When the latest Emmy nominations were announced two weeks ago the lineup mostly comprised the usual suspects of buzzy TV titles that have dominated online discourse over the past year. However, one nominee stood out to me precisely because it had been entirely absent from my media awareness radar: something called Jury Duty, which apparently … Continue reading Rehearsals part 2: TV Trials & Consumptive Complicity
Tag: societyofthespectacle
Critical perspectives on the Isla Vista spree killer, media coverage
Immediately following Elliot Rodger's spree killing in Isla Vista, CA last month Internet users discovered his YouTube channel and a 140-page autobiographical screed, dubbed a "manifesto" by the media. The written document and the videos documented Rodger's sexual frustration and his chronic inability to connect with other people. He specifically lashed out at women … Continue reading Critical perspectives on the Isla Vista spree killer, media coverage
Watching (and reading) the Society of the Spectacle
Youtuber Azorek79 has a video in 2 parts based on The Society of the Spectacle, narrated with excerpts from Debord's book as well as selections from McLuhan's The Medium is the Massage and John Berger's Ways of Seeing. Also, I just stumbled across a subreddit organized for a book-club-style reading of Society of the Spectacle. … Continue reading Watching (and reading) the Society of the Spectacle
Media Coverage: Turkle talk, more Debord, learning to code and more…
A couple of weeks back I linked to the Guardian's discussion of Debord's Society of the Spectacle, and I just came across another article from their site that I had overlooked: "What Debord can teach us about protest": The danger with this reading – the spectacle as a retroactive name for the social alienation of … Continue reading Media Coverage: Turkle talk, more Debord, learning to code and more…
Debord around the web
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 … Continue reading Debord around the web