Preview

The Society Of The Spectacle Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1461 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Society Of The Spectacle Analysis
Guy Debord said in The Society of the Spectacle that “The spectacle is not a collection of images; rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images.” As explained himself, “The present stage, in which social life is completely taken over by the accumulated products of the economy, entails a generalized shift from having to appearing”. (17) “The accumulated products of economy” whether some people are “having” or “appearing to have” form the origin of desires of people. At first, these are just real needs, later, these desires become overdeveloped and are detached from reality, thus become illusions, or images. With the endless pursuits of the images, numerous human activities are involved, thus forming an ever-growing …show more content…
Has she really changed? Did she really find herself? What is exactly the truth? Perhaps for “dream team”, the audience and even Cristina, they would perceive the new Cristina as truth. They would rather live under the lies made by plastic surgeries, because they crave so much for the image of “gross riches and physical beauty” that they could not care less about the truth. These kinds of cases happen here and there in the society, forming the spectacle and blurring the line between truth and falsehood.
2. “The fetishistic appearance of pure objectivity in spectacular relationships conceals their true character as relationships between human beings and between classes.” (24) As is written by Chris Hedges, in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE),
Shawn Michaels, a popular WWE wrestler known as the Heartbreak Kid, finally gave in to the work offer made by John Bradshaw Layfield, his opponent during a match at the ring. Layfield persuaded Michaels to lose the match and accept the offer for a stable job that could provide the bread and education needed for his family and extended family. Just like Layfield wanted victory from the ring, Michaels needed a good job and money to support his family. Therefore, they formed a relationship and made the exchange for their fetishistic
…show more content…
For instance, in order to obtain the spotlight, money and fame that come with the identity of a celebrity, “more than twice as many young people apply to MTV’s Real World show than to Harvard.” They are offering their private life under constant surveillance and numerous cameras, just in exchange for an opportunity to be famous.
So is the case in the wrestling world. Ray Traylor, known as the Boss Man, has a most infamous stunt, which is taunting Big Show. He taped and publicly exposed the miserable reactions of Big Show after his father died of cancer. And even imitated him in front of the public. Moreover, Boss Man also went extra length to find more dirt on Big Show, like his father is actually not his biological father, and also humiliated him publicly. The worst part is that people love these absurd stories and shows. Everything, including lived experiences can be viewed as commodities in modern

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In John Sileo’s Celebrity Identity Theft- Fraud from the Inside describes how dishonest people want to be them, at least long enough to drain their sizable resources. (Sileo, 2015) Devious individuals admire to become famous celebrities, partially till they can be able to confiscate almost all of their revenues. Shady people desire to be famous, not entirely just until they can exclude an extensive quantity of their belongings. Fraudsters long for being prestigious, not wholly but up to the point where they have absorbed substantial amounts of assets. Impostors wish they were them, somewhat till they have possessed majority of their material goods. Double-dealing individuals crave to be famous, slightly long as much as they can take over a…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cynthia Frisby captivated her audience and researched data of people and reality shows: Whether the aim is money, love, becoming a rock star, creative expression, or just a chance to be seen on TV, the effect on audiences is the same. People like knowing that there are others who are going through the same life experiences that they are and often make the same mistakes. Despite the shifting desires of society and the fickleness of television audiences, the human need to compare and relate has provided a market for this genre. (Frisby 260)…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Shadow of the Spectacle exhibit shows the modern day society of China. They are photos taken by Ni Weihua. Weihua does an interesting illustration for his photos, by make them expressive. The photo look cool and it shows how a city of China is today. Looking at the photo made it feel like China is United States of America. China has been Americanize. It doesn’t show no traits of China history or culture. The exhibit has a simple feeling. There’s nothing that made me excited, but it interest me that Chinese are living like Americans.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chris Benoit, before his tragic death, was a world renowned, top card professional wrestler for mainstream professional wrestling company, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); formerly World Wrestling Federation (WWF). As WWE were broadcasting a tribute show in Benoit’s memory, news which addressed why the wrestler had passed began circulating. “The answer to that question was indeed chilling and has led WWE to disassociating itself with their former icon and Benoit’s reputation hitting an all time low” (Ring Surf, 2009). Reports to this day reveal that, over a period of days, Benoit had choked his wife and smothered his son both to death, before taking his own life on June 2007.…

