Spectacle as world: Situationist theories on the world of images
Date
2025
Authors
O'Meara, Anna Gabrielle
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Abstract
Society of the Spectacle (1967) (La Société du Spectacle) was not simply an expression of the ideas of its author, Guy Debord, but rather served as a definitive theory of the Situationist movement (SI) (1957-1972.) This dissertation aims to explain the Situationist theory of the Spectacle through the central theme of the Spectacle as world. Discourse regarding the theory of Spectacle as world is established through primary texts, images, and archival documents by members of the Situationist International (SI) and interlocuters. Central sources include the book, Society of the Spectacle (1967), and the film, Society of the Spectacle (1972), both by Guy Debord. Context will be established through conflicts and comparisons with theories of worlds surrounding the Situationist milieu, particularly from Surrealism and the journal, Arguments.
The postwar period saw a proliferation of images through media to an extent that had not existed prior. However, according to the Situationist theory of “Spectacle,” this proliferation was a world, not a mere accumulation of images. Representations dominated architectural space, perception, and individual subjectivities. Aesthetes of the time including Surrealists and the journal, Arguments, characterized the postwar inundation of images as liberating, arguing that images presented possibilities for limitless voyages into Inner Worlds. These concepts of Inner Worlds were often blended with mystical and occultist notions. Unlike aesthetes and mystics, Situationists rejected the glorification of representation, art, and the limitations of subjectivity, which they argued created an alienated inner wasteland. Situationists questioned whether, instead of retreating within the Self, there were possibilities for transcending the limitations of perception, particularly insofar as perception was manipulated and socially defined. This transcendence was not intended to lead to a fixed utopian end, but rather a series of endings and beginnings because, unlike frozen images and reels of the past, the material world was in flux. Situationist strategies that employed principles of flux and diversity (e.g., détournement) presented challenges to media and representation as a means of contesting authoritarian structures, including fascism, Stalinism, and colonialism.
This dissertation is organized into the following chapters: (1) Weltanschauung (worldview) (2) Pseudo-Worlds (3) Inner Worlds (4) Dreamworlds (5) The End of the World. (1) Weltanschauung begins by defining the limitations of perception through Situationist readings of European philosophy, as well as interpretations by their contemporaries, especially Surrealists and members of the journal, Arguments. Limitations to perception are especially considered in relation to art and representation. (2) Chapter 2, Pseudo-Worlds, considers how Debord defines the Spectacle as a “Weltanschauung materialized.” When materialized, worldviews become a pseudo-world separate from human thought and control. The illusory falsity of the pseudo-world is treated with regards to various designations including distortions, lies, and artificiality. (3) Inner Worlds considers how subjectivity is often located through discussions of an individual’s mind; an inner being. Surrealists interpreted this interiority as an escape wherein different manifestations of the Self could be found and unified. Contrarily, Situationists saw the Inner World as an alienated wasteland. (4) Chapter 4, Dreamworlds, places Surrealist and Situationist ideas into conversation. Surrealists saw dreams as emulations of subjective Inner Worlds that related directly to the creation of their art. Situationists saw the Self, art, and dreams as related but nevertheless emphasized ways in which each were distinct. The Spectacle, while not technically a dream generator, emulates aspects of dreams in ways that detach individuals from material reality and can be used as a mechanism for social control. (5) The End of the World considers possibilities for transcending Spectacle and subjectivity. If an individual contains an Inner World, then that world will end. New futures can be created. Change allows for creation and revolution. The Conclusion discusses transformation and possibilities for creating new worlds.
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Keywords
Guy Debord, Situationist, Spectacle, Weltanschauung, Surrealist, 1968