware of the forces at play that structure and limit our whole existence.
Schools are curated as such to create workers, not thinkers.
Check out the channel "Knowing Better" (if you haven't already) for all of the important pieces of history that were deliberately left out of your schooling
My parents primed me from an early age to hate it. As my dad put it, the “spivs” who used to go door to door selling scams in the 40s, who were derided and got spat on, are now the people running the world.
The republicans just made it illegal.
Its too complex for most to understand for people who are just reading the texts.
Too complex for even undergraduate university classes. I barely understood it as a student
It s mostly useful for creators...in a cultural consumption "market", media makers, artists, designer etc. And and even then its pretty much hard to put it into practice do to the "market" place or product..
We were thought Guy Debord, and and lot of French theory, in the 90's in what was a unique, cutting edge undergraduate university program unheard of at the time. I had 4 years of theory classes dealing with media and culture...still nothing to show for that learning.
The only thing you can do with it is become a professor.
If you are in the U.S or Canada that's the equivalent of 8 university courses with nothing to show for it...except if you can somehow try to graft a few ideas in one of your productions.
WE leaned it for the incoming digital revolution, and its even more relevant than ever before, but there is not much the average "worker" or person watching youtube videos can do with it .
It’s important to emphasize that it’s not social media on its own that represents Debord’s concept of spectacle, but social media plugged into the market economy. This is where McLuhan’s the medium is the message meets Debord: the content of social media is the market system. People like to blame social media for the effects we’re seeing, but we forget that the medium of the market economy sits on top of and dictates the expression of how social media is used.
This is a great explanation of the spectacle, however. Appreciate it 👏
I think it's more accurate to say social media is the culmination of that system. Social interaction are human kind's most important and sacred activity and the monetization and corporate control of it puts a lot of people seriously on edge. Social media for many is the commercialization of social interaction and NFT's are kind of the monetization of even the things we already own. That trend is already happening with microtransactions and games as services and they will try to expand it further.
Communication is never a problem. Control of the means of communication is the problem.
I grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s and I was always frustrated by seeing intelligent, capable people throw their lives away on superficiality. My country, which was supposed to be based on participatory democracy and the Bill of Rights, was really driven by a mindset of obsessive and shallow commercialism. When I adopted a Marxist view, I realized that the “poor proletariat” were not really the prevailing example of the oppressed around me. It was primarily the aesthetically poor, rather than materially poor. Debord’s description of survival being redefined as the constant struggle to become caught up on image and style very much resonates with how I felt. I have been only slightly familiar with his beliefs. I’m going to read more of him. Thank you for this excellent look at his ideas.
I’ve looked at many videos describing Society of the Spectacle, but this one was by far the clearest. You’ve convinced me to buy the book
Ah, I'm so glad you found the video helpful! Enjoy (if that's the right word...) the book!
Tom Nicholas what are your thoughts on The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem? From my knowledge I believe it is also from the situationist movement
Haha, great. Buy buy buy.
I got sidetracked because of my personal history but absolutely agree,
@@toml8380 k, n nñ hoy t yuju molido
I always find Red Bull an interesting example in this regard. How they went from being a producer of 'energy drinks' to being an overall 'extreme sports brand'. Can't remember I ever saw an ad really focusing on the 'great taste' (and maybe for a reason?) or actual effects of the drink, rather than linking the drink and the brand to people challenging themselves and doing 'cool stuff' and extreme sports...
tbf, apart from the weird extreme sports events stuff, i think red bull's marketing is fairly straighforwardly about the properties of the product (i'm sure there is some image stuff in there too, but not to the point where it obscures the product itself). they don't talk much about the flavour, sure, but it's an energy drink: they don't want (or perhaps need) to say "it tastes good"; it's more important that "it gives you wings" (to put it in their own terms)
@@soupalex Tis merely water, red coloring and Taurine, ya know....
@@raleighsmalls4653and delicious imo. I hate how even the small things in life have been co-opted by Corporate crap
Years after graduating, your videos are a renewal of my passion for social theory. Feels like a reunion with my intellectual family.
