The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle - Empire of Illusion

A well written and onverwhelmingly sad book! The first chapter about pro-wrestling was hilarious and I enjoyed it very much. The rest of the is probably just as true, although it was rehashing some ideas I've heard before Hedges dark vision of our country hit me hard. Twice I felt so sick to my stomach that I threw the book across the room. The biggest kicker was the final chapter were Hedges, instead of grasping at solutions, says there is no hope except maybe for love. LOVE!?!?! God dammit!

It seems as if Old Testament Prophets synergistically coalesced into Hedges book with plenty of ethical and philosophical justification. Here we have a long overdue, relentless, realistic and uninhibited exposure and description of what ails America. It is sprinkled with plenty of justified moralizing.

When interpreting, Hedges writes in highly condensed sentences that are so overloaded with wisdom wrought through historical synthesis that many deserve a pause for intellectual digestion, reflections, and verification. He shows that he has digested for a long time what he produces. Almost always, the perceptive reader will quietly and, at times, tragic-comically, say true, true, true. He draws from plenty of famous writer of a similar genre ranging from Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, C. Wright Mills, Christopher Lasch, Neil Postman, John Ralston Saul, to Laura Nader, Daniel Boorstin, Andrew Bacevich, Chalmers Johnson, David Cay Johnston. et al..

The book starts with a long, poignant, if not mood-setting, description of a typical faked, surreal and stage-managed World Wrestling match. Relating it to Plato's allegory of the cave, Hedges then expands the analysis to current socio-economic conditions, the Empire of Illusion, where fantasy is more real than reality. This state is forged by celebrity gossip, advertisement lies, pop psychology, New Age mysticism and marketing and sales techniques. He says celebrity culture banishes reality and morality and creates the illusion of aspiration.

Drawing from popular and infantile TV programs, Hedges zeroes in on capitalism and its ability to lie and manipulate. Unrestrained, without remorse, unfettered capitalism gave us Wall Street bankers and investment houses "that willfully trashed the nation's economy, stole money from tens of millions of small stockholders....The heads of these corporations, like the winners of a reality television (show)...walked away with hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses and compensation."

Spectacle triumphed and indeed replaced literacy.

The second chapter of five, entitled "The Illusion of Love" offers an unrelentingly raw and graphic description of the pornography industry. 13,000 porn films are produced per year in the U.S. with AT&T and GM collecting about 80 percent of its revenues! Sensitive readers should be forewarned by Hedges' uninhibited expose of the brutal, criminal and inhumane sado-masochistic psychopathology that is so extensively tolerated and rewarded under the guise of constitutional liberties.

Using a porn film convention, venued appropriately in Las Vegas (which in itself is part of our illusory empire based upon image, corruption and criminality), Hedges zeroes in on the degradation of the female and relates it quite poignantly to torture of Abu Ghraib.

Higher education is dissected, analyzed and exposed in chapter three. Focusing on the U of Cal. at Berkeley, we are given the typical corruption, mismanagement and wrong-headed policies that have been practiced and have ruined the system for a long time: obscenely overpaid coaches, top-heavy administrations which violate the law or its intent and are pre-occupied with fund raising, military contracts and influence and professors whose words, language and research are unconnected to morality and civilization.

The products of the educational system are subverted into the corporate structure so that universities have essentially transmogrified into trade schools imparting skills required by CEOs. The Humanities have been assaulted while the top universities crank out people like George W. Bush, "a man with severely limited intellectual capacity and no moral core."

The elites head for Wall Street without knowing that morality is the product of civilization. The flight from the humanities, pushed also by Andrew Carnegie, has become a flight from conscience.

Summers, Paulson, Rubin, Bernanke, Geithner, Blankfein, et al. and the ruling class determined educational content, controlled the airwaves and the hall of Congress "while looting the country" and most are incapable of acknowledging their responsibility for "our decline."

While all of this transpired, the masses had to be happy, and that is the substance of chapter four. Positive psychology, preached at major universities and inflicted in the most infantile and embarrassing pep rally patterns by corporations upon their employees, generates the illusion of enthusiasm. It permeates governmental agencies and corporations as well as the how-to-find-happiness industry. Real relationships, so Hedges believes, are destroyed by the constant pressure to exhibit false enthusiasm and buoyancy.

The last chapter, the "Illusion of America," summarizes the rusty and dilapidated infrastructure of the U.S., its technologically backward transportation system, collapsing sewage systems, blood-draining military spending, mortal indebtedness and fiscal hopelessness. Corporate campaign spending prevents democracy, which Hedges views as incompatible with America's imperialism.

While lamenting the pathetic state of America, Hedges waxes romantically and longs for the golden age of the past. He believes, ironically as many conservatives do, too, that the solution resides in the restoration of the olden ways. Well, there is only a small qualified case for this unless he wants to restore slavery, engage in ethnic cleansing of Native Americans and adulate the policies of the Robber Barons. A close reading of major speeches by members of Congress throughout the 19th and 20th cent. would shock Hedges with their extreme similarities to the inflammatory rhetoric of fascist strongmen. It is ethics, more than restoration, which will solve the issues. Here Hedges, ironically, shows a mild symptom of being entrapped by the very element he criticizes so successfully, namely--for lack of a better phrase--the political pep rally mentality. In the final analysis, in the absence of ethics, overwhelming events will force corrective measures, unfortunately, so history shows.

Aside from this shortcoming, Hedges, all in all, produced an important and exceptional book based on self-sustaining and most admirable ethics.

I think all high schools should require the students to read this book, but then again the capitalist parasites would not want that to happen.I really liked the book and Chris Hedges seems like a man with character. As a Muslim i respect Christians like Chris Hedges

Ooooh-wee! And the truth shall set you free. This book just made me glad once again that I am sixty-three and not sixteen. This country is full of people who are brainwashed and don't even know what that means. Great book. Sad and hard to read.

This work is a scathing critique of popular culture! As usual "corporate statehood" (a state heavily influenced by corporate interests) is the streak running through this book and other works of Hedges. His theses are eye-opening and provocative, but why so negative? aren't there any redeeming features of corporate-hood and the illusion of happiness industry --another topic he discusses in depth? I also thing Hedges is tendentious in his discounting the role consumers and citizens play in enabling the outsize influence of corporate greed in the American economy.

chis hedges.brilliantly examens the pervasive ,complete disoloution of every aspect of our lives through the dead lens of total corporate onslaught.the logical conclusion gives us a stark .depressing insight into who we are and what we have become.the consequences ofFree market run amok are illustrated .I wonder how much longer till we hit bottom?

Chris Hedges vividly illustrates how popular media cunningly divides, shames, and exploits the American public while at the same time it conveniently distracts us and numbs us to the injustices of a corporate state and the dismantling of our social safety net, public health, and democracy by a bought and paid for government in Washington.

This book is a thorough and meticulous examination of cultural phenomena that ultimately undermine our ability, or perhaps more alarmingly, our desire, to question the information we receive in order to make informed judgments about our fate as a society. Celebrity, reality TV, infotainment and spectacle masquerading as significance are all examined within this work. A good eye-opener.

Chris Hedges is a master at provocative titles. His War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning compels examination by its ambiguity. Is he serious or is he, well, serious? It is an intelligent and readable analysis of an important element of U.S. culture. Hedges' most recent offering, is unambiguous but uses the "after-the-colon-title-trick to compel interest. Empire of Illusion: the End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle is shorthand for what we already know - sort of. In its entirety the work is clear, logical, convincingly argued and lives up to its title.
Even so, the author's long description of events in professional wrestling seems a strained and tedious metaphor for the larger reality that literacy has been eclipsed by spectacle - Shakespeare is dead; long live Vince McMahon and cable TV. While professional wrestling is an appropriate example of spectacle, as a metaphor advancing the book's title, it seems weak, if not trivial. Hedges' apparent fascination with the script of professional wrestling produces a shaky introduction to an important argument. So stick with it, the book is not really about wrestling. And if you want a book about wrestling, you might look elsewhere.
Other examples, for instance pornography, deal with things that are of society but not seen as appropriate to "culture" and therefore appear only tangential to the topic. If spectacle replaces literacy (and the assumption is there was a time when literacy characterized culture) then the examples of spectacle should be novel and not those which have been around forever like wrestling (gladiators) and pornography (pornography). How is either different now than it was in ancient Rome
On the whole the book is important even if alarming because of the strength of its argument that the masses in modern culture are obsessed with the trivial and ignore the powerful and their single-minded focus on war, greed and keeping the masses addicted to spectacle.

