If any more proof were needed that Guy Debord died in vain, all the faked fuss about which mediocre pop record would be the No 1 hit this Christmas provides it. In the same week that the Copenhagen talks ended in failure, journalists who claim to represent the opinion of the nation's youth are seriously claiming the victory of Rage Against the Machine as some sort of act of resistance: the purchase of one record owned by Sony has triumphed over another record owned by Sony, and in the real world nothing has been changed (not even Sony's balance sheet). I don't think this is what Gramsci meant by cultural hegemony, but it is very much what Debord meant by spectacle. If you want a symbolic Christmas act that has real purchase on reality, how about roasting the X-Factor judges with apples in their mouths?
Saturday 13 February 2010
Spectacular Christmas
If any more proof were needed that Guy Debord died in vain, all the faked fuss about which mediocre pop record would be the No 1 hit this Christmas provides it. In the same week that the Copenhagen talks ended in failure, journalists who claim to represent the opinion of the nation's youth are seriously claiming the victory of Rage Against the Machine as some sort of act of resistance: the purchase of one record owned by Sony has triumphed over another record owned by Sony, and in the real world nothing has been changed (not even Sony's balance sheet). I don't think this is what Gramsci meant by cultural hegemony, but it is very much what Debord meant by spectacle. If you want a symbolic Christmas act that has real purchase on reality, how about roasting the X-Factor judges with apples in their mouths?
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