Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A thorough-going deconstruction of modernity August 1, 2000
23 out of 27 found this review helpful
As trenchant as Foucault and as dogmatic as Wittgenstein, rarely has a work of political or cultural criticism provided such a thorough-going and penetrative exposition of the modern world's formulation of life as commodity. Debord's approach is refreshingly independent of conventional leftist thought, owing little to the positivist teleolgy of Marx of the ruralistic utopianism of Kropotkin. Though not without its faults, especially his sometimes confused and overly 'clever' prose, Debord's work is a true modern classic, a revolutionary text for the consumer age. Far from seeming dated it becomes more relavent with time - witness the growth of surrogate programming (gardening programmes, cooking programmes and 'fly-on-the wall' documentaries) of fabricated experience as commodity. I reccomend this book to anyone who feels bemused by the banality of everyday life.
A truly SPECTACULAR piece of cultural theory (boom, boom!) February 28, 2000
24 out of 29 found this review helpful
Absolute genius. A lucid, miraculously acute dissection of the true nature of consumerism and commodity culture, which seems even more pertinent today, what with the ever-spiralling drive towards globalisation and the free market. Debord is wonderfully dogmatic, yet the cogency of his argument mean that we have no problem whatsoever in being spoonfed. But, be warned *THIS BOOK COULD CHANGE YOU LIFE* This book truly removes any blinkers, and exposes you to a world turned on it's head, mediated by this sinister, over-arching Spectacle. Also, from a literary point of view, it is very easy to become enmeshed in Debord's epigrammatical style, and certain passages need to re-read for full comprehension. As a result, THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED, and is not, I repeat not, A LIGHT READ! Laid out as a compendium of ~200 theses, vaguely resembling a series of (ultra-cryptic!)crossword puzzles, it includes discussion of (to list but a few points) the cult of celebrity, out-of-town shopping cenntres, festivals, holidays et al. as well as a huge no. of more conventional topics for analysis (e.g. the proletarian class, time, urbanism, marxist discussion etc. etc.) So, overall, a brilliant elucidation of Situationist theory. It has changed the way I think, and it is no over-estimation to say the way I live as well. I just hope that Debord's masterpiece is re-discovered in a big way over the next few years REVOLUTIONISE EVERYDAY LIFE. LIVE WITHOUT DEAD TIME.
An amazing book... July 21, 1999
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
...though perhaps not one for the faint-hearted (good lord, and to think someone translated this prose from French?!) Few other books have matched this one for me in their being able to grasp and articulate things that many of us have thought but we always thought were ineffable. Debord is proving to be even more prescient with the passage of time. To think that this book came out of the classic crass Leftist period of the late 1960's, when many college professors were making pro-Chairman Mao diatribes to their freshman sociology students, makes it even more amazing. Yes, the Marxist influence is not lost but this is _not_ some crass rehash of leftist student pamphlets of the 1960's. Some passages are so poignant in their effect that they take several readings to sink in. This is a book for thinkers: not a book for holier-than-thou Lefties or any number of our current slew of 'capitalism gurus' or 'market experts' which are still attempting the Sisyfus task that Marx failed at. Debord is the biggest true believer of the Unbelievers and he truly defies classification. If you wanted to get into Baudrillard but found him too droll, or are searching for an excellent introduction to the current psychology of the mass consumer market that avoids all of the hyperbole, this book is for you. If only Debord would have written as much as he drank - the number of books about him versus the number he actually wrote is a testament to the clarity of his thought.
Disconcertingly accurate statement of things in general. November 7, 2001
25 out of 32 found this review helpful
Don't let the other reviews put you off, this is a great book, although I've not read this translation. It's nothing as tedious as a critique of consumerism or the like - its a really revolutionary book. The surprise that such a thing can exist tends to disorientate its younger readers for a while.
Get it, read it, resist his tendency to overwhelm you with his impressive grasp of reality, and then go around feeling superior to everybody else while musing on how to overthrow the autonomous rule of our products, preferably in your lifetime. I recommend it.
society of the spectacular! November 9, 2006
Mr. M. J. Bowen (some NOT RANDOM room)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book - in conjunction with some secondary literature and other NOT RANDOM situ texts - is one of the few which can come to revolutionise your perception ALL THE WAY DOWN. Of course : it is obscure and relies on a familiarity with alot of marxist terminology - but it bares, and demands, repeated readings which demonstrates how these concepts have alot of life in them! If I was to formulate its thesis then today it would be : you are always watching others do things instead of doing something which would exceed the gaze of another watching you. This is the road towards de-reification et al...
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