Date of Award

5-2010

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Art and Design

First Advisor

Professor Brenton Good

Abstract

Spectacle lives a double life, straddling both the realms of academia and entertainment, both a subject of critical theory and mass-mediated culture. It is simultaneously dissected by scholarly writing and applied by critics and layperson alike to aesthetically stimulating films, musicals, and the lights of Vegas. Generically, spectacle is understood as an impressive visual presentation, grand in scale, and is often associated with either the theater or circus.1 In popular culture, the word spectacle is frequently used to describe the media phenomena of professional sports, television productions, blockbuster movies, musical concerts, etc. This term’s widespread application makes it flexible yet culturally entrenched, and therefore challenging to define concisely.

Comments

This paper is provided open access to promote scholarship and is intended for personal study and not-for-profit educational use.

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