MEA friends,
I’m pleased to announce the re-launch of my website «Thus Spoke the Spectacle»
(TSTS). Please check it out at:
For those of you who have used TSTS and its videos over the years in class,
thanks for your patience during the downtime.
For those unfamiliar with Thus Spoke the Spectacle, it’s a rock & roll-based
music video series and performance infused heavily with the spirit and insights
of major media ecology luminaries such as Neil Postman, Marshall McLuhan, Lewis
Mumford and Jacques Ellul. As the title implies, Guy Debord and Friedrich
Nietzsche are represented as well, along with other artists and scholars such as
Chomsky, Korzybski, Erich Fromm and more.
Thus Spoke the Spectacle was awarded the MEA’s John Culkin Award for Outstanding
Praxis in the Field of Media Ecology (2008) and MEA’s Jacques Ellul Award for
Outstanding Media Ecology Activism (2010). It was screened at MEA’s 2008
Convention in Santa Clara and performed live at MEA’s 2009 and 2010 Conventions
in St. Louis and Orono, Maine. It has also been screened and performed for MEA’s
sister organization, The Institute of General Semantics.
Viewing the videos on the site requires a one-time subscription. Subscribing is
fast and free, so feel free to use the site and its videos in class or for other
organizations you’re part of. Sharing the site with others who may be interested
is appreciated.
Five videos are currently available for viewing:
Separation Perfected (updated for 2013): an introduction to Guy Debord’s concept
of «spectacle»
Now. . .This (updated for 2013): inspired by Postman’s TV News analysis in
Amusing Ourselves to Death
The Tragedy That Remains (updated for 2013): on the cult of celebrity via the
Princess Diana global media frenzy
Mr. Money: the 2008 financial meltdown and bailout
WMD Blues: the musicality of war propaganda, illustrated by the propaganda
campaign leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The site also includes a Quote of the Day feature which is intended to further
spread awareness of media ecological themes. Today’s quote is one my favorites
from McLuhan which I’ve used often in live performances.
Contact me off-list if you are interested in scheduling a screening or
performance at your school or institution. The Events and Testimonials screens
will give you a fairly good idea of what you might expect from a TSTS event. As
always, feedback from this community is welcome. In the fifteen years I’ve been
producing this project, I’ve found no other group of people whose spirit and
interests intersect quite so well with my own.
Eric Goodman
THUS SPOKE THE SPECTACLE
http://www.thespectacle.net
Blog de Octavio Islas 