Prisoners of the society of the spectacle

Recent events in Turkey have naturally led me to ask myself human questions. At the same time, it has prompted me to seek some scientific explanations for the things we all watch on television or the internet.

The murderer of 8-year-old Narin, who was brutally killed in Diyarbakır, has been sought by the entire country for a month. What happened to Narin is being publicized so much that this exaggerated mediatization naturally brings some question marks with it! I am not saying we should not discuss this case. On the contrary, we need to look at all the factors of this incident, but I think over-publicizing/scrutinizing the event is also an abnormal situation. Turning such a tragic case into a subject discussed on entertainment programs eliminates every ethical and deontological norm of journalism.

The Engin and Dilan Polat case is one that the Turkish public has followed closely in the hope of seeing how the judiciary does its job with conscience. But what happened? It is one of the most talked-about cases in the public eye, but the only thing noticed were the clownish images of people who were 'stronger' as they left prison.

Recently, the Turkish public is trying to become beauty experts as the newly elected Miss Turkey has sparked a wave of anger and criticism directed at her. According to these "experts," the chosen girl's beauty does not fit "universal beauty standards."

These are just 3 examples that have caught our attention for a long time, and thanks to them, we have forgotten—or have been made to forget—the economic crisis, the euthanasia of stray dogs, Syrian refugees on Turkish soil, and many other urgent problems of the country!

While following and analyzing these 3 examples, I remembered the work titled "The Society of the Spectacle" by French philosopher Guy Louis Debord, published in 1967. He says that one of the characteristics of the society of the spectacle is that it is presented through representative spectacles. The superficial lifestyle is what community members desire most. He explains that in modern consumer society, what is important is no longer 'having,' but the appearance of what is possessed. Note that Debord was writing these lines in 1967. We see that not much has changed since then. "The spectacle is the moment when the commodity has attained the total occupation of social life. Not only is the relation to the commodity visible, but it is all one sees: the world one sees is its world," says Debord.

In his writings, Debord condemned capitalism and the effects it creates and exerts on people. If you still have the freedom to watch what you want while watching the news on television, you are a prisoner of the algorithms of social networks on the internet, and you are a victim of the flow of information that you cannot cope with. However, what we forget is that the speed at which our brains consume online information does not coincide with the speed imposed on us, which is why everything is interpreted superficially and the ability to rationally analyze information decreases as the flow of information increases.

In a scientific sense, as South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han puts it, we are dealing with the establishment of regimes called "Mediacracy." Because of the amphitheater structure, the receivers are passive, that is, condemned to be passive consumers of information. The same author states in "Mediacracy" that politics also falls captive to the logic of mass media, because entertainment undermines rationality by determining the way political content is conveyed. "Mediacracy" is also a "theatrocracy" where we, the spectators, watch and applaud the actors. Theatrocracy is nothing but the "Society of the Spectacle" that Debord mentions.

It is not difficult to show an example of theatrocracy. The US election campaign is the most appropriate example of this. Because most voters do not want to hear logical arguments from the candidates; they want to see the "theatrical" performance of the presidential candidates. The assassination attempt on candidate Trump and his reaction during the assassination prove that businessman Trump is a better actor than Ronald Reagan, the actor who became US president in 1981. Yes... let us not forget that Donald Trump still presents an argument. The US presidential candidate stated that Haitian refugees were eating the cats stolen from their American neighbors!

While Debord was talking about the "Society of the Spectacle" 50 years ago, the famous Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa writes about what he thinks regarding the "Civilization of the Spectacle," and through this, the author tries to warn the world as follows: "Culture, in the traditional sense of the word, is currently on the verge of extinction." The author criticizes the triumph (success/effectiveness) of scandal media where entertainment is sanctified. He also warns that in an age of false idols and post-culture, ostentation and superficiality mean "the falling asleep, blinding, and destruction of all moral, intellectual, and political consciousness along with our freedom."

Today, we live in an extremely 'material' world. Spectacle, clicks, and views all mean money. Press/media issues that should not be turned into simple trivialities and whose depth should not be eliminated unfortunately become the subject of 'entertainment.' But we humans cannot get out of a vicious cycle from which we do not know how to escape.

  Rapid urbanization and the technologization of society to its core cause people to use mass media as the main supplier to occupy their leisure time.

The consumption of entertainment and spectacle helps humans escape the pressure of daily life in a world where capital is the second, if not the first, 'God.' Human nature is a lazy creature by definition and likes to consume easy information or criticize other people, not ideas. The birth of a society of the spectacle based on hedonism responds to natural human needs to avoid the real problems bombarded by 21st-century society. But I know that one day will come, and people will open their eyes. I hope we are not too late to realize this situation.