As a kid in grade school, one can kind of get that feeling of spectacle when the rest of the kids are showing off the brand clothes they wear as status and/or identity.
Wearing. brand names goods is so much lower and less important than what situationism is talking about I despair. Nike are actually pretty good quality. The point is to be free of the FEAR that makes you believe anthing.
RUclips humour: put ad right after tom says "advertising...before during and after youtube videos"
Thank you for this great presentation, Tom. Its very refreshing to see genuine interest and sincerity when going over such complex issues, without ironizing too much and keeping a positive tone. You made 16 minutes feel like 5, so thanks again for keeping it real
Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. Maintaining a balance between complexity and video length is a constant battle so I'm glad to hear you didn't find it too long! A lot of the script ended up being cut along the way, haha!
@@Tom_Nicholas That was sixteen minutes? WTF. Where did my coffee go?
The Debord reference in the American psychological horror film, I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), written and directed by Charlie Kaufman brought me here! Deep gratitude.
I liked the Situationalists, & think we could use that way of thinking in today's world. Really like your channel!
I'm doing my masters in English Literature and your videos have helped me understand a variety of theories a lot better. Thank you!
But do you?
@@kubhlaikhan2015 Yes, that’s why I graduated two years ago and got a first in the essay talking about this text and Debord as a philosopher. I referenced this video as I was researching.
@@livcorley4341 I congratulate you. But if you think situations are a literary theory you need to know that it is more. It is about life, and the more it is intellectualised the more you are doomed to live in a mere spectacle of it.
Imagine Writing A Book In 1967 That's Still Relevant In 2019.
@paul w wait until he/she finds out about plato
@@milztempelrowski9281 true, Debord replaced the metaphorical cavern by the real stage, and pointed the company managing the stage thru a Marxist view.
@@Utroll facts
@Harry Caray d'abord Debord
@@milztempelrowski9281 Tx someone had to say it!
Saw the 'Spectacle' reference used on Frankie Boyle's New World Order tonight- needed more info. This was really well explained, thank you sir. (sounds like Debord was on to something)
Watch a video called "American Psycho, Baudrillard and the Postmodern Condition" by cuckphilosphy by development of these ideas.
So did I! Thanks Tom. I’d like a follow up too. :)
Thanks, glad you found it helpful!
Don't worry Helen, I'm on it!
"Spectacle is the sun that never sets over the empire of modern passivity."
Great video (as always), makes me want to re-read Debord. And yes, please make more. Are there any other situationist texts you'd recommend?
Thank you, really glad you liked the video! While he predates the Situationists themselves, I would recommend the work of Henri Lefebvre whose ideas heavily influenced them. It can be tough reading at times and, as someone who writes a lot about non-global cities, I find his argument that the entire world is now "urbanised" to sometimes be a little bit of a sweeping statement. Nevertheless, his discussion of the relationship between space and power is absolutely fascinating.
Raoul Vaneigem's "Revolution of Everyday Life" is one my favorite of any books I've ever read.
The effects of Debord are presented in a more academic manner by a lot of Jean Baudrillard's work especially from the mid 80s until the late 90s.
For a good intro to the more fictional or artistic writings, try Michèle Bernstein's novel "All the King's Horses".
But the films are great as well:
Debord's "Society of the Spectacle"
Debord's "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni" (a Latin palindrome meaning "We Spin Around the Night Consumed by the Fire") a "Post-Situationist" work, but still very good.
Rene Vienet's "Can Dialectics Break Bricks" where he satirizes political theory by overdubbing a wu shu/ kung fu film with dialog of worker's struggling under capitalism (very bad description, but great film nonetheless)
Isidore Isou "Venom & Eternity" -This is Lettrist, a precursor to the Situationists.
More contemporary progeny from this movement would be The Invisible Committee in France, and The Bernadette Corporation (a contemporary arts organization with revolving membership).
For other information check out notbored.org, library.nothingness.org, or google Luther Blisset (used as an anonymous persona, and the political/artistic output that stems from that).
