Society of the Spectacle: Influencers & Guy Debord
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 07. 2019
- A cursory analysis of the saccharine positivity peddled by social media influencers, and The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord (amzn.to/33UuRE0). His later reflections come from Comments on The Society of the Spectacle (amzn.to/2NU6YH2).
If you like the work there's more at spoti.fi/3f0OIXD and / plasticpills - Zábava
You deserve like a few hundred thousand more subscribers.
No doubt. He’s so dope.
*millions
a few??
If he did, the channel probably wouldn't be what it is now though. It seems to me this kind of channel thrives exactly on not being broadly popular. That's what's cool about it. :)
Why would one deserve anything?
"the less successful majority replicate the representations of the successful minority whenever they get a chance to" catchy and powerful
This has always been the case to some degree, as far as my limited knowledge of antiquity and medieval times tells me. The Received Pronunciation that has taken over England supposedly came from the upper classes wanting to distinguish themselves linguistically from the poor. Hell, even the suburban lawn in the USA is apparently descended from the lawns of the Palace of Versailles.
Future topic: the hyperreality of sex+sexuality
I often wonder but I guess Debord and Baudrillard would completely freak out with how far we have gone. If there was one more thing that I would love to see mentioned in this excellent video is the idea, as Baudrillard often presented, that the ultimate product of our capitalist society is the body. Oh my was he right.
the situation up to 1994 was seemingly already enough for Debord as his suicide is considered to be influenced by the frenzy of the culture of the image around him and whatever connotates with the aspect of spectacle. at this very day im writing bphil thesis which is theoretically very based on his book and i dont want to sound like his reincarnation but man do i start to understand that cod of his. his style of writing really makes this a slow-burn decyphering and each time i read it over&over my pity (and angst @tst)towards the sitation right now unfolds itself peel by peel. if he were to see the condition of today hed prolly implode imho
@@Teivanslv French exhaustive reader of Debord since a very long time, his suicide was mostly linked to his physical condition and the total absence of personal autonomy that would have ensued if he waited longer. It's kind of a staple to link this to some kind of hopelessness, but from the original sources we have in french he even mentions the neuro-degenerative illness he acquired by a llifelong alcoolism. I think even the 1994 documentary by canal+ also mentions his condition, thought I didn't watched this one since a few years.
I imagine enterprising and exploitative entrepreneurs finding a way to sell unlimited energy to the masses by jacking up the ever-spinning corpse of Baudrillard.
Foucault! thanks for the connection I was pondering on..... The Body. mindblowing.
Dude the whole video sounds like you're rapping over this lit beat.
Holy Moly this is excellent. The way you use the theoretical foundations of the spectacle and Debord to undergird an analysis of Instagram is T H E way to make postmodern philosophy accessible. I can't thank you enough, I learn so much from breakdowns like this. Boost Boost
Guy Debourd was a Marxist though
@@joma5721 so? This channel primarily talks about leftist philosophy that has some level of influence related to Marx and or Hegel
@@sad-qy7jz I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I am a Marxist, I’m a fan of Society Of The Spectacle and I respect the Situationist International for some of their contributions to our understanding of the conditions of contemporary capitalist society.
I was literally just correcting the statement that he was a postmodernist. A lot of people tend to confuse things like structuralism, Lacanian psychoanalytic theories, non-Leninist interpretations of Marx, and the whole of 20th century/more contemporary continental philosophy more broadly, with postmodernism. This is kind of the core of Jordan Peterson’s incoherent label “postmodern neo-Marxism.” People only buy that type of nonsense because they don’t understand either school of thought, and it’s worth pointing out the distinction.
@@joma5721 I would argue his works reference both. I personally don’t like to get too hung up on which box I fit into. It’s good to understand different schools and which you align with but I can embrace both? I just call myself a leftist, socialist, or anarchist. I wouldn’t call myself a “post modernist” mainly because it’s kind of.... a weird way of putting it? Like I don’t really embrace so much we recognize it. Maybe post structuralism because it pertains more to a different way of viewing language and organizing and what not but postmodernism isn’t my goal, just like critical theory isn’t my goal.. it’s just a way to view things. I also wouldn’t call myself a Marxist though, I identify with Marx, support many of his ideas and other socialist efforts but I don’t soley operate on Marx’s ideas, I take issue with some, and an influencer by many a leftist thinkers.
