Aristotle's catharsis, or the purification of emotions through drama, indicates a way in which the spectacle becomes an affective medium for the spectator. For tragedy to assume the "finest form," the drama must " fear and pity" (Aristotle 639). Aristotle's from The Poetics essentially argues how the proper arrangement of dramatic elements elicits an emotional response from the audience. Associated with the display of performance and theater (the Greek theates meaning " spectator" and theasthai meaning "to behold"), the spectacle and its ties to the visual and the emotions dates back to Greek tragedy. Like its optical counterpart spectacles which mediates eye with object, the spectacle event serves as a form of mediation between the eye and the affective senses of the spectator. The etymology of the word spectacle derives from the Latin root spectare "to view, watch" and specere "to look at," and even the alternative definition of spectacle as a pair of spectacles or glasses refers to an instrument used in assistance of sight or as a mediating eye. The OED definition of spectacle encompasses "curiosity or contempt" and "marvel or admiration." While the affective response to spectacle may vary from spectator to spectator, much of the spectacle's appeal (or repugnance) derives from its visual power and ability to hold the gaze of the viewer. The word spectacle conjures images of extravagant display and performance, or more negatively, images of violence and atrocity. A person or thing exhibited to, or set before, the public gaze as an object either (a) of curiosity or contempt, or (b) of marvel or admiration." one on a large scale), forming an impressive or interesting show or entertainment for those viewing it." or "2. A specially prepared or arranged display of a more or less public nature (esp. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," in Visual and Other Pleasures.īloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Comments on the Society of the Spectacle. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999.ĭebord, Guy. Suspensions of Perception: Attention, Spectacle, and ModernĬulture. "Eclipse of the Spectacle," in Art After Modernism: RethinkingĬrary, Jonathan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.Ĭrary, Jonathan. "Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematographic Apparatus," inįilm Theory and Criticism : Introductory Readings. New York: The New Museum ofīaudry, Jean-Louis. "The Precession of Simulacra," in Art After Modernism: Rethinking Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.īaudrillard, Jean. "Leaving the Movie Theater," in The Rustle of Language. New York: The Modern Library, 1992.īarthes. "De Poetica," in Introduction to Aristotle.
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