Audience Experience Research Articles

Defamiliarizing Reality for Mental and Physical Subjection: Rereading Harold Pinter’s The Room and The Dumb Waiter as Political Comedies

While Pinter's earliest plays have been recognized in the modernist history of theatre as comedies of menace and his later plays as political comedies, this article argues that his earliest plays are equally very liable to be interpreted as political comedies. Regardless of their absurdist dramatization of people's helpless exposure to external, unidentifiable threats, a common post-WWII characteristic feature of human experience, I claim that The Room and The Dumb Waiter (both written 1957, staged 1960), two model examples of Pinter's earliest oeuvres, do not simply follow the aesthetic of absurdist theatre to express human futility. The audience's experience of viewing the theatrical performances of both plays in terms of discursive cyclicality or character normality is subverted into one of changeability, strangeness, and contradiction. To foreground the political implications of such revolutionary theatrical experience, Pinter's plays are examined in the light of his unique use of defamiliarization, relying not on Brecht’s traditional techniques of singing, dancing, image-projecting, or captioning, but on a simple, dual technique of image destruction and creation. It consists of divesting characters of their normality and portraying them instead as individuals who identify only with unusual images of place, time, body, and consciousness. Using this special technique of defamiliarization, both plays are examined to reveal Pinter's central political theme of undermining reality for purposes of mental and physical subjections.

‘Terebi banare’: Historicising internet-distributed television and the ‘departure from television’ in Japan

This article historicises and examines the implications of internet-distributed television for televisual culture and viewing in Japan. It challenges the simplistic media discourse of ‘ terebi banare’ (i.e. the audiences’ departure from television), which overlooks the complexities of evolving viewing practices. It explains why, largely due to the dominance of major terrestrial broadcasters in the media ecosystem, online consumption of television was slower to take hold in Japan than in other developed countries. It also demonstrates how, while Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have popularised pay online viewing from the late 2010s, the content Japanese viewers consume online remains inclined towards local outputs from terrestrial broadcasters. By elaborating on how terrestrial broadcasters have continued to play an important role in shaping audience experiences with their evolving content, frames, and services, this article provides a critical account of the meaning of terebi banare in the age of streaming.

“We are capable and we must not be silent!”: the science-theatre interface as a catalyst for female empowerment

We aim to understand the audience's theatrical experience of “Cidadela” — a play produced by Museu da Vida Fiocruz — and if/how it encouraged the spectators to reflect on structural sexism, which is its core theme. After analysing 299 questionnaires, we found that the audience recognised the theme as both relevant and topical and they identified and related various scenes to their own lived experiences. The play encouraged the audience to reflect on different dimensions of female empowerment, particularly the psychological and political ones. It is, therefore, worth emphasising the potential of theatre in raising awareness, evoking empathy and inspiring young people to strive for freedom and autonomy, which seems to us fundamental for young women to get closer to science and increasingly identify themselves with it.

Constructing the Live Experience at Pop Music Concerts

The aim of this study is to better understand the individual construction of the experience of liveness at pop music concerts and to add knowledge to the field of measuring audience experience in performing arts. The study is based on a mixed-methods methodology, designed to overcome the common difficulties related to researching visitor experiences of live music, and consists of a three-phase interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), made up of a pre-experience questionnaire, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and participant observation during the experience and a post-experience interview. Based on the outcomes of the study, three main conclusions can be drawn: (1) the construction of the concert experience consists mainly of the interplay between the artist, the individual visitor, and his/her social company; the elements of collectiveness and the physical setting play a less decisive role in the concertgoer’s construction of the experience by our participants; (2) participating concertgoers use three (interconnected) narratives through which they construct their experience; and (3) the concept of absolute liveness is key to the construction of the concert experience, implying that concerts in physical co-presence have a strong distinctive value compared to mediated concerts.

