who is Debord

Guy Debord (1931 - 1994) was a French theorist, writer and filmaker who was heavily influenced by Marxism. He was concerned with the capatilist control of governments and of the media over everyday society through growing mass production and mass consumption.
He wrote the pamphlet 'Report on the Construction of Situations' which was the founding manifesto for the revolutionary organisation Situationist International, a group with ideas rooted in Marxism which promoted the idea of fulfilling primative human desires, and living alternatively to capatilist order. Situationist International aimed to construct situations which were disruptive to social norms. In order to undermine consumer society, vandalism, strikes and sabotage were encouraged. Situationist International saw it as their responsibility to make clear to the mass population the impact of the consumer society they lived in. Their aim was to be catalysts in a new revolution against capatalist order,  however, the group disbanded over tactical disputes in 1972. Their ideas however, continue to have a lasting influence on art, politics and philosophy.
Debords best known work is 'Society of the Spectacle', in which Debord highlights that due to capatalist ideals and control of the growing media people in society become representatons rather than individuals, and 'psuedo - needs' have been created due to mass consumption.
Society of the Spectacle was extremely influential, particularly to student rebellions in 1968, and many quotes from the book were used for graffitti in and around Paris at the time.
Debord continued to exert influence, writing The Game of War in 1987 and Commentaries on the Society of the Spectacle in 1989. In 1994, he commited suicide Champot, Upper Loire. Only after his death did he achieve celebrity status in France.