As a socialist, Debord was against the mass production involved in capitalist markets, including that of the media. This is made clear as he refers to it as ‘weapons’ in Society of the spectacle, which he says the ‘spectacular system chooses to produce’. (p.32)
Media giants choose to produce certain products because they will be most appealing to the audience it targets, yet it is clear they are only produced to make money. Debord highlights it is the 'reigning economic system' (p.32) which creates these goods. Debord also talks of the 'knowledge industry'(p.128) becoming the driving force of American economy. Our study group believe that the knowledge industry could refer to the informative nature of the media. We found it interesting that it was referred to as the 'knowledge industry'. The idea of making knowledge, a skill which costs nothing, into an industry, shows the power and monopolisation of capitalist corporations.
Debord worried about the influence this may have on society. While media conglomerates are making money, people within society go from individuals into mindless consumers. Even the word ‘society’ begins to be used in very generalist terms. There is a loss of communities. Instead, in the modern western world, all communities have been moulded into an overall society.
Debord also influenced the media through his filmmaking career. Debord’s films such as ‘howls in favour of Sade (1952)’ cam be seen as fitting in with the avant-garde experimentation at the time, however, they also act to highlight his political opinion. Debords’ films are described as “Marxist cinema set not so much on revolutionising the medium as on appropriating the medium in order to revolutionise the structure of life itself.” (R.D. Crano in Senses of cinema, 2007)
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