Society of the Spectacle

The Das Kapital of the 20th century. An essential text, and the main theoretical work of the situationists. Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960's up to the present, the volatile theses of this book have decisively transformed debates on the shape of modernity, capitalism, and everyday life in the late 20th century. This new edition is the Ken Knabb translation. Certainly it has the most ''modern'' design of all three editions, as well as a short new introduction from the translator. The Work Is A Series Of 221 Short Theses Divided Into Nine Chapters. Debord Focuses On An Aesthetic Approach, His Theory Of The Spectacle Is Grounded In Aesthetics. He Wrote In An Almost Poetic Theoretical Style. Debord Provided A Valuable Contributions To The Field Of Media Theory. The 'society Of The Spectacle' Provides An Extensive Reinterpretation Of Marx's Work, Most Notably In Its Application Of Commodity Fetishism To Contemporary Mass Media. It Also Expands The Concept Of Marx's Theory Of Alienation To Include Far More Than Labor Activity, And Exposes The Common Spectacular Politics Of Soviet And American Regimes. Debord Also Builds Significantly On The Work Of Lukács. The Book Is Filled With 'detourned Phrases', That Is Citations Altered In Detournements, Drawn Particularly From Hegel. -- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/the_society_of_the_spectacle). The Culmination Of Separation -- The Commodity As Spectacle -- Unity And Division Within Appearance -- The Proletariat As Subject And Representation -- Time And History -- Spectacular Time -- Territorial Domination -- Negation And Consumption Within Culture -- Ideology Materialised Guy Debord ; New Authorised [i.e. Unauthorised] Translation By Ken Knabb. Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative as Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960s up to the present, the volatile theses of this book have decisively transformed debates on the shape of modernity, capitalism and everyday life in the late twentieth cenlury. Now finally available in a superb English translation approved by the author, Debord's text remains as crucial as ever for understanding the contemporary effects of power, which are increasingly inseparable from the new virtual worlds of our rapidly changing image/information culture. "The Das Kapital of the 20th century. An essential text, and the main theoretical work of the situationists. Few works of political and cultural theory have been as enduringly provocative. From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960's up to the present, the volatile theses of this book have decisively transformed debates on the shape of modernity, capitalism, and everyday life in the late 20th century. This is the original translation by Fredy Perlman, kept in print continuously for the last 30 years, keeping the flame alive when no-one else cared."--Publisher description Contents 4 Translator's Note 5 1. The Culmination of Separation 6 2. The Commodity as Spectacle 18 3. Unity and Division Within Appearances 26 4. The Proletariat as Subject and Representation 36 5. Time and History 72 6. Spectacular Time 86 7. Territorial Domination 93 8. Negation and Consumption Within Culture 100 9. Ideology Materialised 115 no copyright,no rights reserved sociology IN SOCIETIES dominated by modern conditions of production, life is presented as an immense accumulation of spectacles.