The definition and the actuality of the spectacle are far more complex and fluid in form than that which is able to be captured in a generic fashion. In his essay “Society of the Spectacle,” Guy Debord has determined that the media, rearing its many ugly heads in the form of advertising, news, propaganda and actual consumption of entertainment, has all but devoured our consciousness and constantly makes demands on our attention. This spectacle has become our unreal reality, or the means to an end, in and of itself. It is both the outcome and the goal of the dominant mode of production; it is a spectacle of a spectacle---a product of itself and the chief product of modern-day society (142).
We have become a society of looking, admiring the fascination of abomination, due to the pervasive and autonomous nature of the spectacle. Images help to bridge the concept of reality and then the spectacle is born. Although the spectacle is not specifically a collection of images, it is a social relationship between people which is mediated by images (142). These forms of media often contradict each other, because although they provide unity, the unity also creates a divide and, at times, drives isolation; as Debord notes, it is evidence of a reciprocal alienation or the essence and underpinning of society as it exists (143). Interestingly enough, Debord also notes that these diversities and contrasts actually denote the appearance of the spectacle, rather than providing a dichotomy between reality and image.
In the end, the spectacle becomes a product of itself, a vicious circle of events which is most evident in industrialized nations, which also live in contradiction with themselves. On one hand, while these nations are in abundance of convenience, luxury and white noise, they are also ripe with destitution and squalor.
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