Have we become tourists?

Question

How far does the spectacle extend into your life?


"The spectacle is CAPITAL accumulated to the point where it becomes image...the world the spectacle holds up to view is at once HERE and ELSEWHERE; it is the world of the commodity ruling over all lived experience."
--Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle

"We drove 22 miles into the country[...] Soon the sign started appearing. THE MOST PHOTOGRAPHED BARN IN AMERICA. We counted five signs before we reached the site. There were 40 cars and a tour bus in the makeshift lot. [...] All the people had cameras [...] A man in a booth sold postcards and slides — pictures of the barn taken from the elevated spot. We stood [...] and watched the photographers. Murray maintained a prolonged silence, occasionally scrawling some notes in a little book.

“No one sees the barn,” he said finally.

A long silence followed.

“Once you’ve seen the signs about the barn, it becomes impossible to see the barn.""
--Don Delilo, White Noise

Answer 1

I think we become tourists because the real nitty-gritty of living life can be quite painful. When Murray said, “No one sees the barn,” I feel he may have meant "no one experiences the barn." No one felt the impact the barn had on the quality of life for the critters that may have been lodged there.

When my dad died the only way I got through it was to hide behind the camera, I saw the people alright, near and dear, family and friends gathered to mourn the loss of my dad. I saw but for a while I didn't have to feel.

Answer 2

This is an interesting posit. I think that personally I could be a tourist. I always want to see, learn, observe, explore, especially because I feel SO isolated in this society. I was born and raised here in the US. What I see in this current social environment contiuously puzzles me. Superficiality and materialism reallyreally disappoints me. To the point where I really feel like an alien, which would indeed make me a tourist.
Thanks for the cool question!
I love to think!

Answer 3

We are all tourists. Interesting. But not really. Seriously though, I get it. Or do I? Kidding. I think this phenomena is best described as our search for our roots. We're all looking for something greater than the last something. We just never see because you never see what's hidding in plain sight.

Answer 4

yes, we are tourists in this life. Everything is elusive, like a photographer capturing moments in a foreign land. We try to capture moments (lands) that we won't be able to travel again as time does not permit.

Answer 5

True and, sadly, this is becoming a universal phenomenon.