The spectacle has entered our personal space and it cannot be turned off

While we believe the spectacle is something immeasurable outside ourselves, it's also sitting with us at the kitchen table

Note: As all these articles are, prior to September 2023, this is an import from my Patreon and initially the text and the audio were separate posts, so the audio reflects this. Please forgive the discrepancy!

Hey all! So this week, I'm just going to actually record last week's post because it was so long, and I'm still kind of working out some ideas around the spectacle. But in the meantime, it might be nice just to kind of have this longer piece a little bit more accessible so I'll just be reading through it and I hope you join me!

Spectacle is, by its very nature, a loud and dominating presence that takes over our attention, and our time. It’s untouchable, unaffected by who we are, how we think, or what we do. It’s meant to be. And the more over the top, the better—humans love to be dazzled, overcome, overrun. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the spectacle is attractive, wonderful, world-changing, or uplifting—horror, tragedy, folly, and oppression are also spectacle. But the defining factor is its allure; which is also its danger—what do we miss while in the throes of our overwhelm? What are we not paying attention to when we’re caught up in the magnitude of whatever is happening, when we cannot look away? At the heart of spectacle is profit and exploitation. Who wins, and who loses. I am tired of spectacle. Weary as hell. Worn out. Overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Entirely uninterested. I am ready for the anti-spectacle.