The illusion is the religion.
In a world where the truth matters less & is profane, where illusions are sacred & begin to mean more than authenticity. That's when French philosopher, Guy Debord introduces us to an economically-driven religion, one where life is presented as an accumulation of spectacles. One where everything that has lived, has receded into a mere representation of a past event or persona. One where modern conditions of production have blurred the lines between people & commodities.
We impose supernatural qualities upon things through "commodity fetishism". The "commodity" itself though, is a fairly recent phenomenon, wherein the consumer is altogether alienated from the creative process of anything we buy. Material relations between people, end up becoming social relations between things. Thus, "commodities" become symbolic representations of visible social agreements. Insidiously, the spectacle is used to keep the economic status-quo going, keeping the masses drastically disconnected from reality.
Spectacles, of course, take different forms : the CONCENTRATED spectacle, for example uses brute force, propaganda, intimidation & sometimes the cult of personality (Russia : Stalin) while the DIFFUSE spectacle uses subtle means like conspiracy to distract the masses. This leads to a separation from reality, society, one another & finally ourselves, causing feelings of disorientation & escapism.
And those who do try to make a difference in the status-quo, often fail because they try in vain to revolutionize a pre-existing illusion. Soon social appearances begin to matter more than substance. Pretty faces, over deep conversations. We begin to like wearing medals, not earning them. Faking soon means making it. You choose your perfect digital identity over your flawed physical one. The illusion, over the truth. And the universal truth becomes, "That which appears IS good & vice versa." Not that which appears good IS good. Enfin, we need to ask ourselves what we want more, the media filter or the scene.
I think Halsey said it best,
"You can't wake up, this is not a dream,
You're part of a machine, you are not a human being."
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PODCAST REVIEW : Philosophize This! (recommended listen)
PHILOSOPHER : Guy Debord (The Society of the Spectacle)
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