The Commodity as Spectacle

The Commodity of the Spectacle by Guy Debord shows the illusion that has been created by humans, as everything around us has become a spectacle. Debord commentary on mass consumerism in our society shows that commodities have become so engrossed into our lives that we have become unaware of it. The spectacle is all around us as both the physical and the intangible as it “holds up to view is the world of the commodity dominating all living experience.”

            A commodity is viewed as something of value or use. However, in our the society as the spectacle, commodities and many objects have become pseudo-commodities that have be created and given a value by companies to continuously fuel the economy. The concept of someone needs versus their wants has become distorted. We have replaced ‘necessity with a necessity for boundless economic development,’ changed the “satisfaction of primary human needs with an incessant fabrication of pseudo-needs.” We are now viewing our wants as needs as consumers and have become socially unconscious to this constructed idea of temporary gratification.

            Therefore, when we buy something such as a new shirt based on our pseudo-needs, we only feel temporary gratification when we first buy the shirt and for a short period after. Eventually our excitement and temporary gratification for this new item begins fades away. Therefore, we must continuously fulfill this void of emotion by buying a new item again and again. Retail and technology industries have manipulated the concept of temporary gratification in their marketing strategy to ensure customers continue to come back to buy their latest products.

            Debord’s commentary in the The Commodity of the Spectacle foreshadows how extreme commodities would dominate our lives in the 21^st century. In relation to this distortion of our needs, the commodities that we possess have become “glorified to the behavior it regulates.” In the spectacle, commodities are viewed as something that is more than their basic function but seen as items that can transform and improve our life. For example, fast fashion retailers, which refer to retailers that rapidly move from one fashion trend to another and sell their clothing at a low and affordable price, have glorified current fashion trends. Current fashion trends have been marketed to create the illusion that these items are more than just articles of clothing that cover the body but can make your life better only if you continuously buy the latest item. As well as making it seem as though you never enough or the clothing items you have are constantly going out of style and must be replaced with new merchandise.

            Lastly, the use of money has become the biggest spectacle within our society. Money “is an abstract general equivalent of all commodities” since we need money to buy and consume all commodities. When we look at money not for its purpose or function but at its physical appearance, it’s just a piece of paper with printed ink. However, we have transformed this item into the representation of our world and believe without money and its function we have nothing.

Work Cited:

Debord, Guy. "The Commodity as Spectacle." The Society of the Spectacle. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Rosenblum, Paula. "Fast Fashion Has Completely Disrupted Apparel Retail." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 Mar. 2015. Web.