@@henrybemis9956 Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will definitely check all of those out. Was not expecting the films, but as a self-described cinephile, those are very much appreciated. Now I'll just have to track them down, which I imagine could pose quite a challenge.
This exists in places that are truly shocking to think of. For instance, the military is full of this valuation of appearance over substance. In the Army, much more emphasis is placed on your physique than your marksmanship, to the point where if you're overweight, they take you in and tell you that the reason they have weight standards is to "ensure a neat and trim military appearance". How well you shine your boots and press your uniform likewise has more effect on your prospects for promotion than how well you know your job.
Tom provides a reasoned analysis of the Situationists, and why it is worth our time to study this movement.
i'm reading the book at the minute but was looking for additional materials for context - this was really helpful, thank you!
Really glad this helped Eric! Hopefully it gives a good basis for tackling the book itself! Enjoy!
I'd like a continuation, good video
Thank you, will definitely add it to my future videos list!
Second if you still haven't made it! I feel like Trump is the logical conclusion of this phenomenon and has an intuition for how to use and create spectacles thay is better than anyone.
Just stumbled across this video, but delighted to find that it's still fresh, accurate and necessary three years later. Many thanks for offering such a clear & concise overview of what I think is one of the most important texts of the 20th century!
To hear such a brilliant analysis out of the mouth of a fella that looks like he's all of 16 is a Situationist endeavor in itself. A fantastic audio/visual transposition. Great stuff.
you should read The Technological Society by Jacques Ellul. He breaks it down on such a deep level as to explain Debord in my opinion. Very critical author and legendary piece of work by him.
If you like Ellul, you should give John Zerzan a try, particularly he books "Twilight of the Machines" and "Running on Emptiness", which are both for free online since he is an Anarchist
I’m citing your video for a paper I’m working on. Never thought I’d have to type WTF in my paper lol
Hahaha I am also gonna cite it for my exam submission 😂😭❤️🙏🏻
@@kaleidoscopicboo Well good luck with that but if you'd understood it you'd probably have fucked off your exams.
thank you, always happy to discover "easily digestible" resources to help students into complex issues!
WOW I am seriously thankful for this video. I am currently writing an essay about Debord and his Society of the Spectacle and you made his ideas so much easier to understand!
Reading this book at the moment and needing to take breaks from the serious bursts of clarity it keeps giving me.
Big fan of Debord--great presentation of his work. Thank you!
I just want to note the truly excellent timing- immediately after you said we were bombarded with visual advertising, before during and after our RUclips videos... I got an ad.
Thank you very much for this video, I’m trying to read the book for a second time yet still struggling to stay focused. Your explanation is very clear and certainly helps a lot.
The thing that gets me is that we are all a part of the spectacle. Very rarely in our day do we not feed into it. We talk of the spectacle as if it was a monster that was created by some external factor, but in actuality it is us who created it. We all have our own part to play. More crucially we will just keep rolling down the hill in a bus with no breaks until the wheels fall off or we run off the cliff edge.
I'm going to talk about this a little more in the follow-up video. Or, more accurately, I'm going to focus on attempts to subvert the Spectacle and whether they can ever be successful.
Great content! Thanks Tom, I've already read Debord, and as a lot of French writers, his writing is kind of cryptic, but your analysis is pretty clear and straightforward
It can definitely be a tough book to crack in to and I do actually find the style of it to be a bit of a weakness particularly in comparison to "Comments on..." which Debord published later which is actually incredibly engaging and grounded in solid examples of what he's talking about. Glad the video helped you find a way in to it!
@@Tom_Nicholas I'll look up that book. Situationists ideas are pretty interesting in these times. Ty
this is one of the best descriptions of Debord and society of the spectacle. I have been wanting to read society of the spectacle for a minute.
Thanks Kevin, appreciate you saying so!