I didn’t realize he identified himself as specifically a “Marxist” I thought he just called himself a socialist, but that’s valid. But what this book entails is postmodernism and aligns with a postmodern lens. So I’m not going to argue you if you say he didn’t identify his work as such, and strictly referred to his philosophy as “Marxist” but by definition I would argue that’s not accurate in hindsight
@@sad-qy7jz a couple things:
1. Almost nobody refers/referred to themselves as a postmodernist. It’s sort of an outside label applied to a certain brand of thinkers who came to prominence in the second half of the 20th century. So, you’re not alone in not identifying with the term. Neither did Foucault.
2. Postmodernism isn’t a goal. It’s not like Marxism or anarchism. It’s an analytic method, and an analytic method alone. Marxism and anarchism have a broad goal: wholesale social transformation. Individual postmodernists might share this goal in some form (some do, some don’t), but ‘postmodernism’ doesn’t have a goal. That said, postmodern anarchism (or, post-anarchism/post-left anarchism) integrates postmodern critiques and analyses into an anarchist worldview, whereby one uses postmodern tools to criticise the State, hierarchy, capitalism, etc. in service of furthering their ideal of a stateless libertarian and socialist society.
In the same way, critical theory is literally just writing theory critical of the currently existing social order and its institutions. There isn’t some kind of “critical theory-ism” where people advocate for a society based on critical theory. Rather, they use critical theory to highlight flaws that exist in society, in order to motivate people to work towards alternative modes of social organisation.
3. Postmodernity is the social condition that presently exists. Or, to steal the title of one of Frederic Jameson’s works, it is “the cultural logic of late capitalism.” The rehashing of the old into the new, the breaking down of former distinctions between things, the sort of “crisis of meaning” many experience, the siloing into various spaces approximating reality without agreeing on what/if the the truth is, the culture of irony and detachment; all are products of the postmodern condition. This is because postmodernism can coexist with capitalism. It isn’t a mode of social and economic organisation, and has been thoroughly integrated into the current capitalist cultural hegemony.
4. You can’t be a Marxist and a postmodernist. Postmodernism rests on the rejection of “metanarratives.” Marxism is arguably one of the grandest metanarratives that has ever existed. The two are fundamentally incompatible, and postmodernism isn’t necessarily a materialist philosophy. Many reject dialectical methods of analysis. Class struggle isn’t placed as a prime engine of social change. The two are fundamentally incompatible in ways that can’t be reconciled. That doesn’t mean you can’t LIKE both, or draw ideas/inspiration from both. But, adopting the core logic of one is necessarily the rejection of the other.
5. Nothing about society of the spectacle is “definitionally” postmodern, and Guy Debord’s work fits squarely into the Western Marxist canon. He has influences, and has influenced, others outside this milieu, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a Marxist and wrote Marxist theory. He was also a member of the Situationist International, a Marxist intellectual and artistic organisation, as well as other ultraleft orgs like “Socialisme ou Barbarie.”
Thank you for touching on the, as you say, “spectacle of positivity.” I have noticed this surge in recent years, and the people I’ve seen the most invested in that spectacle never break out of the cycle of merely listening to podcasts about positivity, reading self-help books, espousing the benefits of positive thinking, etc., all while never seeming to embody this “positivity.” It is a harmful loop rooted in consumerism.
Nicely done.
Not only that, it avoids any meaningful criticism of the fucked up times we live in.
I think this helps me understand the anxiety I often feel.
Feels like you’re giving a really eye-opening birds eye view of social media consumption and participation in a way that most of us can’t imagine because we’re too deep in it. Thank you for doing this important work!
Future topic: Adorno?
Coming up next week!
This channel is so interesting, so of course youtube has been hiding it from me
naturally. content like this (criticism of image culture etc.) is without doubt the arch enemy of YT, its founders and users (i mean vloggers mostly) and all the other sm platforms
I'm not here to shoot the messenger. What you're saying is compelling. It's my introduction to the society of the spectacle. Your presentation is very ironic. I enjoyed the video. Looking forward to more.
This channel is so tragically under aprecciated
I just hope he keeps hustling for a while cuz the content is top notch and the whole production as well, it's bound to explode in time
ngl it showed up in my recommended vids several times before i gave it a real chance because the guy looked too fashionable to be smart. i regret my prejudice and have since binged and subbed.
