Spectacle
Debord introduces spectacle not as a term but as a notion about the changing dynamics in the market economy. It acts as an allegory to the consumer society that is criticized in the Marxist critical theory. Expounding on the ideas of reification and commodity fetishism Debord coins the concept of the spectacle. In that, the hegemony displayed by the market economy has pacified the masses like a spectacle.
The motif of mass media
Debord addresses the connection between the spectacle and mass media to dispel the idea that they are one and the same. However, mass media go hand in hand with the concept hence if a common motif in the novel. He defines mass media as an instrument to which the spectacle is conveyed rather than created. Debord distinguishes the spectacle as a larger concept that extends into capitalism, governments, and the economy. Therefore mass media as an instrument that mediates images is a motif throughout the novel.
The motif of new capitalism
Debord’s theories are based on Marxism hence the criticisms stem from the paradigm shift in capitalism after the 1920s. Thus, issues such as commodity fetishism, reification, and homogenization are byproducts of the new capitalism. These subjects that Debord mentions degrade human life boil down to the new market economy of neo-capitalism.
The lonely crowd
Debord affirms that cultural homogenization and mass marketing can seem as unifying the masses but social relations suffer. He references the phrase as an allegory to the social alienation that the spectacle fosters among the masses. The spectators contemplate less about their own existence and in turn, only recognize themselves in the images.
