Guy Debord Response

Gerald Allen

September 24, 2015

Convergence

Prof. Cacoilo

            In Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle the topics of consumerism and how society is driven by achieving a certain look are examined. The society of the spectacle according to Debord is “presents itself simultaneously as all of society, as part of society, and as instrument of unification. As a part of society it is specifically the sector which concentrates all gazing and all consciousness” (Debord 3). The spectacle is all about a look that society unknowingly aspires to, it is the feeling of seeing something that is desirable and also the feeling having or obtaining that desirable thing.

            Debord states that “the concept of spectacle unifies and explains a great diversity of apparent phenomena. The diversity and the contrasts are appearances of a socially organized appearance, the general truth of which must itself be recognized” (Debord 10). An excellent example to illustrate this point is the group of younger teenagers who’ve never seen Michael Jordan play basketball but still feel the need to purchase his shoes because everyone else has them. And on the other hand, there are some shoe buyers that purchase a pair of Air Jordan’s for the sentimental value and justify spending two-hundred dollars on a single pair of shoes because they claim to remember a game Michael Jordan played in the sneakers. In this example, two different very different groups are purchasing the same shoe but for different reasons. As consumers our reasoning for purchasing an item may be different, however, Nike doesn’t care why people are buying their shoes as long as they’re buying them.

            

The commodity as a spectacle is described by Debord as “the principle of commodity fetishism, the domination of society by "intangible as well as tangible things," which reaches its absolute fulfillment in the spectacle, where the tangible world is replaced by a selection of images...” (Debord 36).  It’s human nature to want the next best thing, however, some consumers take this feeling to extreme limits. Debord makes an interesting point when specifically pointed out how we are capable of being dominated by intangible things. With the rise of the internet and social media sites, people are always online interacting with their followers. Social media websites were first created as a way to communicate with friends, a platform for free expression, and/or a way to meet new people who share similar interests. These days people can attract such a large following that they can actually make money and become internet famous. This chance at stardom is what drives a lot of people to be prominent social media figures.

            And with smartphones and other portable electronics, we can literally be connected to the internet wherever we go. People can’t escape social media’s presence. Often times social media websites can actually dictate what is considered cool and uncool and as a society we don’t ever stop to question why do we care what people who we’ll probably never come into contact with think of us. Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle dealt with topics that have been plaguing humans since the beginning of time and with the ability to always be connected with people will only intensify the feeling of the spectacle.