87: The Aubrey Marcus Spectacle

When we left our Austin conspirituality heroes in the last episode, Charles Eisenstein, New Age Q, was locking in his position as the philosopher—or jester—in the court of Aubrey Marcus.

But what of this court? Matthew’s scene by scene analysis of some prime Marcus marketing porn will give us some clues. The video in question is for Marcus’s life-coaching programme, which is called “Fit for Service.” The visuals centre around what looks like a haka ritual dance, through which customers release their inner warriors, nurture their affiliate links and jazz up their socials.

On point for the influencer age, the ritual plays out in a narcissistic hall of mirrors, choreographed for performance by programme participants in order to promote the programme they are performing in. Naturally, Matthew will be using the analytical frameworks of spectacle and simulation from Guy Debord and Jean Baudrillard to make sense of it. He’ll also apply Renato Rosaldo’s concept of “imperialist nostalgia” to explore the ugly conflicts in Marcus’s indigenous cosplay.

Show Notes

Fit for Service homepage

fit.for.service: A Dandelion In A Field Is Un-killable

A poet’s plea to save our planet | IN-Q | TED Institute

"Revolution": The FORGOTTEN Voices of The Pandemic Will Have You In Tears

The 5 Desires: Marcus on FFS promises

Aubrey Marcus - Fit For Service Mastermind - Review – Max Hug

The Wellness Pornographers. Gamifying intimacy, abusing public… | by Matthew Remski | Medium

Heresy Labs on Heilung

Renato Rosaldo: Imperialist Nostalgia