Blog Archives
SIX SPECTACULAR NOVELS
Guy Debord (1931-1994) was a French philosopher. He observed modern society in which authentic social life had been replaced with its representation, or ‘spectacle’.
In each of my 5 books, there is a different spectacle appearing at the centre of attention.
- In my new book Turkeys not Bees, coming shortly, Megan and Chance are caught up in regulation of athletics and a pandemic. They want individual freedom and resist nanny-state controls.
2. In the satire Animal Farm 2, the focus is on a proletariat of farm livestock, representing ordinary people. The spectacle is of slavery, exploitation and totalitarianism.’
3. ‘Time is Gold’ is a fiction story about a marathon runner whose will is commodified by her training team.
4. ‘Presumed Dead’ has a government and parliament conducted as a spectacle with the appearance of democracy. When a politician disappears, search and investigation adopt innovative forensic methods which reveal corruption.
5. ‘Short of Love’ has Vicki and Tom in a commodified love relationship. He assigns her to a friend, in a short due for delivery later, to repay his gambling debt. It is a satire and when she delivers to his friend early, the arrangement fails.
6. The Grass is Always Browner is a spectacle of Australia 250 years in the future, apparently unified by population growth and an indigenous prime minister, but deeply divided by religion and politics.
Each book has social and economic conditions derived from a ’spectacle’ rather than from reality. Debord’s aim and proposal is ‘to wake up the spectator’ who has been drugged by spectacular images…through radical action in the form of the construction of situations…situations that bring a revolutionary reordering of life, politics, and art’. My stories entertain with exciting situations and new images.
Available on Amazon. Reviews: martinknox.com
LOVE PERSONAL OR COMMODIFIED
The ancients may not have experienced love as people do today. Relationships depended more on fulfilment of duties. When Christianity and God’s love came to prominence, people could love unrelated others. In the 12th Century, romantic love was idealistic about individuals but cynical about institutions, with gallantry and seduction continuing until today. In the Enlightenment (1685 – 1815), there was more idealism about institutions, laws and governments.
In the 1960s the Youth Revolution in America had the Beatles proclaiming ‘All You Need Is Love’ and it was taken up by a hippy social movement. Then a Frenchman, Guy de Bord, in 1967 pointed out in his book ‘The Society of the Spectacle that the appearance of commodity products and images was displacing reason and truth in the production of public goods, causing worker and consumer alienation.
Love was commodified and extraneous qualities flooded society until it was awash with commercial renditions of love. The appearances and images projected by capitalist producers colonised social life. The marriage industry produced identical experiences depersonalised events. The spectacle became less and less active and more and more contemplative and people were getting hurt.
My satire ‘Short of Love’ set at that time has a commodified love relationship that runs into unexpected problems with an unfortunate result. Love is usually more personal today.
‘Short of Love’ is available on Amazon. Reviews: martinknox.com
