[The spectacle] implies some sort of circus or show put on by a few and watched by the masses who stare dumbfoundedly in amusement and amazement. It implies control and passivity, separation and isolation. The "show," in fact, is modern society: "The entire life of societies in which modern conditions of production prevail announces itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles" (Debord, The Society of the Spectacle, p.1). The term spectacle subsumes all the means and methods power employs, outside of direct force, to relegate potentially political, critical, and creative human beings to the margins of thought and behavior. The spectacle then is depoliticization par excellence: "The very principle of the spectacle is nonintervention" (S.I. Anthology, p.45). Mesmerized by the wide array of "diversions" offered by the spectacular society, from goods and services to entertainment and conveniences, human beings stray far from the most critical task: changing the world and liberating everyday life. In the meantime, bureaucratic domination refines and perfects its techniques.
– from Drifting with the Situationist International, Anonymous