Rancière (2011) The Emancipated Spectator

The emancipated spectator is a sequel to Rancière's The Future of the Image and presents a critique of leftist melancoly in regard to the spectacle and the spectator. Rancière criticises the tendency of theorists of both art and film to portray audiences passive. Moves against this can be seen in forms of art, like new theatre and performance art. Yet, the spectator has not been passive to begin with: like a reader, the spectator makes unique connections, selects, and frames the performance. Left-wing melancholy in regard to the spectator becomes self-defeating and merely reifies the operation of the 'machine'.