Situationist Guy Debord and his thoughts on the Spectacle are enjoying a sustained social currency, having popped up around the web recently.
- The Guardian’s “Big Ideas” podcast just posted a 13-minute discussion about the meaning of Debord’s Society of the Spectacle and its evolution over the years, among many other spectacular topics.
- The New York Times posted a photo slideshow along with the photographer’s description of the conceptual foundation: she was inspired by the Situationist concept of psychogeography.
- Morning Star Online featured an article musing on the influence of Debord and the Situationist international on global revolutionary movements in the context of the recently published book Why It’s Kicking off Everywhere. From the article:
I think Debord underestimated the more basic systems of control which underlie the “spectacle,” paying less attention to how the basic disciplines of work and worklessness keep capitalism together. The corporate emperors’ grip on society relies on the way they control bread as well as circuses.
In my opinion Society of the Spectacle is evergreen, as relevant in 2012 as it was in 1968. Technology changes, and the specific content of the media diversions and distractions changes, but the social relation of the Spectacle remains constant.