Sisyphus in robes: International law, legal interpretation and the absurd

Abstract Legal systems across the world contain the obligation to prevent ‘absurd interpretations’ of law. In international law, an instruction to avoid ‘manifestly absurd’ interpretations can be found in Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. This gives rise to at least two questions that I will take up in this article. First, what is meant by the ‘absurd’ that is to be avoided in legal interpretation. The short answer to this question is: no one knows exactly. The absurd, by its very nature, resists definition in pre-given categories, as I will argue on the basis of four core thinkers on the absurd: Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Thomas Nagel. The second question is more technical and easier to answer: how should lawyers try to avoid absurd interpretations? Here, I turn to absurdist writing and the theatre of the absurd for assistance. Absurdist writing and theatre have developed a number of techniques to make the absurd appear, to let the audience experience that something is fundamentally out of tune. Lawyers use similar techniques, but in reverse and with an opposite purpose: they add exposition, narrative, reasonable language, and stable, rational legal personae. In this way, they boost the rationality and reasonableness of the legal order. However, to come full circle, it is exactly the pretension of rationality and reasonableness that makes the law vulnerable to manifestations of the absurd. The rationality of law is the springboard for the very same absurdity it tries to suppress.

The Ritual Bridge between Narrative and Performance in the Gospel of Mark

The abundance of ritual descriptions in the Gospel of Mark suggests a discourse about ritual between the narrator and early audiences of the Gospel. The prominence of the ritual of baptism at the beginning (Mark 1:9–11) and anointing at the end (16:1–8), and the recurrence of themes introduced in Jesus’s baptism at turning points in the Gospel (9:2–8; 10:38–39; 15:38–39) suggest broader ritual—and specifically baptismal—significance in the narrative. Recent changes helpfully differentiate narrative- and performance-critical interpretive approaches as text-oriented (narrative) and audience-oriented (performance), but these hermeneutical methods also work in concert. This article combines cognitive studies of narrative immersion with observations about the role of ritual in group identity formation and the impartation of religious traditions to analyze the narration of ritual acts in Mark. Giving attention to the use of internal focalization and description of bodily movements in ritual narrations, this article argues that depictions of rituals in Mark involve the audience in ways that deliver audience-oriented interpretations through text-oriented means. This analysis shows how Mark’s ritual narrations are conducive to evoking the audience’s experience of baptism, familiar to audience members as described in the undisputed Pauline epistles, the only descriptions of the rite that clearly antedate the composition of Mark. Publicly reading these narrated rituals creates an audience experience that neither requires the performance of the ritual in the context of the reading event nor an “acting out” of the ritual depicted in the narrative to create a participatory, communal experience of the text.

On the Dual Narrative Space of the Film "Assassin in Red"

The construction of the story world in movies is mainly achieved through the expressive function of space. In the movie "Assassin in Red", the dual narrative space of surrealism creates a fantasy aesthetic intertwined with reality and the alien world. The two narrative spaces are full of connections and interactions, greatly breaking through the audience's life experience and aesthetic cognition, becoming a quite eye-catching presence during the Spring Festival period. This article will focus on exploring the parallel world of the movie "Assassination of the Novelist", where the vertical Chongqing mountain city structure in the real space serves as a metaphor for power and class, and the closed imperial capital space has a utopian illusion function, making the novel world a reflexive reflection on the real world, and the real world a reference for the novel world. By interpreting the dual space, we will better explore the inspiration this film brings to our society.

In What Ways Can We Have Positive Responses to Evil Characters in Film?

This article is based on the fact that more and more evil characters are liked by the audience in the process of shaping movie characters. Through examples, I have read many reference articles and got the following points after thinking: the point of audiences, the point of society, and aesthetic form of film. It would explore and discuss with the development of our films, why audiences are gradually obsessed with some evil characters and some evil characters even are more attractive and captivating than some ideal heroes. Furthermore, these evil characters in these movies even be madly pursued by a lot of fans, which also pose some negative or positive effects to the society. This is completely different from the appreciation habits of the audience before. Through research, the evil characters are loved by the audience, which is inseparable from our audience's sympathy, life experience, social reality, and aesthetic changes. This kind of research provides a certain reference value for the future analysis of these evil roles, shaping the evil roles and reflecting on our society.

