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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
The first third of this is the best, most concise explanation I've ever heard of what social media has become for our society, written before it even existed.
The second third felt like I needed to do a lot of further reading to fully get
The second third felt like I needed to do a lot of further reading to fully get
Dying over the fact that I just finished a book where Lenin non-stop slanders and insults Kautsky and in this book Debord calls Lenin a Kautsky-ist.
This is one of the funnest bits of theory I’ve read in a long time, super short and overall pretty accessible if you know some basics about Marx and what the word detournement means. A v interesting read!
This is one of the funnest bits of theory I’ve read in a long time, super short and overall pretty accessible if you know some basics about Marx and what the word detournement means. A v interesting read!
While short, Guy Debord’s ‘Society of the Spectacle’ is a difficult read. Some ideas come in with crystal clarity, but many others are convoluted knots. The style of the writing is top notch, but meaning can be very elusive. While reading I continually had the sense that there are many intertwined Ouroboros-like loops within the text that eat each other’s tails. Overall, the point of the book is to critique the commodification of everything, including ideas and culture, such that nothing can be separated from that commodification. Debord’s ideas seem to be making a comeback lately, because the idea of the Spectacle seems so appropriate to today’s social media landscape.
My sense though, is that Debord has much more to say than this. Yet it remained mostly under the surface for me. Ungraspable. Now, I read this book once and didn’t take notes, so I could only follow into some of Debord’s thickets. Some chapters were much easier to read than others. I particularly liked his chapters on historical time and sociology. However, many sections were more difficult. Part of this, I think, is due to my lack of familiarity with the thinkers that Debord references. I’m only cursorily familiar with Hegel and Marx especially, having only read snippets of their work. So, maybe if I knew more? Or maybe not.
Honestly, I’ve rated this book at a three because I’m still not sure what I think of it. It has the promise of being one of the most profound philosophical treatise of the 20th Century, but it could also be a lot of smoke and mirrors. I think I would need to re-read it several times, perhaps with the help of some interpreters, to get deeply into what is being said and why. Until that day, I’ll reserve judgment.
My sense though, is that Debord has much more to say than this. Yet it remained mostly under the surface for me. Ungraspable. Now, I read this book once and didn’t take notes, so I could only follow into some of Debord’s thickets. Some chapters were much easier to read than others. I particularly liked his chapters on historical time and sociology. However, many sections were more difficult. Part of this, I think, is due to my lack of familiarity with the thinkers that Debord references. I’m only cursorily familiar with Hegel and Marx especially, having only read snippets of their work. So, maybe if I knew more? Or maybe not.
Honestly, I’ve rated this book at a three because I’m still not sure what I think of it. It has the promise of being one of the most profound philosophical treatise of the 20th Century, but it could also be a lot of smoke and mirrors. I think I would need to re-read it several times, perhaps with the help of some interpreters, to get deeply into what is being said and why. Until that day, I’ll reserve judgment.
One of the most important books I've read I think. Spectacle isn't just media & entertainment, it's what we are told, false consciousness, what we think we know, shallow history without desire to dig deeper, the way we've been led to approach our existence, the way it's all manufactured. Some bits were a little hard to read & I will likely re-read this again at some point. It's very thought provoking. Made me think about things I see & have seen around me, opinions I hold. It made me think about society in the present, things that have happened in the past & how it affects us now & how we're made not to consider any of it but only the present moment which is always passing. It'll definitely make you think. Great book in my opinion!
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
slow-paced
challenging
reflective
slow-paced