Society of the spectacle
by Guy Debord, Black & Red Press · first published 1970
36% recommend59% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, dense critique of mass media and modern social life, cited as a lens on news cycles, memes, social media and consumer culture. Suits readers wanting a Marxist or critical-theory view of media.
Common criticism: Dense, opaque writing that some readers find hard to follow
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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I think Guy Debord did a much better job finding the fundamental issues that give rise to these phenomena, namely, The Society of the Spectacle, it focuses on much the same dichotomies in a much more general and in depth way. To be fair to the author, Debord has 200 some odd pages to expound his views. If anyone wants to read it... http://www.antiworld.se/project/references/texts/The_Society...
on “How Intellectuals Create a Public” ↗…exception) that the model of proletarians and bourgeoisie is just as relevant if not moreso today than it was in the 19th century. I advise you to read modern Marxist works, such as Spectres of Marx, The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, and particularly almost all of Zizek's work (in particular The Sublime Object of Ideology), which I must recommend. Of particular note is The Culture Industry by Adorno, commonly associated…
on “Apple and Google embody two alternative models of capitalism” ↗The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord Partially Examined Life podcast did an episode recently on the book. The ideas are related, not quite the same. Contra another commenter, I don't think it's easy to separate Marxist critique…
on “Simulacra and Simulation” ↗…express myself in a "less poetic form", because this space is not suitable for in-depth conversation and also because I don't have enough domain over the language. There's a book I can recommend though: Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord, 1967.
on “Google fined €100M by Italian antitrust over Google Play abuse of dominance” ↗Read critical theory! I recommend starting with Guy Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle)
on “Ask HN: How do I switch from being a passive consumer to an active producer?” ↗"One Dimensional Man" by Marcuse certainly, "Escape From Freedom" by Erich Fromm and for more contemporary review, Mark Fisher of course. You also can't miss Guy Debord (his Society of the Spectacle) and, although I haven't read him yet, Henri Lefebvre's "Critique of Everyday Life" is looking promising from what I've seen so far. I'd suggest browsing the Verso catalogue for old (republished) and…
on “The Lost Futures of Mark Fisher” ↗>Also Posmodernism and Nihilism create this context in mass making narrative and hysteria be the new source of life meaning Have you read anything by Adorno, and Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle? This kind of thing is taken from a different direction, looking from the perspective of how the capitalist mode of production has shaped society. >so the psyche is desperately set to seek political…
on “How totalism works” ↗The Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord.
on “Ask HN: What book(s) changed your life?” ↗…and often really distanced from our reality. The effect of this irrelevant information which is limiting our real actions. Another good reading on this topic is the work of Guy Debord especially "The Society of the Spectacle" where is explaining the degradation of social life due to the spectacular media.
on “The distraction society” ↗If you sympathize with the author, you may enjoy reading _The Society of the Spectacle_ by Guy Debord, a classic criticism of society in the era of mass media. I think it would be very good if more people from around these parts read this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle
on “The Horrible Future of Social” ↗No it isn't, it's been around a lot longer than that. I love the Illumintus books, but they're a rehash of existing concepts. I suggest you check out Guy Debord's Society of the spectacle; as well as the book, there's a film which is available in full on Youtube and narrated by Debord himself. Of course such ideas had been floating around in philosophy for longer than that, but Debord's…
on “They Live” ↗…have suggested, but I would weigh in and say The Genealogy of Morality is the work I find myself revisiting the most recently. That along with Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism and Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle form a fairly interesting exploration into modern society, in my opinion. Not one I always agree with, but certainly one that makes you think. Also, is it ironic that a stoic is waiting until the rain…
on “How to Be a Stoic” ↗Codemasters - Game Genie NES Codebook Aldous Huxley - Collected Essays Guy Debord - Society of the Spectacle Antonie de Saint-Exupery - The Little Prince Also worth mentioning, is everything by Dr Seuss.
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗Also The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, which will just be completely weird to most viewers at first.
on “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011)” ↗> The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord Very much this, though I must also recommend his Comments on it, for the reader who has a hard time penetrating the critique. I have a short list of related books at the bottom of this…
on “Simulacra and Simulation” ↗