Editing Guy Debord (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Guy Debord was born in [[Paris, France|Paris]] in 1931. Debord's father, Martial, was a pharmacist who died when Debord was young. Debord's mother, Paulette Rossi, sent Debord to live with his grandmother in her family [[villa]] in Italy. During [[World War II]], the Rossis left the villa and began to travel from town to town. As a result, Debord attended high school in [[Cannes]], where he began his interest in film and vandalism.<ref>Bourseiller, Christophe. "Vie et Mort de Guy Debord". Agora.</ref>

As a young man, Debord actively opposed the [[Algerian War|French war in Algeria]] and joined in demonstrations in Paris against it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.notbored.org/guillaume.html|title=Pierre Guillaume Remembers Guy Debord|website=Notbored.org|access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref> Debord studied law at the [[University of Paris]], but left early and did not complete his university education. After ending his stint at the University of Paris, he began his career as a writer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Guy Debord, Concept of the Spectacle|last=Jappe|first=A|publisher=Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.|year=1999}}</ref>

=== Involvement with the Lettrists ===
Debord joined the [[Lettrism|Lettrists]] when he was 18. The Lettrists were led dictatorially by [[Isidore Isou]] until a widely agreed upon schism ended Isou's authority. This schism gave rise to several factions. One of them, the Letterist International, was decidedly led by Debord upon [[Gil J. Wolman|Gil Wolman]]'s unequivocal recommendation.<ref>Bourseiller, ibid</ref> In the 1960s, Debord led the [[Situationist International]] group, which influenced the Paris Uprising of 1968, during which he took part in the occupation of the [[Sorbonne (building)|Sorbonne]]. Some consider his book ''[[The Society of the Spectacle]]'' (1967) to be a catalyst for the uprising.<ref>Andreotti, L. "Review: Leaving the twentieth century: The Situationist International." ''Journal of Architectural Education, 49''(3), p. 197.</ref>

===Founding of the Situationist International===
In 1957, the Letterist International, the [[International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus]], and the [[London Psychogeographical Association]] gathered in Cosio d'Arroscia (Imperia), Italy, to found the Situationist International, with Debord having been the leading representative of the Letterist delegation. Initially made up of a number of well-known artists such as [[Asger Jorn]] and [[Pinot Gallizio]], the early days of the SI were heavily focused on the formulation of a critique of art, which would serve as a foundation for the group's future entrance into further political critiques. The SI was known for a number of its interventions in the [[art world]], which included one raid against an international art conference in [[Belgium]] during 1958<ref>Internationale Situationniste No. 1, June 1958, pages 29–30,</ref> that included a large pamphlet drop and significant media coverage, all of which culminated in the arrest of various situationists and sympathizers associated with the scandal. In addition to this action, the SI endeavored to formulate [[industrial painting]], or, painting prepared en masse with the intent of defaming the original value largely associated with the art of the period. In the course of these actions, Debord was heavily involved in the planning and logistical work associated with preparing these interventions, as well as the work for ''Internationale Situationniste'' associated with theoretical defense of the Situationist International's actions.<ref>Debord, Guy. ''Correspondence: The Founding of the Situationist International. ''Semiotext(e). 2008.</ref>

===Political phase of the Situationist International===
With Debord's 1967 ''[[The Society of the Spectacle]]'' and excerpts from the group's journal, ''Internationale Situationniste'', the Situationists began to formulate their theory of the spectacle, which explained the nature of late capitalism's historical decay. In Debord's terms, situationists defined the spectacle as an assemblage of social relations transmitted via the imagery of class power, and as a period of capitalist development wherein "all that was once lived has moved into representation".<ref>{{cite web|author=Guy Debord|date=1967|title=Society of the Spectacle|website=marxists.org|url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/debord/society.htm}}</ref> With this theory, Debord and the SI would go on to play an influential role in the [[May 1968 events in France|revolts of May 1968 in France]], with many of the protesters drawing their slogans from Situationist tracts penned or influenced by Debord.<ref>
Knabb, Ken. ''Situationist International Anthology''. Bureau of Public Secrets, 2007.
</ref><ref name=":1">Debord, Guy. ''The Society of the Spectacle''. Zone Books, 1995.
</ref>