Cheers for this explanation, Tom! Really useful as I'm doing my dissertation on these ideas as applied to hip-hop music :)
Ah excellent, I uploaded it at just the right time then! Your dissertation sounds absolutely fascinating, best of luck with it!
hi! could you please share your dissertation as it may help to understand this work further in a more modern context. currently struggling a little so it might help haha
Excellent introduction to Spectacle. Wow. Thanks. I'm going to find a copy. Over the last several weeks Dec2022 -Feb2023 the NYTimes has published several articles and an audio interview about a Luddite Club, a group of young teens in NYC seeking to free themselves from their phones and social media. I wonder if these teens intuited/felt, at the end of their childhoods, that there is more to life than what the society of the spectacle was providing them.
Thank you for this very clear synopsis. I read the book and agree that it is quite dense and challenging to read. Placing it in historical context also helped with unpacking its message. I agree with your assessment.
Dropped in here to get the low down on the Debor ref in I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Thank you for this!
Same
I've read Society of the Spectacle three times, and I think your video helped clarify my understanding of augmented survival a little. Everything else was also accurate as I understood it. Good video
Hi all, sorry for being a day late on this video! Schedule may change a little over the coming months as I've got a PhD to finish! Hope you enjoy this vid and find it a useful insight into Debord's work. More episodes of What the Theory? can be found here: ruclips.net/video/YpyobkolyVE/видео.html
You should definitely do another episode !
yes yes yes, follow up, pleaase!! :)
HI Tom, I haven't seen the rest of your videos so I'm not sure if you've discussed Marshall McLuhan and his works particularly on media.
What's your PhD on, Tom?
Felt my brain growing as I watched this. Thanks.
this video was amazing, you have just helped me passed my uni assignment! thank you for such a clear explanation :)
Read through the chapter and needed some perspective because I'm so new to reading philosophy! thank you for this
I adore debords work. How can it describe consumerist societies so amazingly accurate? Incredible video as always
omg just before my exam this is flipping magic the way you articulate and concise explanations are out of this world
Outstanding video. It helped me to understand my life, as I was born in the American suburbs in 1967. By pulling back the scrim to display the pulleys, levers & and shifting backdrops constructing the reality into which I was born, your explanation of the book permits individual healing. Why would I use such lofty language? Because living within a landscape constructed by the perceived need to always be selling and buying hollows out the soul and troubles one's psychology. Recognizing and understanding the sources of these elements is crucially important.
I'd be so APPRECIATIVE if you did a video on Raoul Vanegeim's "The Revolution of Everyday Life", not nearly as well known as the Society of the Spectacle, but far more influential in my development as a post-left anarchist
You asked for it so I made it! If you'd like to check out my follow-up to this video in which I look at the spectacle and recuperation, pop over here: ruclips.net/video/_wl3HCKQ6WI/видео.html Enjoy!
at around 9:20
another really famous examples is Nike's CEO who said "the one still selling a product is an idiot, as of today one sells a brand" or smth
Absolutely, the difference between "marketing" a product and "branding" it is really interesting to look over. I mean, something like Supreme in particular is almost entirely rooted around that notion.
I can't find any proof that he said this
So Donald Trump nailed that...
@@Tom_Nicholas I realize this comment is a year old, but reading the original comment, my brain screamed “that bs Supreme-branded building brick they were selling, Augh!” Glad supreme came to someone else’s mind too
@@Tom_Nicholas this is why i always review something before i buy and i really dont care if the brand is popular or not what i care about is the quality of the product itself.
Hi Tom, this is truly interesting and nicely put, reminds me of the artists termed Pop Art, who kind of explored similar ideas on their canvases. It also reminds me of a quote I found from a book called 'Crash' by J.G. Ballard - “We live in a world ruled by fictions of every kind-mass merchandising, advertising, politics conducted as a branch of advertising, the instant translation of science and technology into popular imagery, the increasing blurring and intermingling of identities within the realm of consumer goods, the preempting of any free or original imaginative response to experience by the television screen. We live inside an enormous novel. For the writer in particular it is less and less necessary for him to invent the fictional content of his novel. The fiction is already there. The writer's task is to invent the reality.”
This book seems right up my alley of interest, but from the comments sounds like it might be too complex for me to actually make a go of reading it.
Thank you for your videos, you really have a knack for making subjects more accessible!
You save me from reading a 156-page book for an exam! thanks very much :)
I red in "The psychology of the beautiful and the ugly" that we moved from a society of the spectacle to a society of the one man show. Very true as you said towards the end
This video helped me a lot for my school project. Thank you for the nice video!
This is so helpful, thank you so much for your clarity!
Saw this a while ago... had to come back for seconds. Just as enjoyable and insightful as the first time around. Thank you.
Tom, I need to read this for my masters degree in history. Theoretical work always stumps me. This was a great help to start on this work. Keep it up.
Hello, I stumbled upon your video right after I watched Debord's Society of the Spectacle film and I want to thank you for your explanation because I found myself struggle understanding the content of the film. I would really appreciate if you make a continuation of this video. Great work and thank you very much!
Really glad it helped you out. Yes, the book/film itself can be a little tough to crack into. I'd suggest reading Debord's follow up "Comments on the Society of the Spectacle" in which he goes over some similar ideas yet in a slightly more easily comprehendible manner.
You're saving my life with these videos, thank you so much!!!!!!!
Outstanding. The premises and analysis presented in the book as capsulized here should, to the thoughtful person, seem manifestly evident. Much here seems to tie into Freud's and Bernay's insight that people act and respond to emotion much more readily than to facts. Very sad but oh, so true.
Hello from Taiwan! I'm just new for your channel and regretted not finding it earlier! I'm quite interested in culture studies. Thanks a lot for such great videos! The introduction is super clear and helpful for a beginner. :)
Hiya, thank you for your kind words, I'm so glad you've been enjoying my videos and hope you've found them insightful! Do let me know if there's anything you'd like to see a video on in the future!
i too would like a continuation, you are very clear
Hi Gabriele! Sorry, just catching up on some comments. If you haven't spotted it already, then the follow-up is live on my channel now! hope you enjoy!
I appreciate the hard work and time you put into these videos. The moment you mentioned Apples earlier adds and how exactly they were selling an imagine I felt nauseous.. I read somewhere in these comments someone mention how they wish this kind of critical analysis was all over schools and what not, yeah , I’m just glad it’s here. I’ll be picking up the book. ❤
I'm making a presentation on this topic and I'm gonna reference this great video
You should read the actual book
Excellent video, thank you.
The good news is if you can escape this "thought trap" in today's "late stage" society, you can literally live like a King.
Excellent examples of image- based advertising. I'm sure Mitchell and Webb are laughing all the way to the bank.. What makes it really scary is when news borrows these ad techniques, and we shift our position accordingly. Basically what you say around 11:35.
Very helpful for my essay! Thank you, could not get my head around this topic until this video
Really glad to have helped Lucy!
I had to rewind in order to hear the year of which the book was published again, because I couldn't believe that you said "1967", when the descriptions given completely sounds like the problems we have today.
_Thinking about how many messages from philosophers and books are more than relevant today, makes it such a shame that people read so little today (and I too read a lot less than before)._
I am familiar with Guy Debord, and am a great admirer of your videos. The only occasional critisicm [sic] I very occasionally proffer has to do with historical context. You did mention 1967, an important year in French life because a year later the Sorbonne was occupied and de Gaul called in the army. As much as I admire the temerity of Neil Young during the Vietnam protests during the same time period the Paris occupation was much more important in context of Algeria and French society in general.... or not depending on one's view point. Possibly people forget Sartre waiving pro Mao placards around ... I waded through L'etre et le Neant sorry for missing accents but that was hashed over Heiddiger a Nazi supporter, don't get me started.
1968 in France, was definitely not the summer of love. So I read Debord framed by those events. Apart from that a lucid explication of his ideas.
*I bought some 'Society of the Spectacle' toiletries for fifty dollars*
Haha, it wouldn't surprise me if this was a thing...
every good youtube video about debord gets me one step closer to actually reading that damn book
All I want to say is - love your work, man.
