COVID-19 has been an exercise in phantasmagoria- a medieval form of horror theatre, where lights and shadows would be cleverly utilized to create narratives and environments incredibly distinct from everyday lives of the audience. This characteristic of projecting dream-like images was initially used by Marx in his criticism of capitalism and its accompanying feature of commodity fetishism- a feature of capitalism that, according to Marx, sees commodities as having inherent value that do not reflect the amount of labour power expended to produce these commodities. This fetishism has become an important defining trait of the first few months of 2020.
In light of the pandemic, many of us have turned to online shopping to deal with the anxieties of a deeply disrupted life. Several such online outlets have been relentlessly sending out advertising emails and campaigns about the great deals and offers for customers in these troubling times. At the same time, some giant consumer corporations have filed statements of bankruptcy, while others have started shutting down some of their production factories in order to cut losses. Since many of these factories are located in the global south, halt in production has adversely impacted several daily wage laborers of those countries, including India. These individuals have little to no social and financial protection from their governments. On the other hand, factories that continue to churn out products have been accused of not complying with safety standards, such as social distancing measures. This, therefore, has resulted in crowded factory floors. Such contradictory narratives are a perfect example of the aforementioned phantasmagoria. Here dreams as well as nightmares can become reality, all behind the shadows of carefully constructed and deeply entrenched institutions.
The social, economic, and political institutions that determine the status quo have also served to further exacerbate the socio-political contradictions that exist in everyday lives.One such contradiction lies in the differential exertion of labor power by factory workers and consumers. That is, commodities produced by workers forced to violate safety standards in their external places of work, are consumed by laborers who are mandated to stay home.This uneven value of different kinds of productive labour has led to grossly unequal development levels among labourers, and has consequently pushed some of them into the peripheries of the capitalist economy we live in.
The continued erasure of this unequal value system has led to the reiteration of mainstream narratives that focus on fetishising the commodity as objects without an origin and a future. Not only does the manufacturing labour disappear but so does the commodity itself, after its period of consumption.The labour of the proper disposal of these manufactured commodities is therefore also ignored as a result of commodity fetishism. What exists then is solely the desire to consume commodities that seem to promise some respite and normalcy during this tumultuous situation.The shadow work that comes into play in a phantasmagoric theatre experience too, is one that exists in a vacuum. The realities of the world outside the theatre where the performance takes place is completely absolved and replaced with an illusion that starts and ends within its four walls. This manufactured illusion is also characterised by the freedom offered by the darkness to create worlds and characterters that were hitherto unimagined.
Therefore, another important aspect of commodity fetishism is the notion of freedom attached to these products. While the mandatory lockdown has proved to be a debilitating experience at drastically varying levels for everyone, the economic structures within which we function have allowed for an escape route. This takes the form of false promises of freedom through the exchange of money for new commodities (such as clothes or technological devices). Such promises seek to generate a new and fabricated way to live a free life during the quarantine period, which is a time unmistakably characterized by its lack of liberty.
The pursuit for liberty is not only espoused by these markets, but also by the state. However, the pandemic has proven the inaccuracy of the constant proclamations that economic and political institutions are exclusive of each other. This too then, is another performance in phantasmagoria. The relaxation of labor laws across the country with several states allowing businesses and industries to be exempt from regulatory and safety laws, have been liberally termed as ‘reforms’ essential to kick start the sagging and pandemic ridden Indian economy. Reforms during a crisis are often touted as an indication of the state’s ability and willingness to recalibrate itself to new challenges. However, terming these draconian laws as ‘reforms’ only serve to entrench the state further into market structures and its status quo. The notion of freedom for those who live under this state then becomes a site of contention, where freedom of the few has come to be masqueraded as freedom for all.
Commodity fetishism and its resulting illusion of an all encompassing, inclusive life is therefore a grand performance in phantasmagoria. While the tools used to create this theatrical performance were relegated to the back stage, today the tools making the performance possible are very much in the public eye. Theatre and other forms of creative expression has long been used to not only reflect on values espoused by society but also to manifest idealized narratives. The unveiling of commodity fetishism as the prime instigator of this phantasmagoria must therefore serve to shift the spotlight from exchange services that make certain lives easier. The lights must instead be focussed on the institutions in place that allow for such grossly exclusionary and unequal narratives to take place simultaneously. It is imperative then to ensure that the illusions of phantasmagoric theatre remain a relic of the distant past.
Niranjana Rajesh
