"The 'new towns' of the technological pseudo-pesantry are the clearest of indications, inscribed on the land, of the break with the historical time on which they are founded; their motto might well be: 'On this spot nothing will ever happen -- and nothing ever has.' Quite obviously, it is precisely because the liberation of history, which must take place in the cities, has not yet occurred, that the forces of historical absence have set about designing their own exclusive landscape there." [these 177]
"The spectacle, being the reigning social organization of a paralyzed history, of a paralyzed memory, of an abandonment of any history founded in historical time, is in effect a false consciousness of time." [thesis 158]
"The time of production, time-as-commodity, is an infinite accumulation of equivalent intervals. It is irreversible time made abstract: each segment must demonstrate by the clock its purely quantitative equality with all other segments." [thesis 147]
"Lastly, in those former colonies of black Africa that have maintained over ties to Western bourgeoisies, whether European or American, a local bourgeoisie is constituted -- generally reposing on the power of traditional tribal chiefs -- through possession of the State:in such countries, where foreign imperialism is still the true master of the economy, a stage is reached at which the compradors' compensation for the sale of local products is ownership of a local State that is independent of the masses though not of the imperialist power. The result is an artificial bourgeoisie that is incapable of accumulating capital and merely squanders its revenue ..." [thesis 113]
The Society of the Spetacle (1967)
Guy Debord
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Necessity of Theater
"Music, lighting, and the tone of the actions force a certain kind of response on the audience. But that response is not engaged with the characters, and it tends to distract the audience from paying attention to the action that is presented to them -- except in the way that has already been determined by the music, lighting, and tone. You cannot ask, "Is this really a heroic moment?" The music has settled that question for you. This theater intends to deprive you of choice and thought. In effect, it sets out to make you a bad watcher." [180]
"Music cannot convey they subjects and objects of emotion, although experiencing music often feels just like having an emotion. Why are people reluctant to accept this? Perhaps they don't think of pure music; the music they have in mind has words to be sung, program notes to be studied, or associations to be dredged up -- and any of these can carry emotions. But pure music can carry feelings that are often powerful, even though they are not directed." [136]
"A musical performance may be theatrical. Will my criteria for a theater piece work for a piece of music? Not smoothly. Because Beethoven's Opus 131 is a performance piece, it is not identical to a text. We may think of it as a kind of musical idea that may be instantiated on any number of occasions." [58]
"... theater is the art that takes us for its medium." [38]
"... a bright-colored corpse pinned inside a glass case is not a butterfly, and a script is not a theatrical event." [36]
"Any theater that transform people, or aims to do so, is heater of presence. Sometimes you go to the theater to be transformed, as when you enter into the Bacchic dance in hopes that the god will become present in you." [34]
The Necessity of Theater (2008)
Paul Woodruff
"Music cannot convey they subjects and objects of emotion, although experiencing music often feels just like having an emotion. Why are people reluctant to accept this? Perhaps they don't think of pure music; the music they have in mind has words to be sung, program notes to be studied, or associations to be dredged up -- and any of these can carry emotions. But pure music can carry feelings that are often powerful, even though they are not directed." [136]
"A musical performance may be theatrical. Will my criteria for a theater piece work for a piece of music? Not smoothly. Because Beethoven's Opus 131 is a performance piece, it is not identical to a text. We may think of it as a kind of musical idea that may be instantiated on any number of occasions." [58]
"... theater is the art that takes us for its medium." [38]
"... a bright-colored corpse pinned inside a glass case is not a butterfly, and a script is not a theatrical event." [36]
"Any theater that transform people, or aims to do so, is heater of presence. Sometimes you go to the theater to be transformed, as when you enter into the Bacchic dance in hopes that the god will become present in you." [34]
The Necessity of Theater (2008)
Paul Woodruff
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