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A review by gellok
Forget Foucault by Jean Baudrillard
4.0
This was a strange text at first. In part due to the translation but also due to Baudrillard's style. If you are unfamiliar with Baudrillard's work, then do not "judge the book by its cover" - as it were. The text is not nearly as critical of Foucault as is often assumed, and Baudrillard is, at times, remarkably supportive of aspects of Foucauldian thought (perhaps accidentally on occasion). His distillation of Foucault to a few critical concepts (e.g. milieu and power) might be considered a tad unfair given the structure of Baudrillard's own critique. Much of his writing is a patois of heavy handed theoretical quandaries and seemingly solipsistic ruminations muddied by Baudrillard's fascination with the obscure.
The best advice I could give a reader here, in the case of reading from beginning to end, is to simply give Baudrillard a wide birth with his lackadaisical use of philosophical concepts. This approach will make significantly more sense if you're willing to wade through the "Forget Baudrillard" interview. Parts of the interview read as if both parties were speaking in code, but perhaps the most explanatory section comes about at the moment Sylvère Lotringer notes that Baudrillard "theorize[s] the way others go to a casino." Hence the alternative approach to reading this text as a whole would be to start with the with the last few pages of "Forget Baudrillard" as it provides a useful lens through which one can read and partially de-code some of Baudrillard's structural peculiarities.
A fun read regardless, though perhaps not brilliant in its content - assuming that's of concern.
The best advice I could give a reader here, in the case of reading from beginning to end, is to simply give Baudrillard a wide birth with his lackadaisical use of philosophical concepts. This approach will make significantly more sense if you're willing to wade through the "Forget Baudrillard" interview. Parts of the interview read as if both parties were speaking in code, but perhaps the most explanatory section comes about at the moment Sylvère Lotringer notes that Baudrillard "theorize[s] the way others go to a casino." Hence the alternative approach to reading this text as a whole would be to start with the with the last few pages of "Forget Baudrillard" as it provides a useful lens through which one can read and partially de-code some of Baudrillard's structural peculiarities.
A fun read regardless, though perhaps not brilliant in its content - assuming that's of concern.