Society of Audience extends the concept of audience as a group of people experiencing a particular performance to a metaphor which encompasses social constructs of gossip and self-organization.
In live performance, the players and audience interact in real time to some degree. In cinema, the audience of spectators in a single theater acknowledge a similar, but unique experience; my eyes are not your eyes. Literary and cinematic critics frequently describe the audience from the point of view of the single reader or spectator, (even as they refer to this spectator as "we"). Society of Audience broadens our acknowledgement of "audience" to admit the growth of the audience over time, the role of word-of-mouth gossip and public acknowledgement in the definition of a cultural talisman, and the act of self-organization as an essential feature of interpretation.
1. Read both the required papers and substantial parts of Henry Jenkins
2. Go to the movies, observe and annotate group behavior there
3. Engage in a discussion of the movie with friends.
4. Engage in a discussion of one of the virtual environments you have visited or visit regularly. Find someone to talk with who also visits this environment.
5. Write an essay which contrasts the activities of the single audience member or spectator, and the activities which lead the formation of a society of audience.
Please submit the URL of your critique online by Monday evening. Copies of the readings are available outside of E15-449. (Note: If you have questions about the assignment, please ask Glorianna (gid@media.mit.edu))