goldendose
Member
the undeniable genius of capitalism is the ability to exercise total and complete control of human thought and emotion through the hypnotizing power of the Spectacle.
"The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images."
-Guy DeBord
(Situationist, author of 'Society of the Spectacle')
Let's take a look at the recent events in Ferguson, MO:
-Michael Brown is shot and killed by a police officer. He is young, black and, perhaps, innocent of any wrongdoing besides shoplifting, a petty misdemeanor offense. He is not a homosexual, a drug addict, or a person with any history of mental illness.
-Taking these key factors into consideration, the media/controllers of the spectacle recognize Michael Brown for what he is- a suitable image to represent the public's collective outrage and anger towards instances police brutality in their community and elsewhere around the country.
-This image is a valuable commodity that can be sold to the public.
-Michael Brown becomes a tee shirt, a movie-of-the-week, a [HASHTAG]#hashtag[/HASHTAG].
-Outrage/feigned outrage manifests itself through protest marches that are merely organized emotional reactions to the image that has been presented to the protesters.
-These protest marches are utterly predictable and completely within the bounds of the collective experience of the authorities.
-These actions can only fizzle out or explode into a "riot," which the media will select as another powerful/profitable image- one that represents class/race division.
-Meanwhile, the next Michael Brown waits in the wings.
-Rinse, repeat.
Thoughts?
"The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images."
-Guy DeBord
(Situationist, author of 'Society of the Spectacle')
Let's take a look at the recent events in Ferguson, MO:
-Michael Brown is shot and killed by a police officer. He is young, black and, perhaps, innocent of any wrongdoing besides shoplifting, a petty misdemeanor offense. He is not a homosexual, a drug addict, or a person with any history of mental illness.
-Taking these key factors into consideration, the media/controllers of the spectacle recognize Michael Brown for what he is- a suitable image to represent the public's collective outrage and anger towards instances police brutality in their community and elsewhere around the country.
-This image is a valuable commodity that can be sold to the public.
-Michael Brown becomes a tee shirt, a movie-of-the-week, a [HASHTAG]#hashtag[/HASHTAG].
-Outrage/feigned outrage manifests itself through protest marches that are merely organized emotional reactions to the image that has been presented to the protesters.
-These protest marches are utterly predictable and completely within the bounds of the collective experience of the authorities.
-These actions can only fizzle out or explode into a "riot," which the media will select as another powerful/profitable image- one that represents class/race division.
-Meanwhile, the next Michael Brown waits in the wings.
-Rinse, repeat.
Thoughts?