I do believe that debord was aiming for more than shallow moralizing about the evils of capitalism. Marx certainly considered capitalism a step forward. But if we use the word capitalism at all, we are assuming that it constitutes a useful independent variable for analysis; cultural, sociological, or otherwise. Debord does a deft job at this analysis, irreducible to the average complaints about Facebook or twitter. For example, how might Debord's critiques be applied to the phenomena constituting the Arab Spring? Think about what sparked the Arab spring. Think about the Egyptian revolutionaries' adoption of the Guy Fawkes mask. Juxtapose those 'spectacles' against Debord's observation that 'the "society of the spectacle" offers false models of revolution.'
imho, these illustrations are probably counter-productive insofar as they turn debord into a parody of himself, a straw man to knock over, rather than what he was: a truly dangerous thinker.
imho, these illustrations are probably counter-productive insofar as they turn debord into a parody of himself, a straw man to knock over, rather than what he was: a truly dangerous thinker.