[Book review] Notes on the Death of Culture: Essays on Spectacle and Society, by Mario Vargas Llosa

by Ana Zarb | Mar 18, 2021 | featured, Reviews

After reading The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa I became an instant fan of the guy. Of his style of writing, of his stories, of his creativity. Notes on the Death of Culture: Essays on Spectacle and Society (La civilización del espectáculo) was no different. This book really spoke to me because it is a critic of today’s society and how our lives have become some sort of show which is not supposed to last very long or be remembered. 

“What do I mean by civilization of the spectacle? That of a world in which entertainment occupies first place on the chart of current values, where having a good time, escaping boredom, is a universal passion. this life ideal is perfectly legitimate, of course. Only a puritan fanatic could reproach the members of a society who want to provide entertainment, recreation, humor and diversion to lives generally framed by depressing and at times numbing routines. But to convert that natural penchant for having a good time into a supreme value sometimes had unexpected consequences. These include the banalization of culture, the spread of superficiality, and, in the specific field of information, the proliferation of irresponsible journalism, which feeds off gossip and scandal.”

One of the subjects he extends himself in, and I enjoyed very much, is culture. He mentions how in the past there used to be high and low culture. The first belonged to the upper class and the latter to the lower one (I don’t even think the middle class really existed until the Industrial Age). That distinction provided the environment for the creation of great art, music, plays, etc.

This is such a controversial topic, because as much as it is important to universalize knowledge and culture there is a paradigm switch, from culture back then being something transcendent and meaningful to now being almost purely for entertainment, extremely commercial and very temporary.

“The essential difference between the culture of the past and the entertainment of today is that the products of the former sought to transcend mere present time, to endure, to stay alive for future generations, while the products of the latter are made to be consumed instantly and disappear, like cake or popcorn.”

I also found very interesting his take on the part intellectuals play in our society today.

“Because in the civilization of the spectacle, intellectuals are of interest only if they play the fashion game and become clowns.”

I agree with him on this one. In the past, we had leaders in our communities such as Gandhi or and Mandela who truly change their era because of their points of view and their attitude. Today, so much of the will to change the world get lost in our noisy way of living. Of course, we do still have such leaders, but their scale is not as broad as in the past.

Besides culture, he goes about how the spectacle spirit “poisoned” everything, from art to politics, from religion to economy, and even our sex and love lives. His writing can bring a lot of that “back in those days things were better” sentiment. Nonetheless, his arguments are solid and are reasonable.

One critique that can be made about this book and which is also valid it’s that though he presents the horrible state of our society today, he lacks in suggesting a solution. For me, after reading the book I don’t imagine how he could have come up with a list of solutions for so many deep and structural “problems”. Besides, that would mean writing a whole new book with completely different purposes than this one.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book for people who likes to discuss the topics of culture, society, art, culture, philosophy, political and economical systems… I don’t think is a read for everyone. So, if you can try a sample first, on kindle or elsewhere.

If you want, here are my affiliate links to these books in English and in Portuguese. ✨🤩

Happy reading!

Your friend,

Ana.