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Spectacle: Why We Crave the Unreal
We live in an age of endless screens, curated selves, viral catastrophes, and synthetic realities. Everywhere we turn, we’re confronted not with truth, but with performance. Not with presence, but with projection. In a world that promises connection, many of us feel more fragmented than ever.
Why We Crave the Unreal explores how we got here — and what it’s doing to us. From Guy Debord’s prophetic Society of the Spectacle to the algorithms that shape our feeds, this book traces the evolution of modern spectacle across media, politics, identity, and attention. It examines how desire is manufactured, how distraction is monetized, and how even resistance is absorbed back into the system.
But this is not just a critique. It’s also a call to reclaim the real. With depth, clarity, and warmth, Dr Alexander Thompson invites readers to drift, subvert, and reimagine — to build a life grounded in care, presence, and quiet rebellion.
For anyone feeling overwhelmed by simulation, this book offers not purity, but practice. Not escape, but return.
Because even now, you can still choose where to look.
Why We Crave the Unreal explores how we got here — and what it’s doing to us. From Guy Debord’s prophetic Society of the Spectacle to the algorithms that shape our feeds, this book traces the evolution of modern spectacle across media, politics, identity, and attention. It examines how desire is manufactured, how distraction is monetized, and how even resistance is absorbed back into the system.
But this is not just a critique. It’s also a call to reclaim the real. With depth, clarity, and warmth, Dr Alexander Thompson invites readers to drift, subvert, and reimagine — to build a life grounded in care, presence, and quiet rebellion.
For anyone feeling overwhelmed by simulation, this book offers not purity, but practice. Not escape, but return.
Because even now, you can still choose where to look.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2025
1 person want to read
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