The Society of the Spectacle

The Society of the Spectacle (1974)

01 May 1974 • Documentary • 1h 31m
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Guy Debord's landmark cinematic analysis of consumer society is based on his influential sociological book "La société du spectacle" (1967). Debord was a leading member of the avant-garde art movement 'Situationist International'. This cinematic essay uses their method of 'détournement' to decontextualize and rearrange preexisting audiovisual materials and texts to critizise them and create new meaning. The result is a subversive collage of ideological (moving) images from socialist and capitalist societies that are presented here as artefacts of a global media 'spectacle': Social relations between people are mediated by artificial images and false representations that transform humans into mere passive consumers and 'spectators' of their alienated existence. Guy Debord's motivation was to create a radical social critique and a disruptive, anti-illusionist cinema as an antidote and revolutionary tool against the dominant cultural and sociopolitical forces of his time.

Guy Debord
Director
Guy Debord
Writer
Guy Debord, Leonid Brezhnev, Fidel Castro
Starring

Language: French, English, German
Awards:
Country: France
Metacritic Score:
DVD Release Date:
Box Office Total:

7.2

IMDb (655 votes)
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