Just recently discovered your channel, now I'm just binge-watching. Your work is amazing!
One thing I’ve noticed in my learning of theory over the past year, especially the last few months, is that so many things have been inadvertently and sometimes purposely predicted. The fact that “omnipresent affirmation” describes so perfectly the culture of social media and the fact that “keeping up with the Jones’” has been increasingly ubiquitous since after WW2 shocks me because it’s been going on much longer than I thought, than most people believe, I think.
Not to mention warnings of the military industrial complex, endless wars, etc.
Ooh you're saying things that I've been thinking except expressing those thoughts way better than me. Plus extra insights that I didn't think of. I like this.
the world needs this. brilliant work and editing you've done here. very consumable knowledge ;)
These videos deserve way more engagement. Fantastic shit.
Love your channel. Very happy to have found it.
My favorite channel in CZcams. I for one don’t mind the length of the videos and actually vote for longer ones (or lenghtier? Whatever you use in english 😅)
Thanks for all the effort you have put on this. Please! Keep uploading. Greetings from Mexico.
'Wish I found your channel sooner. You've helped me find answers to questions I've had for the longest time. Thank you.
this legit just rewired my brain chemistry. I felt a sense of relief that I haven't felt in years
Really enjoyed this. Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for your insights into Instagram - great way of applying your philosophical knowledge to reveal the vapidity of this realm of images.
You are my favorite theory nerd and the only reason I’ve begun to understand lacan and deluze. So ty. You’re doing the lords work.
**edited for presupposing your pronouns. My Good man may be an artificial representation of your true identity. My apologies.
A channel of truly high quality. Another will put together piece.
Great work, man. People need to hear this! Keep it going
The beat on this video is FIRRE FUEGO OMG! GODDAMN!
Herbert Marcuse "The Affirmative Character of Culture" is an excellent essay that also touches on this topic
Really awesome work!
This is the best video I’ve seen on this. I had to subscribe to you buddy.
I found your channel through my lecturer's recommendation, it is fantastic and really helps me understand concepts that might not be so clear initially.
Thankyou please keep it up!
Same!
lmao your lecturer is cool, my professor still hasnt posted the syllabus yet.
Oh hey, I touched on influencers (albeit with a different spin) in a sociology paper last term where I sought to update the Debordian Spectacle to contemporary digital society. This is the relevant paragraph if anyone's interested:
Tellingly, one of the few genuinely decentered developments, influencer culture, perfectly complements the digital spectacle. Influencers are the logical conclusion of Debordian 'stars'-"spectacular representations of living human beings [who] serve as superficial objects that people can identify with in order to compensate for the fragmented productive specializations that they actually live" (The Society of the Spectacle, #60). Unlike stars, which predicate their social clout on commodity production, influencers typically arise ex nihilo. They transmit the same 'spectacular representations' of wealth, consumption, and beauty as stars without performing requisite labor. Successful representations and the spectacular followings they generate can often be reified into labor opportunities in the fashion, music, advertising, or acting industry-all of which are the traditional domain of stars and clear bastions of spectacular control. Naturally, influencer culture meshes perfectly with the digital deepening of Debord's distinction between appearing, having, and being.
this was so insightful & heavy hitting! thank you
This is amazing! I'd love to see more on Situationism!
Loved this. Keep it up.
Wow, this was actually amazing. Please do cover more concepts from Communications scholars! I love to hear about their traditional theories applied to post-modern society. Well done!
Nice. Whom else are you thinking when you say "communications scholars"?
Freaking awesome videos dude!!!
Great work my friend. Great Work. Love it.
so good thank you for your channel / vids! xxx
Just found your videos man love your content. Keep it up 👊
Great video ! I've been researching this topic and you've done the best job so far of breaking down the heavy literature into clear definitions and points :)
The instagram example was perfect! The workout product space is surely a spectacle. It selects people in ALREADY good shape to pose with their products so we --the viewers-- can attribute those results to the product.
The video's beat was fire btw!
Future topic: how schools don't promoting learning by reducing your subject exposures as you climb the ladder
(the reason most people never discover sociology, philosophy, pscyhology, economics--some of the key drivers of the society we live in)
Thanks Chris-Anthony. Your suggestion is compelling--reminds me of a quote from Max Weber: “Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved.” The driving force behind that I expect is that there is no economic incentive in having political subjects that are knowledgeable in areas outside of their specialization, as they'd be more difficult to manipulate!
Amazing, amazing, amazing!!!
Nice, great essay.
That was really well done. First video of yours that I've seen. Not to be the last.
dude, your vids are such a great postmodern experience and are highly appreciated. by the way which hair dresser do you go to? goes perfectly well with your flashy shirt!
seriously, this is gold, mate. it can be easily shown to anyone, including anticommies
Your analysis is excellent
Lovin the Boy Scout uniform, really great content brotha.
Great content!
tio este video deberia enseñarse en las escuelas e institutos, buen trabajo, un saludo. (spain)
Pd: me encantaria ver un video de como se conocen las personas y cuales son las tendencias de hoy en dia, ya que parece que cada dia estamos más conectados y más solos.
Great stuff! It's still morning so I'm not very sharp but you seemed to make a distinction between ideology and spectacle. I'd not make that distinction and see them each as part of the same gestalt. Instagram is acting as a spectacle for neoliberal (or maybe we'd better call it something else?) ideology. Or more precisely neoliberal spectacle emerged and dominated the platform. It's important to recognize it's happening without conscious intent.
With positivity you have me thinking again about sola fide and the tint that idea provides to American culture. Salvation (success) through faith alone is very much in tune with all the positivity malarky. It's almost a way for the truly saved to make sure no one else makes their up to stand beside them as they ignore all the concrete actions (performed by themsleves, their parents, their teachers, their community, etc) that lead to their success.
And since it's self absorbed this type of thinking only feeds the ego and in fact drives people further from God, enlightenment, Buddha nature, etc. As someone who had a career in food service I've observed hundreds of bottom of the barrel folk try to make their way in the world and the worst off can always be said to be selfish. They wrap their lives up in personal spectacles (drama) that are more often than not conflicts between two people only thinking about themselves. As defacto mediator simply getting them to imagine the situation without themsleves as the protagonist would often clear it up easily.
So maybe what we're really seeing here is tied to a much more basic idea: individualism. Taken in an Either Or manner where you can either be a part of a collective or be an individual but not both at the same time. Which is deeply delusional (it's a Both And situation) and would likely produce some epic spectacle.
Anyways, enough rambling, what I'd like to see next is maybe a video on the greatest story ever told: Plato's cave. Mind you since everything I've watched of yours can be explained within that allegory maybe there is some more intresting points you should touch on first. You're the Wise professor so I'm sure you'll pick what we need to hear.
Oh is that rosary entirely ironic?
I would not say there is a hard split between ideology and spectacle, but ideology concerns belief and action, whereas the spectacle concerns media and the socio-economic interests invested therein. So they are not fully distinct concepts...rather different emphases. I argue that ideology is more encompassing though and the Spectacle would be one of its expressions.
As to your last point, in the words of an intellectual giant of our age, "you don't wanna mess with us
/ Got Jesus on my necklace-ace-ace." Hail Ke$ha full of grace, be with us now and at the hour of our death.
Dude... This is seriously one of the best channels I have found in some time. And trust me I have watched a LOT 🤣 No really thumbs up 👍👌 You can take these obscure concepts and turn them into really easily understandable. (Or "digestible" - as proper capitalist logic tells us to! 😁😁😁) #bingewatching #instasub
Do you work as a pedagogist of some sort?
Also - plus point for that trap music in the background - nice touch!
Thanks for this 👍👍
@@PlasticPills I'm just telling the truth haha. Maybe a videorequest if I may - do more videos on Žižek? ✌️ Peace
I love the beats
Damn the editing is next level
Not a fan of trap beats but the content is very good. Hope you'll be gaining a bigger following
amazing video, not surprised either
Thank you!
Great channel. If you are looking for suggestions: Have you thought about looking at the ideas of Ian McGilchrist in The Master and his Emissary? He looks at cultural decline though his background as an academic in the field of literature who then retrained as a psychiatrist.
Excellent!!!
I knew, when I recommend this video, that it was likely you had already done it, I just hadn't had time to go through all Your videos, but a work like this, of course you're already covered it. Have you read his later Comments on Society of the Spectacle? He wrote it I think in the 80s, it was just re released by Verso.