Broadcasting Umrah through the Hadith of Hajj Badal in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era.

This article delves into an extensive project concerning the development of the umrah industry in Indonesia and its relationship with the interpretation of Hadith. Specifically, it examines the impact of the pandemic on this brief pilgrimage practice in Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim society. Despite the economic setbacks, the pandemic has significantly influenced the widespread use of social media globally. Indonesian Muslims, being active netizens, have shown a strong desire to reconnect with the sacred sites in Mecca and Medina. This article employs a multifaceted approach to investigate the utilization of social media by Indonesian muṭawwifs-vloggers, employing intersecting methodologies. Firstly, it conducts a textual study focusing on thematic badal Umrah. Secondly, it involves (online) observations and participation in the activities of various muṭawwifs vloggers based in Saudi Arabia. The result of this research is that cyber-mediated Umrah experiences cannot fully substitute the physical pilgrimage journey. Badal Umrah, primarily rooted in the badal Hajj Hadiths. It emerges as a crucial practice during times of crises and being used as legitimacy inoffering assistance to those who are physically unable to undertake the journey. Consequently, there has been an increased acceptance of Hadiths related to Hajj and Umrah during the pandemic, ." In addition, Muṭawwifs play a pivotal role in facilitating communication between i forced mobility of aspiring pilgrims during the pandemic, thereby emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations. Lastly, the activities in the cyber-space realm align with three essential dimensions: providing an imaginative travel experience for dispersed audiences, engaging muṭawwifs as navigators in the cyber-space, and addressing ethical considerations concerning badal Umrah amidst health and financial challenges.

Locating and Designing Participatory Conservation in the Museum: an analysis of Chinese practices

With rich cultural heritage resources, there are increasing expectations and demands about engaging the public with conservation in China. This thesis intends to demonstrate the participatory conservation practices that can be enlightening for museum visitors. This paper focuses on the cases of Chinese practices at the Shaanxi History Museum and the Hainan Museum. It explores the aims, design and location of the conservation labs in each setting, and seeks to unpack the physical, intellectual and authority boundaries in this engagement space. The research builds upon the analyses of semi-structured interviews with professionals, individual observations of the two case study spaces, and a wide ranging literature review covering participation, museum space, museology and conservation. The thesis concludes that participatory conservation provides great opportunity and insights to meet audiences’ curiosity. This is achieved by opening the professional intellectual space to the public and inspiring people’s critical thinking together with their passion to care about cultural heritage. The thesis evidences how both Chinese and European museums care about the visiting experience of audiences and conservation outreach. However, it argues how Chinese museums might be seen to give attention to the security of objects – in terms of having more original work in areas open to the public. Whereas, in contrast, European museums there is a focus on communicating, interpreting and sharing the process of engaging audiences.

Approach research of user experience of various target audiences’ interaction with the portal interface

Recently, much attention has been paid to the convenience and accessibility of software products, websites, mobile applications, etc. It increases interest in user-oriented product design and UX design. When developing digital products, designers use a spe cial pool of tools that allow to conduct empirical studies of user experience and model scenarios for the use of software products and services. Such methods and tools as interviews, observation, customer journey mapping (CJM), Persona Frameworks, User Stories, and heatmap have become widespread. Each of them allows to identify problematic areas of a software product or ser vice application, determine the directions of its update so that it fully satisfies users’ needs. It also solves key business tasks. The purpose of the study is to analyze and identify ways to improve the web portal based on usability testing. The official website for posting information on the preparation of draft regulatory legal acts by federal executive authorities and the results of its public discussion (https://regulation.gov.ru) has been taken as the object of the research. The portal plays a significant role in the tasks of ensuring transparency of normative activities in the field of public administration. In this regard, monitoring the effectiveness of the portal and availability of information for a wide audience on it is an urgent task. The study uses usability testing methods, decision-making interview, user feedback matrix, CJM, HotJar, SpyWord, and SemRush as tools of the research. The article describes the features of usability testing. It draws conclusions about possible directions of the portal modernization in order to achieve its convenience for a wide audience. As a result, a number of specific proposals have been formulated.

Onboarding and offboarding in virtual reality: A user-centred framework for audience experience across genres and spaces

Virtual reality (VR) technology is an emerging medium of experience in many different public-facing entertainment and cultural contexts, such as immersive theatre, live performance, VR film festivals, gaming arcades, escape rooms, and museum exhibitions. The processes of ushering audience members or users into the virtual experience and out again, to which I refer here as ‘onboarding’ and ‘offboarding’, have been considered within some specific contexts, or on a case-by-case basis, but to date no systematised consideration of VR onboarding and offboarding has been produced. One reason for this is that ambiguities in disciplinary and practical definitions of immersion have obscured the relationship between VR technology and users. Clarification of this relationship results in clear evidence of a need for attention to onboarding and offboarding processes in public-facing contexts. In this paper, I define onboarding and offboarding, and present a framework for considering the onboarding and offboarding experiences of virtual reality audiences that helps stakeholders identify both their responsibilities to audiences and the best way to facilitate the immersive experience. This framework is based upon identifying experience goals, centred on the affordances of virtual reality and principles of immersion and presence, and utilises the Immersive Audience Framework developed by StoryFutures in its interdisciplinary research with immersive audiences since 2019.

All the (West)World’s a Stage: HBO’s Westworld as Metatext—Intertextuality, Genre, Seriality, Format

With roots in an earlier film about well-heeled human guests in an android-populated theme park modeled after an Old West experience, Westworld is a recent offering in HBO’s ongoing pursuit of quality television. Combining Western and science-fiction elements, its intertextual relationship to genre is unusually foregrounded. This intertextuality takes on added dimensions in its more recent adaptation. Furthermore, as an ongoing television program, it adds considerations of seriality and format. This article examines how these elements of intertextuality, seriality, format, and the specific embodiments of genre reveal the series’s function as a metatext, as a series commenting on and critiquing the narrative television series. Westworld’s overdetermined genre performance reveals a postmodern parody of genre itself. By simultaneously performing and playing with notions of genre, Westworld embodies the doubly-conscious, neo-baroque text. It goes well beyond its relationship to genre, including self-conscious seriality. The host loops offer a conspicuous site of repetition and difference, an aspect necessary to the aesthetic experience and pleasures of the postmodern audience. Ultimately, Westworld’s central conceit of a genre-based theme park offers a pointed critique of the television format as both a culturally specific and fungible commodity in the globalized media space.

Responsible AI literacy: A stakeholder-first approach

The need for citizens to better understand the ethical and social challenges of algorithmic systems has led to a rapid proliferation of AI literacy initiatives. After reviewing the literature on AI literacy projects, we found that most educational practices in this area are based on teaching programming fundamentals, primarily to K-12 students. This leaves out citizens and those who are primarily interested in understanding the implications of automated decision- making systems, rather than in learning to code. To address these gaps, this article explores the methodological contributions of responsible AI education practices that focus first on stakeholders when designing learning experiences for different audiences and contexts. The article examines the weaknesses identified in current AI literacy projects, explains the stakeholder-first approach, and analyzes several responsible AI education case studies, to illustrate how such an approach can help overcome the aforementioned limitations. The results suggest that the stakeholder-first approach allows to address audiences beyond the usual ones in the field of AI literacy, and to incorporate new content and methodologies depending on the needs of the respective audiences, thus opening new avenues for teaching and research in the field.

