The Society of the Spectacle

Nadia Tavarez

Professor Cacoilo

Self I: As Image

25 November 2020

The Society of the Spectacle: 2020 Edition

    As our world becomes increasingly connected and more technologically dependent, our society becomes one of screens. We have grown accustomed to being surrounded by screens, bombarded by images and advertising for an ideal that supersedes reality. Such is the spectacle that Guy Debord discusses in his 1967 novel The Society and the Spectacle. Despite its initial publication date, its message transcends time and conforms to our current reality, especially during that of the COVID-19 era, to expose the truths of our society after the internet boom, and commentate on social alienation in the wake of the spectacle and social media. 

    Much of our current day society has evolved to revolve around social media. The way we interact with others and the world around us is primarily facilitated by the use of social platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Debord discusses this phenomena in his discussion of the spectacle, defining it as "not a collection of images; [but as] a social relation between people that is mediated by images" (4). Communication is driven by the use of social media, with users posting photos of the latest updates in their lives, showcasing their last vacation or their newest possession. John Berger also comments on this idea in Ways of Seeing, explaining "publicity is about social relations, not objects" (Berger 132). Alongside social media posts, advertising drives human interaction, seeping into our consciousness to become a permanent fixture in our lives. Take Figure 1 for example, Andy Warhol's painting of Mickey Mouse. The purpose of this work was to highlight icons in pop culture that defined whole generations. The spectacle that is the Disney franchise has cemented its position over time in the lives of modern day people. People, especially in my generation, have grown up on the characters created by Disney and companies like it, having our perspectives and understanding shaped by the messages portrayed by those moving images, and later forming relationships based on similar interests in those images. The spectacle shapes relationships between people, whether it's by facilitating communication based on images or defining the viewpoints and perspectives of generations to come. 

    The spectacle's continued influence on our lives is in part due to its presentation as a fixture in our society. As Debord explains, "the spectacle presents itself simultaneously as society itself, as a part of society, and as a means of unification. As a part of society, it is ostensibly the focal point of all vision and all consciousness. But due to the very fact that this sector is separate, it is in reality the domain of delusion and false consciousness: the unification it achieves is nothing but an official language of universal separation" (3). Social media platforms especially become their own haven for individuals to congregate and share, under the impression that their use of the platform will bring them closer to their families, friends, and even celebrities, when in reality these platforms only highlight the separation between people. Social media is often treated as yet another facet of daily life, when in reality it is its own separate sphere that influences reality. Instagram and Facebook often don't portray the reality of the lives of its users, but rather the ideal moments that make it seem like life is perfect. It fools individuals into believing the ideal shown on social media is reality, pressuring users to desire and portray a "perfect" body and life and in turn dividing them from relating to each other on a realistic level. Andy Warhol's works on Marilyn Monroe, as seen in Figure 2, touches upon this message. Marilyn Monroe is often portrayed as the figure of bodily perfection, as an ideal to strive for. In Warhol's work, he distorts her image by silk-screening it in different colors, highlighting how alien this perfection is, how separate it is from reality. 

    The focus of the spectacle on portraying perfection is also tied to consumerism, as "the first stage of the economy’s domination of social life brought about an evident degradation of being into having — human fulfillment was no longer equated with what one was, but with what one possessed. The present stage, in which social life has become completely occupied by the accumulated productions of the economy, is bringing about a general shift from having to appearing — all “having” must now derive its immediate prestige and its ultimate purpose from appearances. At the same time all individual reality has become social, in the sense that it is shaped by social forces and is directly dependent on them. Individual reality is allowed to appear only insofar as it is not actually real" (Debord 17). Berger explores a similar idea, describing how "the act of acquiring has taken the place of all other actions, the sense of having has obliterated all other senses" (Berger 153). The spectacle forces individuals to fixate on what they possess. In striving for a perfect life, you must wear expensive clothing, drive luxury cars, go on lavish vacations. Spend, buy, consume. The reality of your situation does not matter so long as you appear to be indulging in expensive habits. Andy Warhol's Ads Portfolio in Figure 3 emphasizes this message, with a focus on ads meant for products for people to purchase, from Chanel perfume to Apple electronics, both of which are still signifiers of luxury today.

    Alongside being used to forward a consumerist agenda, the spectacle lives to amplify the loss of physical connections beyond just a screen. This is especially true during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, where social media and platforms like Zoom are used to emulate in person connections. Debord explains that "the spectacle was born from the world’s loss of unity, and the immense expansion of the modern spectacle reveals the enormity of this loss. The abstractifying of all individual labor and the general abstractness of what is produced are perfectly reflected in the spectacle, whose manner of being concrete is precisely abstraction. In the spectacle, a part of the world represents itself to the world and is superior to it. The spectacle is simply the common language of this separation. Spectators are linked solely by their one-way relationship to the very center that keeps them isolated from each other. The spectacle thus reunites the separated, but it reunites them only in their separateness" (29). As we are all separated during this time, the spectacle magnifies this loss. Though we may try to reconnect with Zoom or Discord (as seen in Figure 4), this does not replace the value of in person connections and unity. The spectacle is what links us all together, but it is also what helps to keep us separated on a personal level, amplifying divides caused by distorted perspectives on reality, again caused by the spectacle itself. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4; Reuniting the Separated