Great stuff
Top channel. Good podcast too
Your videos are absolutely excellent. I mean, this is like wisecrack but better. I study hypermedia communication, the authors you cite are part of our courses, Our teachers really want to explain this to us
Yea the main reason I wanted to start this up was that otherwise good videos would come up short on the theory side, so I tried to be entertaining and go into some more detail
@@PlasticPills Well keep up the good work, your format works well ! Did you study this in college ? Because listening to you it seems like we follow a similar cursus, though I study in France
Great informative video
well done!!
Great content 🤘
thx
If I'd read the book I wouldn't've understood it so well on my own
you are an Artist!
Damn this is amazing, I wish he hadn't tried to keep the length of this video down ...
Intro= the most terrifying trap remix ever. Also HOW THE FUCK DOES THIS ONLY HAVE 10000 VIEWS. I guess its just the subject matter.
maan you are amaziing thank you
Good stuff
Excelente contenido(great content)
You're brilliant
Comment boost for the algorithm
and another one!
Another one
Your content almost reminds me of another CZcams essayist called Attar... Ought check him out. It's great stuff though. Your series on Lacan was super helpful!
05:00 ish. *and* the suit! Suits, watches, jewellery, and shoes are loaned for fashion photoshoots often.
I lost it at "Protein Bucket" every time
What's the beat you used in the start of this very educational and mind opening video?
Thanks for making me feel better about having never once posted on Instagram. 😛 Also, I haven't looked at it for over 2 years. I just found it...odd and kind of creepy. And all the selfies and coffee/food pictures annoyed me because I wasn't sure why I should care and it started to blend into a boring sameness. 🤷♀️
Hi!! Just watched your video this video!! Its really great! I have an essay due next week where I am comparing the netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” and Guy Debords “The Society of the Spectacle. “ Was wondering if you had any suggestions or if you be available to talk! It would be so thankful if you could!! And I would pay if I could hear your insight! Thank you for your awesome videos. Considering double majoring in Philosophy after watching them!!
This is amazing, Thank you so much for your work! I guess it's time I read that Debord guy... Do you have any reading suggestions regarding the interconnection between social media and our society?
I just realised, as a tech bro I've simply manufactured my desire to get good at philosophy, to fill a supposedly intellectual void that I myself created by watching these kind of videos during the pandemic. This line of reasoning could be applied to any hobby. Self awareness from the realisation that I'm just a part of some accelerationist scheme doesn't help. Yet we all get up to go to work. How are any of us different from said influencers?
You know how many peoples' necessities AREN'T fulfilled in order to make sure you can live your insta-perfect life in excess? The number of migrant workers needed to pick the fruit for your avocado toast? The number of sweatshop workers sewing your fast-fashion wardrobe?
The religiously touted concept of financial freedom is not possible without someone else's financial slavery.
@@Max0r847 and im completely ok with that
@@bbyponk I'm completely ok with you getting sticky stickied for your wallet
Ok?
Good content. I wish we had a version with no background music.
Your videos are amazing. What is the instrumental though it bangs
That Coca-Cola ad at the start was a nice touch 😶
Amazing ¡
This is v nice. What's the background music?
*adds positive comment to help boost you in the algorithm.*
Hi Great channel. Great Vid. HUGE fan. Question or clarification, the Guy died of Cirrhosis of the liver, he drank himself to death in Champot, FR. and he wasn’t lonely or disaffected, he was with his wife Alice Becker Ho. I understand that he was definitely bitter, but not like suicidal. If he shot himself, it wasn’t in the head, it was through the heart. And it wasn’t sad sad, just like time to go. Thanks again.
I think this manifests in other aspects. Positivity, in the very literal sense sometimes, is what is seen in science. Failure, while being a necessary aspect of experiment, is not publishable.
How do you sleep @ night sir...what a spectical... You are playing the part of the boy in the emperor's new clothes. The naked truth of instergram .. Keep it up, very well presented!
My only problem with this clip is the influencers are not only the people who have sponsored brands or promoting a certain agenda (and almost everyone do nowadays anyways) It’s everyone who subscribes and therefore surrenders; the spectators approval here is essential. It’s impact on our lives and outlook is far more profound than appears or what we like to admit or hold ourselves accountable for
Debord is great introduction to Baudrillard
I came here because Diego Ruzzarin. New subscriber.
Lmao the bacteria montage was golden
So its basically Fake it till they think you made it lol, good stuff man.