A guide to spectatorship theory
‘the individual’s own role and activity in participating in the pleasure of the text, in
determining the meaning of a film and, even, the meaningfulness of cinema’
(Michele Aaron, Spectatorship: The Power of looking on, 2007)
The definition of spectatorship has changed dramatically throughout cinema history.
Constantly evolving with advancements in new technologies, and the experimentation of
filmmakers and artists to produce texts which challenge and push the spectator into new
territories, experimental film/video art questions what it truly means to be a spectator.
The key to defining what it is to be a spectator is how an individual identifies with a text.
This identification can shift and alter over the viewing experience, and is dependent on a
number of factors (which will be explored further). The spectator will read a text, and then
they may re- read this to try and gain a clearer understanding or try and relate to what they
have seen/experienced. Re-reading the text is key to experimental film/video art, because
there is often something to be gained from experiencing and re-experiencing the often
challenging imagery and ideologies of the text (if there are any clear messages at all).
There is a pleasure to be gained by the spectator from viewing a text. This does not mean
however that the experience will be
pleasant, but in fact experimental film plays
on the ability to challenge the spectator, and
indulge in the frustration or confusion which
can be caused by these texts. Aaron notes
‘the pleasure of unpleasure’ (Aaron 2007: 52)
which is central to many examples of
experimental film/video art which you have
viewed already. It is important to note that
these filmmakers/artists want to challenge
spectators, and maintain the attention which can be lost when viewing a film in the
conventional setting of the darkened multiplex.
The spectator will adopt a viewing position, which will
be affected by their own background and life
experiences. This can include their gender, race, age,
sexual orientation and any other aspect of their
personality or previous knowledge. Looking at sexual
orientation in relation to the texts you have viewed,
specifically the work of Kenneth Anger, how would this
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effect how you read the text and how you were positioned to view the text? What
messages/ideologies are encoded within the text that the spectator could relate to?
These messages/ideologies can be explicit or implicit throughout the text, in which the
spectator will either be told how to feel and which
characters/situations to relate to, or they will have to
search for meaning – this is predominant in experimental
film. This is also reliant on the amount of knowledge the
spectator has, and how much they need to know before
viewing a text. The texts will have some form of historical,
social, cultural or political context, even if they seem
extreme, confusing or to have no meaning at all. Looking at the experimental film The Big
Shave (Scorsese, 1967) how does your knowledge of the text effect your experience of its
viewing? (Context – Vietnam war)
With an example like The Big Shave the spectator may read the text in varied ways, before
and after knowing the context in which it was produced. There are multiple readings of this
text as with other examples of experimental film/video art, including preferred, oppositional
and negotiated readings.
Preferred – The text has been coded in a particular way for the spectator to read
Negotiated – The spectator may read the text through the preferred coding put in place by
the filmmaker/artist, but can gain more than one message from the text
Oppositional – Spectators read the text in a varied way to the preferred coding, due to their
previous social and cultural experiences. The spectator rejects the preferred reading to
bring their own alternative reading to the text
The majority of experimental film/video art allows the spectator to gain what they want
from the texts, rather than encoding the texts with a defined, preferred reading – this is one
aspect which makes the texts experimental. The spectator’s connection to the text and their
experience of it may involve them becoming a voyeur and switching their positioning
throughout. Are there any examples which you have looked at which feel particularly
voyeuristic?
Often, what can be so frustrating about experimental film is that the
spectator is not told how to feel, and it is in fact the lack of a clear
message which defines the text as experimental. The
filmmaker/artist may want you, as a spectator, to test your own
boundaries and also indulge in the absurdity of experimental film
(Research Dada for more on the absurdity of art/film).
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A spectator’s experience of experimental film/video art is also
highly dependent on the exhibition location. The spectator may
have to alter their expectations of what a film is and where it
should be shown, when experiencing experimental texts. Rather
than being seated in a darkened room, these film and installations
are shown in various locations outside the comfort of the cinema,
which spectators have become somewhat too comfortable with.
These locations include art galleries, museums, outdoor locations
(projections) and churches (Bill Viola). Thinking about Bill Viola’s
choice of location, what effect does location have on you as a
spectator when viewing an experimental film or video art
installation?
As well as location affecting the spectator’s experience,
the spectator may also be involved with the production of
an experimental film/video art installation, as it is not just
about viewing the texts, but experiencing them (Research
the work of Bill Seaman for more on this). It is about
taking part and being part of the artwork itself and
affecting the final piece (Research participatory culture,
Henry Jenkins, 2006 for more on the crossover between producer and audience).
Key points
A spectator reads and may re-read a text to gain different messages/experiences – this is key to
experimental film
The pleasure which is gained is not always pleasant; the pleasure could be being challenged, ‘the
pleasure of unpleasure’ (Aaron, 2007)
The spectator adopts a viewing position, which is affected by their background (age, race, gender,
sexual orientation)
Messages/ideologies are encoded in the text, and may be explicit or implicit (Think implicit with
experimental film)
Spectator knowledge can be key to gaining meaning from a text, this is often dependent on the
context in which the text was produced (Historical, cultural, political, and social)
The text can be read in multiple ways (preferred, oppositional and negotiated), and the spectator
may alter their position throughout the viewing/experience of a text
Location is important to how the spectator experiences a text – Think about how coming out of
the comfort of the darkened multiplex to a location such as, a museum or art gallery may affect
the spectator (and how being involved with the production/construction of the text may affect
their experience – participatory culture, Henry Jenkins, 2006)
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