Makes some good points, but author harps too much on every point be makes, going overboard and milking it for all it's worth. He dwells so much on the gruesome pornography chapter that I start to think it turns him on inspire of himself. I also think he's a closet pro wrestling fan since he has to go into crazy detail on the stories behind every match.

Yes, it's true: we Americans are heading towards the death of the intellect, but I think this is a lot more about the lack of critical thinking and heavy reliance on push-button technology than simply a trend away from reading or deeper thought. Hedges is an intellectual heavily steeped in the classics, and if one is to take his point of view, one does not accept that a post-secondary education is beyond the means of most Americans, and that colleges favor actual learning or intellect over merit achieved by test scores. Yes, America is a crass place with a populace embracing its crass fun over the deeper intellect, but let's be honest: the U.S. is not really a place where the individual flourishes but simply achieves greater financial success than the rest of the world (a few European nations excepted). Education is a personal responsibility here, and does not simply come with a degree or upbringing.

Makes poverty, hardship, and debauchery seem up close and quite real.

I Almost felt suicidal after reading it. The remarkable feature is not having a plan; a hope; a suggestion, of how our worldly condition may be improved upon. I truly admire Chris Hedges astute powers of observation. His writings are soul scorching powerful.

I'll begin by saying that this book did something to my emotions. On one hand I can say "thank you for confirming my instincts" and in the same breath say "this is too much to bear". Illusions is a great work that needs to be mulled over again and again, but take care of yourself along the way.

I typically don't write book reviews because for it to have any value, I would have to provide my resume. I could just as easily be a total loon and not have a dad gum clue. While I am not that bad, I am a college educated professional who have spent close to 3 decades working in the industry of my study. With regard to Empire of Illusion, there are reasons why the focus of America's attention seems to be on Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump. How is it possible to plunder a schoolteacher's retirement account and not end up standing in front a firing squad. ? America is rotting from the inside out. What is worse, it that this rotting was designed and engineered to distract attention from the efforts of plutocrats. Anytime you see racial strife between crowds of poor people, you should know you are watching a successful campaign by plutocrats who don't give a s*** about poor people. race ? color? means nothing. We are being dumbed down to those rock throwing 20 year olds in gaza, with their 60% unemployment.
That desert is coming also. This is one of the 5 greatest books I have ever read and I will be forever changed by it..

If you constantly find yourself asking yourself why you read fewer popular newspapers, magazines and TV (?) - this book might give you some alarming insights.

Well worth the time to read - and ponder - and then, act on.

CRS

Great book. Chris Hedges is a thought provoking author, was a war correspondent for over 20 years until he started writing against the Iraq War which upset "them". He writes for "us". (Sorry but love that Pink Floyd song)The propaganda ministry does not like him as he goes off the message they want to promote. More of a reason to read anything he writes! Recommended highly.

Very disappointing. Very graphic. Undisciplined writing. Much more focused on the sorded details that shock and disgust the reader than of the problem - the philsophical reasons we are at this point and what we can do about it. Chris Hedges is capable of better than this.

A most powerful second half of this book saves it from being just prurient reading. Why a serious and well-informed writer like Chris Hedges would expend so many words on wrestling and porno is beyond me. The Empire of Illusion is a wake-up call to a more catastrophic future than simple global warming. Hedges provides a thoroughly researched and sobering look at the leaders and corporations shaping our culture.

Like Rome before the collapse, our culture is distracted by spectacle: Super Bowls, Hollywood Scandal, A Crazed Veteran Holed up an Incinerated in a cabin - pre-empting the lead up to the State of the Union Address by President Obama, etc. the examples are all too numerous.

Hedges' thoughtful and well written essay exposes the folly of our times.

Just open the book,small type,smaller type,uninterrupted prose with no tables,no graphs and no data. You can find the illusion but not the reality. Being 2008 it is dated,and directed to a small audience. Someone who likes porn,pro wrestling and Cheney but could be influenced by reading. No help for the reader,no introductions,no conclusions no headings minimal organisation. Stating the obvious in the form of an annotated bibliography, not a flowing narrative.