I was really happy to see the link up there when you said you could go more in depth if the viewers asked for it. But then subtitles switched to spanish in the second video and it brought me back to the hellscape reality we're living in
thank you thank you thank you---I had to read this for a class and I was terribly confused until I watched your video---thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
Wow that's the video on my fave philosopher. Thanks so much for covering the topic!
Hi came across your channel from a freind .I now really want to read the society of the spectacle, hopefully I will, thank you for this summary.
I am French and I was curious to know what an American would say.
(we can not say that Marxism is very popular ideas in the USA ah ah).
And your video sums up Guy Debord's idea perfectly.
Capitalism has changed man, he has become a being who never stops putting on a show (instagram, there are only beautiful and happy people).
A part of the world has disappeared from our eyes
Thank you so much for all of this! The first chapter is a reading assignment in my literature class. The historical background you provide helps me to understand what he wanted to express.
Great video! I just came to see how to pronounce "Guy Debord," but ended up staying for the whole thing! You have a very clear and direct way of breaking down the content without losing the substance of it. I would watch a follow-up video.
Joan Didion's 'Insider Baseball' and the entire book of political essays in which it appears is a brilliant, scathing examination of politics as empty spectacle and I strongly recommend it. Focused on the years from Bush 1 to Bush 2, it's also a set of fascinating insights into how we got where we are.
Many thanks for your lucid presentations.
Thanks Nicholas! I found your introduction really useful. It would be nice to have a second part, your videos are great! Cheers!
His film Hurlements en faveur de Sade pretty much expends his theory on the book. Truly profound and insightful!
Well done! Really appreciate this clarity.
As he said before, during and after our youtube videos, an ad kicked in, how perfect :)
Thanks for the video it's great.
Absolutely brilliantly explained thank you so much Tom
Cheers for saying so John! Hope you found it useful in some way!
You're a great lecturer and I'm really enjoying your channel.
Thanks a lot for the effort, I'm french (randomly ahha) and decided to dig again into Debord (randomly) .. not whith the book but looking for some youtubers around. And I discovered in the comment that Debord became so unclear even to native french. Half because, well .. rampaging idiocraty, and half because Debord described the 'matrix' taking place, so he could see before/after .. while nowaday people are born within, and I should say, the matrix becames more and more 'perfect' in its illusion.
Very good! I enjoyed this, no filler. wonderful teacher, thank you!!
I completely agree about rampant consumerism but I do like shopping - and I like my shiny things. Saying that some people enact Situationist scenarios all of the time, go for a walk, visit a gallery or a stately home or whatever your interests are.
I just finished reading. Well articulated summary and insight. I enjoyed listening. Good job.
Great video. I've just ordered the book. Frankie Boyle led me and no doubt many others here. Keep up the good work :)
Cheers Dan! Enjoy the book. I'd suggest reading Debord's later book "Comments on the Society of the Spectacle" first as it's written in a slightly more straightforward tone and will give you a decent grounding in what Debord's trying to get at before delving in to Society of the Spectacle itself which can be a bit allusive at times...
It is available free in PDF form, however, you won't be able to show you cool you are to other commuters.
I happened upon this video as I am re-reading England's dreaming by Jon Savage. You helped fill in major gaps and I am marveling how awesome it is now to read such a dense book now and look up ideas online to help me understand what is going on. I did not have that luxury in 1992. PS I subscribed and I am looking forward to watching more of your videos. Thank you!!
A clear, concise and abundantly engaging video. Great job Tom. Looking for Part 2 now.
This vdeo is FREAKING AMAZING ! It's been life changing and you've connected a good few dots together for me. Wow ! Cheers !
Thank you for this video!
i find the cadance of your delivery very useful. actors,religious ,politicians in your background? very good and clear.
Wonderfully clear intro to Situationism, Tom. Many thanks.
Super helpful. Thanks Tom!
Zizek encapsulates desire in the same way. Desire is not "what do I want" but instead "what do others think I should want" it's always rooted in the "other"