    • 2348 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The piece foregrounds and gives “textual prominence” (Huckin, 1997, p. 82). to the depiction of love through both a fabled lens and a scientific lens. The descriptive comparison of the symbolism “hearts and doves, stars and fireworks” with “functional magnetic resonance imaging” highlights how contemporary relationships are no longer a fairytale experience, or specifically “aren’t nearly as pretty.”…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article “Getting Real With Reality TV” published in the 5th edition of Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, author Cynthia M. Frisby argues that the reason that reality TV stays so popular is because of the audiences media gratification from social comparisons in the mass media.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    American Beauty demonstrates how construction of spectacles can be used to obfuscate our true selves. Mendes reflects on society during the 90’s whereby technological advances had been made evident through the computer and success of the mobile and Internet. The mass production of goods, rapid industrialisation and urbanization enabled individuals to compare their prosperity, achievement and success to each other. Mendes thereby refers to “spectacle culture” developed by theorist Guy De Bord (1931, 12) that is described as, “[…] societies where modern condition of production prevails, all life presents as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation”. This can be described as how individuals in American Beauty as well as real life create spectacles for outside parties to observe.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jersey Shore

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reality television is a genre of television programming in which celebrities are filmed living their everyday lives. These celebrities can be people that were born in wealthy families or just ordinary people that have become celebrities because of television. The “reality” of these shoes is that the cast are perceived as role models to a variety of people watching them. These people are presented with no morals, ethics, or education. These shows do not present a good way of living but they are addictive and more viewers attempt to obtain these lifestyles everyday.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a world where celebrity information is so readily available especially through social media it gives an inside into celebrities personally lives which causes individuals of all ages to find themselves intrigued by these celebrity’s lifestyles. Some celebrities even have a sort of cult following such as the Kardashian sisters from “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” who even have their own Apps that enable people to follow their lives. This cultural obsession with celebrities make possible for marketers to easily use celebrities to gain recognition and boost their brand, these actors transfer their meaning onto products they promote.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, it may seem shallow to care a whole lot about one’s appearance, but according to Daniel Akst’s essay “What Meets the Eye”, we learn that in many ways, appearances actually serve as a source of inequality. In his expository piece, Akst probes into the importance of appearances in our society today; he explores the role that beauty plays in everyday life and and how it influences society. Akst makes numerous interesting discoveries on the role of appearances in society, but several of his arguments don’t seem to be well-argued.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Politics of Staring

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Photography is described as a gateway to staring, as it authorizes it. Visuals of the disabled allow people to elicit different emotions and act in certain ways. To prove this, Thompson writes about four primary visual rhetorics, which are wondrous, sentimental, exotic, and realistic. Though each are quite self explanatory, each of them contribute to different ideas and thoughts. The rhetoric of wonder for example, introduces not the ordinary, but the extraordinary. People are in essence intrigued or amazed by such pictures. A sentimental rhetoric conjures up feelings of sympathy for the viewers, doing the opposite of a wondrous rhetoric. In contrast, the exotic rhetoric displays the disabled as alien, incorrect, and amusing. It touches upon satire whilst emphasizing the impairment for commercial purposes. Lastly, the realistic rhetoric has the effect of evading distinction and looks at the normal aspects of disabilities. It embraces the disabilities in such a way that it moderates its unfamiliarity to the public.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In our current popular culture, images are a major means of communication as we are bombarded with imagery every day. Most of the imagery we see is used as combination of facilitating propaganda and as a means to sell (I do not see any distinction between the two motives in our current culture). This imagery not only reflects reality, but it shapes it. However, it is not an accurate representation and its influence cannot completely dictate reality.…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the twenty-first century people are exposed to the media, whether it is the television, films, magazines or tabloid. Those individuals who are considered as celebrities plays an important role in people’s lives by acting as role models for those seeking guidance or advice, also influencing their body image perception with the impact of the neglected to fully appreciate the impacts that celebrities have on issues such as drug use, eating habits and cosmetic appearance. Consequently, many people possess a dream and imagine to become a principal or a famous in different subjects such as sport person, a television presenter or movie star. It is definitely not a bad dream, but I would argue that being a celebrity, whatever the field, brings…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Surveillance Paper

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Reality television shows, explores how when people are placed under constant scrutiny their behaviour and the way they interact with other people changes. Most of the time they preform for the cameras and play a role that is not in their personality.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This relates to many people, of our current society, who are striving for celebrity because there are thousands of people, to this day, trying to be like some else. For example, there are many individuals who are trying to be like Taylor Swift who many look up to and respect as an individual.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays