Society of the Spectacle Kindle Edition

This book is amazing!This book is arraigned as a series of statements. The statements vary in complexity; some are simple, declarative statements, others are complex, with run-on sentences. There are no page numbers in Debord’s book. Debord’s text consists of some two hundred aphorisms, some simple, others tersely worded and complex, from which he analyzes the full spectrum of the surrounding society and world.Debord’s is a philosophical indictment of Capitalism. Debord’s primary thesis that Capitalism reduces society to a series of spectacle, images, which cloud reality and in which everything becomes a mere commodity. It is a topsy-turvy world, where the lie is Sacred and the truth reviled.The impact of Capitalism begins far earlier with Time and Space. Debord’s precise theory is that Capitalism corrupts humanity’s management and perception of Time and Space. Time and Space are divided into more and more discreet pieces, reduced to a commodity, affecting the quality of life. Society, everyday life is reduced to spectacle; from the corruption of society, the arts and sciences are corrupted.Debord’s book is a legitimate book of pure philosophy. The only difference is that Debord’s book bears a connection and relevance to everyday life. It will change yours.

I don't think of myself as someone who shies away from tackling a challenging text (whether the difficulty is attributable to poor writing, or to the complexity of the ideas being communicated, or to some other reason), but....I ordered this version because it was the least expensive. The publisher is Black & Red, and the translator is not named.Use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature to compare this edition to the Donald Nicholson-Smith translation (which is available free online as a 64 page .pdf Adobe Acrobat file), and you'll see what I mean.I called Amazon's customer service because I didn't know what reason to give for the return ("Lousy Translation"?). As usual, they were very helpful, e-mailed me a return label, and gave me an instant refund, so I'm sending this edition back to them.

You can go into this book intending to read it for what it is - a Marxist philosophical text - OR you can go into it reading it as a critique of our current societal absorption into social media, the Internet, and mass production/consumption. As the former, it's good; as the latter, it is even more relevant and shocking, in a very hauntingly psychic kind of way.And, if you combine those two reading approaches, you get what's between the lines: a manifesto about how the combination of social media, the Internet, and mass production/consumption is what killed the working class and, along with it, true democracy.A great read for anyone, especially artists and other thinkers wanting more depth from which to address contemporary issues stemming from social media and the Internet.

I enjoy books like these that help form an unbiased, honest look at society. The downside is that this book and others like it, can make you miserable. But you’ll read it anyway, if you’re like I am.

Decades old, this slim volume has only become more relevant with age, delineating the ways in which we are shaped by false & distorted images of reality, rather than reality itself. If anything, the advent of the digital age has only increased the power of the image-makers to shape how we view both the world & ourselves -- and that view is utterly artificial & infinitely malleable. Those who control the images control society ... and we see this every day, in the consumerist lifestyle that's fed to a hungry populace eager to gobble it down. Anything of depth, from political discourse to ethical questions to the spiritual dimensions of life, is reduced to simplistic slogans & images designed to manipulate the individual as subtly but irrevocably as possible.But did I say "the individual"? Even a cursory glance at contemporary society reveals few genuine individuals. The image of individuality is marketed & sold, of course, so that everyone feels special & singular; but the end result always seems to be people who are "individuals" just like millions of others, all believing themselves to be unique. Yet they all buy the same lifestyle, the same ideas, the same Pavlovian responses to their environment, just as they've been perfectly programmed to do. Oh, there's a gloss of superficial variation, to enhance the notion of individuality! But as for the real thing? The few who don't buy into the image are those derided as freaks, outsiders, uncool, etc.Let's face it -- even the ideas expressed in this review can & have been commodified, marketed & sold to plenty of people. That's how insidious & pervasive the society of the spectacle really is. We are everywhere faced with a shiny, trendy, relentlessly cheerful image designed to flatter & ensnare us in its meshes. None of us escapes it entirely ... but the first steps are recognizing the lie of the image & reclaiming as much of our own reality as we can. That's what this book will help you do -- highly recommended!

We are truly all about experience, and we are addicted so much to it that we synthesized it. Truly a reflection of humans in the 20th&21st centuries

The rest of the book relies far too heavily on a critique of Marx. Specific examples and interesting thought experiments would have really made this book more engaging. It is very easy to criticize Marx. Even so it's one of the best things I've read in a little while.

Exellent book and inspired the black mirror

I first came across this text during my academic studies, loved it so much that I decided to buy it. Debord's analysis of an artificial society consistent of a complex array of tailored experiences for the individual is a remarkable insight to capitalism, and is really insightful for anyone studying social sciences. Really encourages critical thinking and provokes the questioning of life in general.

Absolute waffle and a sorry look at Marxist mindset.

Excellent

I love this book, I read it in the 80's but I was amazed how relevant to today it is.

wonderful book....terrible quality. Front cover covered in sticky residue unable to remove without tearing the cover.