Brainstorming ideas
We started by suggesting themes and feelings we would like our piece to express. The most prevalent themes were uncertainty, society, inauthenticity and social media. Raul suggested using Guy Debord’s book ‘The Society of the Spectacle’, this fit perfectly with out themes so we moved forward with this as our subject. ‘The Society of the Spectacle’ was written in 1967 as a criticism of the encroaching rise of consumerism in Paris. Guy Debord believed that due to capitalist production resulting in an abundance of things, the human need for survival had been met, and subsequently replaced by a need for goods. Humans have developed a ‘need for more’, even when our needs are met. Debord believed this need for more came from appearances, he believed that ‘All having must now derive its immediate prestige and its ultimate purpose from appearances.’ Image and appearances have now become important to individuals above all else, and we are sold products with the promise that it will improve how we are perceived by other people.
