Blog Post 1
“The real consumer has become a consumer of illusions. The
commodity is this materialized illusion and the spectacle is its general
expression.”(Debord, 47)
In Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle, he elaborates on
the meaning of this “spectacle” in which consumers are being spoon fed by mass
media to require all the things that most Americans do not have. The spectacle
distorts our minds into believing that perception is reality when in fact we
are the product of the illusion. The spectacle is a “social relationship” of
preconceived ideas and the commodity is the exteriorized misconception of those
ideas. Society is simply passive in creating spectacle and consuming its
commodities.
"The spectacle is the moment when the commodity has
attained the total occupation of social life.”(Debord, 42)
Debord stresses the notion that the commodity becomes a
necessity and that is solely due to the spectacle that is viewed by society.
What Debord stresses in this essay is that the spectacle affects the way society
is able to function. What the spectacle provides is a vision of a reality that
is rare and unsustainable. What the society of the spectacle is, is a state
that can be gained through the achievement of the commodity. The spectacle is
the visual ideals whether is be in picture or audio form. As a society, Debord
acknowledges that the spectacle has created a fallacy in the societal reality.
In perspective, the commodities distributed to society are no longer just
material things that we desire but things that ultimately controls us.
“The spectacle is the
stage at which the commodity has succeeded in totally colonizing social life.
Commodification is not only visible, we no longer see anything else: the world
we see is the world of the commodity”(Debord, 37)
The spectacle
represents the dominant idea of life. It introduces our needs and reinforces
these ideas of life by falsifying reality. It is altered through media sources
to suggest a distorted reality in which we never question.
Media portrays these
spectacles in many aspects of life whether pertaining to the beauty of a woman
or the masculinity of a man or any universal speculations. The spectacle aims
to subject humans. Therefore, many media outlets aim to reinforce preconceived
ideas through correlation.
“Correlation refers
to the ways in which media interpret events and issues and ascribe meanings
that help individuals understand their roles within the larger society and
culture… By correlating one’s views with other groups or preconceived notions
of general public opinion, the media can help maintain social
stability…”(Pavlick, McIntosh, 27.)
For example, take a
look at the commercial for Summer’s Eve
Feminine Body Wash. The commercial includes a couple in their early 30’s. The
man takes a shower and accidentally uses his wife’s Summer’s Eve Feminine Body
Wash. The woman then begins to mentions the qualities the soap contains which
is “perfectly formulated for a woman’s V”, implying that he has just used a
woman’s body soap. After realizing his mistake, he makes it his mission to
accomplish the “manliest” challenges in order not to be seen a feminine. This
is an example of the spectacle recreating the distorted ideology of the
differences between men and women.
As the spectacle
continues to dominate our daily societal reality, consumers will continue to
accept and reinforce our particular fetishism through the commodities we all
desire.
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