Situationist theory is “the unified study of spectacular society” (Plant, 1992, 4). The situationists explore concepts of futurism, Dadaism and Surrealism in order to invoke “a wider world of meanings which challenged conventional arrangements of reality” (Plant, 1992, 3). The ‘reality’ Plant refers to here, represents capitalist society, thus she suggests that the Situationists challenge the structure of capitalist society in relation to the individuals who are forced to abide by these codes. Marxism is also an important part of the situationists work because they investigate the role of the bourgeoisie and the proletariats whilst challenging the structure of capitalist society. Debord is especially interested in Marx’s theory of alienation which “refers to the subjective or objective state of the individual in capitalist society, a state categorised by desires which are either distorted or frustrated, and by a lack of understanding and control of the social environment” (Elster, 1986, 29). Debord focuses on the way individuals are alienated from themselves, their own emotions, experiences and desires due to the constraints of capitalist society. Debord theorises that the movement of the commodity “is identical to the growing estrangement of men among themselves and in relation to their global product” (Debord, 1992, 76). The more the commodity is forced into our lives, the more we feel alienated from one another and from the product itself. The product will always be out of our reach and there will always be something new that will lure us further into the world of commodity. There will never be a product that will ever satisfy us because there is no final product.

Debord, G. (1992) Society of the Spectacle and Other Films. London: Rebel Press.

Elster, J. (eds.) (1986) Karl Marx: A Reader. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.