Come and join us on March 24, at 7pm (GMT) for a discussion of Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle and Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism. There are several English translations of The Society… but I recommend the one by Ken Knabb, which can also be found free online. From this book we’ll focus especially on the first chapter, “Separation Perfected”, but I’d advise you to read it all.
Guy Debord (1931-1994) was a French Marxist theorist, writer, and filmmaker, renowned as a central figure in the Situationist International movement. Born in Paris, Debord became known for his seminal work The Society of the Spectacle (1967), which critically analysed the alienating effects of consumer capitalism and the dominance of mediated images in modern society. He introduced the concept of the "spectacle" as a form of social control perpetuated by capitalist interests.
Mark Fisher (1968-2017) was a British cultural theorist, writer, and influential figure in contemporary critical thought. Fisher gained prominence for his incisive analysis of late capitalism and its effects on culture and subjectivity. Central to his work is the concept of “capitalist realism,” as articulated in his book of the same name (2009), wherein he examines the pervasive sense of resignation and cynicism that characterises contemporary society's acceptance of capitalism as the only viable socio-economic system.
Please note this Reading Clinic event will take place on a Sunday.