===After the Situationist International===
[[File:In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni.JPG|thumb|left|Published by [[Éditions Gérard Lebovici]] (1990)]]
In 1972, Debord disbanded the Situationist International after its original members, including [[Asger Jorn]] and [[Raoul Vaneigem]], quit or were expelled. (Vaneigem wrote a biting criticism of Debord and the International.<ref>"The Veritable Split in the SI", 1972</ref>) Debord then focused on filmmaking with financial backing from the movie mogul and publisher [[Gérard Lebovici]] (éditions [[Champ Libre]]), until Lebovici's mysterious death. Debord was suspected of Lebovici's murder. He had agreed to have his films released posthumously at the request of the American researcher [https://german.princeton.edu/department/people/faculty/core/thomas-y-levin Thomas Y. Levin].<ref> Accessed 18 July 2024</ref><ref>Guy Debord, "Reflections of the Death of Gérard Lebovici"</ref>

After dissolving the Situationist International, Debord spent his time reading, and occasionally writing, in relative isolation in a cottage at Champot with [[Alice Becker-Ho]], his second wife. He continued to correspond on political and other issues, notably with Lebovici and the Italian situationist [[Gianfranco Sanguinetti]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.notbored.org/debord.html|title=Guy Debord|website=Notbored.org|access-date=27 December 2014}}</ref> He focused on reading material relating to war strategies, e.g. [[Carl von Clausewitz|Clausewitz]] and [[Sun Tzu]], and he designed a [[A Game of War|war game]] with [[Alice Becker-Ho]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Le Jeu de la Guerre: RelevÃ© des positions successives de toutes les forces au cours d'une partie – Guy Debord, Alice Becker-Ho – Livres |id={{ASIN|2070776514|country=fr}} }}</ref>

=== Death ===
Just before his death, Debord filmed (although did not release) the documentary ''Son art et son temps'' (''His Art and His Times''), an autobiography of sorts that focused primarily on social issues in Paris in the 1990s. It has been suggested that his dark depiction of this period was a [[suicide note]] of sorts. Both Debord's [[Depression (mood)|depression]] and alcohol consumption had become problematic, resulting in [[Alcoholic polyneuropathy|a form]] of [[neuritis|polyneuritis]]. Perhaps to end the suffering caused by these conditions, Debord died by suicide on 30 November 1994, shooting himself through the heart. This was not the first time he attempted to end his life.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guy Debord and the Situationist International|last=McDonough|year=2002}}</ref>

Debord's suicide is as controversial as it is unclear.<ref>{{cite news|author=Andrew Hussey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/jul/28/biography.artsandhumanities |title=The suicide of Guy Debord &#124; Books |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref> Some assert that it was a revolutionary act related to his career. Due to his involvement with the radical [[Situationist International]] (SI), as well as his sadness at 'the society as a spectacle' being considered a [[cliché]] in later life, many think that Debord felt hopeless about the very society he was trying to shed light on. Debord was said to be "victim of the Spectacle he fought".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/25/biography.highereducation1|title=The Game of War: The Life and Death of Guy Debord|last=Baker|date=August 2001|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref> Among the many commentaries on Debord's demise, one scholar noted: "Guy Debord did not kill himself. He was murdered by the thoughtlessness and selfishness of so-called scholars (primarily trendy lit-criters) who colonized his brilliant ideas and transformed his radical politics into an academic status symbol not worth the pulp it's printed on..."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://situationnisteblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/transgressions-a-journal-of-urban-exploration-1995-2001/ |title=Transgressions: A Journal of Urban Exploration [1995–2001&#93; |website=Situationnisteblog.wordpress.com |date= 11 October 2014|access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref>