The culture of influencers, celebrity dramas, advertising lies, and fake news in the media are just a few examples of what Chris Hedges has addressed with a critical attitude to American life in his book "Empire of Illusion," which was recently translated by Shima Ali.

Chris Hedges is an American journalist and dissident who was born on September 18, 1956. He attended "Harvard," worked as a reporter for the New York Times, won the Pulitzer Prize, and authored 11 books. "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," "American Fascists," and "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt" are among his best-known works.

This author has divided his book into 5 chapters: The illusion of literacy, the illusion of love, the illusion of wisdom, the illusion of happiness, and the American illusion.  In each chapter, he has looked at different angles of the spread of the shadow of illusion on the life of American society.

In a part of the Illusion of Literacy chapter, which is dedicated to the entertainment industry and celebrity, he wrote that: In contemporary culture, the fake and show has replaced the real, original, and spontaneous thing, to the extent that reality itself has become the art of performance. We are the first people in history who have made their illusions so vivid, so convincing, and so "realistic" that they can live in them; We accept this risk. We are the most delusional people on earth.

In another section of his book, Chris Hedges believes that the media and celebrities are increasingly denigrated in order to make a living, and that celebrities are skillfully recruited under the control of consumerist culture.

In the “illusion of love” chapter, he criticizes the porn industry in American society and says that the more society loses touch with reality, especially regarding romantic and sexual relationships, and people don't know how relationships should be and how they should treat others, they turn to pornography more and more.

In “illusion of wisdom,” he puts the educational system of American society under the microscope and criticizes the first-rate colleges of this country and says that the respect of these first-rate colleges to the rich, despite the respect for public services, is clear to students, and the issue is money!

Chris Hedges talks about the political system of this country in the “American illusion” chapter, and said that the American government is devoid of any real authority, reserved only for the privileged class, and in a culture full of illusions.

According to him, America projects a fake moral order and power and tries to keep prosperity alive by borrowing trillions of dollars of money that it can never repay.