Debord, Cybersituations, and the Interactive Spectacle

Abstract

The afterlife of the ideas of Guy Debord and the Situationist International is quite striking. Contemporary society and culture are still permeated with the sort of described in classical Situationist works, and the concept of spectacle has almost become normalized, emerging as part and parcel of both theoretical and popular media discourse. Moreover, Situationist texts are reaching new and ever-expanding audiences in the proliferation of 'zines and web sites, some of which embody Situationist practice. The past decade has been marked by a profusion of cultural activism that uses new communications technology to proliferate radical social critique and alternative culture. Many of these 'zines pay homage to Debord and the Situationists, as do a profusion of web sites that contain their texts and diverse commentary.' Situationist ideas thus remain an important part of contemporary cultural theory and activism, and may continue to inspire cultural and political opposition as the Society of the Spectacle enters cyberspace and new realms of culture and experience emerge. In this article, we will accordingly update Debord's ideas in formulating what we see as the advent of a new stage of the spectacle, requiring new technologies and forms of oppositional practice. We first delineate Debord's now classic theory of the spectacle, indicate how it is still relevant for analyzing contemporary society, and then distinguish between new forms of interactive spectacles and megaspectacles. We will contrast these to what we call cybersituations that have become possible with the Internet and new technologies, offering expanded opportunities for resistance and