Hyperreality and Liveness in Kenyan Spoken Word Poetry Performances in Social Media

Abstract

The postmodern concept of hyperreality has gained enough relevance in contemporary society due to advancement in digital media technology. The use of social media as a performance space reintroduces the ongoing debate about what constitutes liveness in a performance. Traditionally, liveness was defined in terms of theatrical performances, but over time the term has broadened to incorporate digital media performances. Social media performances are important in helping to establish how liveness is constructed in virtual spaces, where physical co-presence between the performer and the audience is non-existent. An exploration of liveness in relation to televised drama contextualizes the discussion about liveness in mediated performances and sets the stage for the analysis of unique features that distinguish television performances with social media performances. Spoken word poetry performances in social media spaces provide the necessary framework within which to illustrate how liveness is constructed in social media spaces. The key objective in this study is to distinguish the construction of liveness in social media spaces with other mediated performances, with the aim of introducing new perspectives in the concept of hyperreality and the field of performance studies in general.