The Punk & The Godfather: My Reading Response to Guy Debord's "Theory of Derive"

+Note: please excuse the fact that the word derive has a fancy 'e' in it with a dash above it, and the fact that I chose to skip that for the sake of getting this blog through in time. Thank you.

Guy Debord's "Theory of Derive" spoke to me.

In a derive, one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other motives for movement and action, and let them be drawn to the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. (- Debord)

I find this entire concept of derive to be extrodinary because it happens in all of us. When we need something done most of us possess this sort of extra passion to get it done. Some people even go completely out of their way to complete the task at hand. In the idea of using Derive for a soundwalk, the concept becomes it's full blown definition. One of the things Debord mentions in his essay, is the fact that cities are a bad place to develop derive because of city limitiations and building zones and restrictions. One with derive will eventually become creative, and be "forced" to take matters into his/her own hands. This will cause trouble in some cases forcing the deriviter to talk to the law or even get mugged, and in the end that person is obligated to have derive in future situations.

I'm going deep into the idea I know but at a personal level a lot of my derive actually comes from obligation. The idea that if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it right (and good) comes into the game involvement everytime. Most derives are obligations for me but if I look in the past from other moments where derive has taken place, I remember mostly positive situations.

Am I obligated to go out and do a soundwalk? You bet your sweet bippy I am.

Why you ask? Because I'm a lazy college student.

Then what's going to happen? The same thing that happens everytime. I will force myself to get off my keister and derive will evetually kick in. I will want to go on a soundwalk, no I need to go on a sound walk.

Debord also said the derive will most likely not work early in the morning nor at night, and it really only lasts a few hours. This in my opinion is all true. In the morning, people are usually too groggy to even think of the idea of putting in effort. Most people need to be really motivated to derive in the morning. Same at night, people are tired and they are less motivated and to some degree crankiness kicks in and that's no fun. True as well derive only lasts a few hours, but hey for those of you with derive, look at what you did in those hours.......A statue of liberty designed out of cheese!? Wow, motivation's a crazy thing.

My motivation comes from purely derive. If I (Hypothetically) become a world famous director and I'm shooting a movie, bygonit I'm not gonna want to shoot every day, I'm a lazy person. But There's millions of dollars, hundreds of people, and set galore all waiting there for me. Skipping would be disastrous. That's when obligational derive will take it's form, and I will remember why I come to the studio from 6AM-10PM each day. Derive is a crazy concept, but it fills our hearts with joy at the fact that we accomplished something that day. And we were a little creative along the way. Thank you