Technologies of Augmented Reality in the Opera: Application Analysis

The author showed interest in scientific research on how extended reality technologies are applied in modern opera art. This study identified and characterized the types of technologies, including extended, virtual, and mixed reality. Examples of the use of such technologies by opera companies are given. The author of the article, while working on the "NocturneVR" project based on M. Lysenko's chamber opera "Nocturne", was able to analyze the above technologies based on personal practice. He discovered the practical and theoretical possibilities of development and transformation of individual components of opera art, which can be provoked by the progress of technology and public demand. In this context, there is a need to analyze opera from the point of view of an interdisciplinary approach that involves the practical application of technology. The adaptability of opera art in the context of the development of technology has been studied. The concept of opera is presented from the point of view of the audience experience, which takes into account the specific type of attention of the viewer. This concept is justified as a methodology of conscious work with time in a philosophical sense. The thesis is put forward that similar interdisciplinary studies on the analysis of both opera art and the phenomenon of extended reality technologies are useful and necessary for the practical implementation of digital theater projects. In this understanding, there is a rationale for the consistent development and mutual enrichment of both creative and technical tools of practicing artists. The directions of possible further scientific investigations are outlined with an emphasis on their usefulness in the practical implementation of artistic projects.

Audience Experience to Series Ertugral and Fulfillment of Social and Psychological Needs Gratification

The study focuses on Audiences’ Exposure to Series Ertuğrul and fulfillment of social and psychological Needs Gratification; moreover, the article thesis calls attention to the age group and gender of youth which is comparatively more fulfilling their social and psychological needs. The age has been grouped under 20 years of age and above. The study explores the needs fulfilled by audience by watching the drama. Frequency of the most Popular Turkish dramas viewership has also been found. Quantitative Survey research method has been used in which total of 251 Responses are collected from National university of Modern languages, Bahria University Islamabad Campus, National University of Science and Technology Quaid e Azam University and International Islamic University via hand-to-hand questionnaires and Online Surveys. Data has been assembled, entered, and tested on SPSS software. Findings and discussions show that Turkish Drama Ertuğrul is being utilized differently by people with different Age groups, Genders, Universities, preference of viewing and frequency of viewing. According to the findings, the respondents gratify most of the needs most likely. The audiences most likely relate the drama to Islam, and they find it as a source of Spiritual maintenance. The researcher further found out that audiences are more likely to learn about and patience and Strength. The drama overall is a good source of social and psychological needs gratification.

Photography as Cinematic Ekphrasis: Intermedial Study in Garin Nugroho’s Opera Jawa

The Opera Jawa (2006), directed by Garin Nugroho is an Indonesian film with unique hybridity of art media (music, dance, visual art installation, acting, photography). This study aims to provide an overview of photographic ekphrasis’s form, process, and function. This research used a descriptive qualitative method. Data collection was through observation with the note-taking documentation technique. Through intermedial studies, data analysis was carried out using Agnes Petho’s cinematic ekphrasis and photo-filmic theory. The results of the study show that Opera Jawa displays the characteristics of intermedial reference media through cinematic ekphrasis of photography in film. This matter is manifested at the diegetic media level through family photos of the character Setyo-Siti, and the extra-diegetic media through photographic frames introducing film characters. Cinematic Ekphrasis works with exchange strategies and crossing the borders of basic media modalities (material, sensory, space-time, semiotic) from film to photography. Cinematic ekphrasis ultimately forms a metaphor that mediates the experience and knowledge of film audiences toward the target media and the source media. Thus, Opera Jawa, as the target media, can offer its ideology as a result of Sinta Obong’s source media interpretation.

Soundscapes, music, and memories: Exploring the factors that influence emotional responses to virtual nature content

From walking through a park to sitting on a beach, much is known about the therapeutic potential of direct contact with natural environments. Yet routinely in the UK, millions of people encounter nature in a completely different way: through their television screens. Despite the ubiquity of natural history programming, little is understood about its impact on the restorative and affective experiences of audiences. Nowhere is this truer than in the bold orchestral scores that accompany almost all nature documentaries. Whilst considerable evidence suggests that separately, both nature and music can provide a range of psychological benefits, how their pairing might affect the wellbeing potential of virtual nature encounters remains largely unknown. Similarly, scant research has considered how viewers’ own experiences, recalled through memories, might influence outcomes. To explore these areas, we formed a transdisciplinary broadcast initiative, called BBC Soundscapes for Wellbeing. Part of this project involved a randomized and controlled experiment that presented participants (n = 7636) with a dynamic nature scene accompanied by one of four acoustic tracks. Results demonstrated that whilst adding music to this scene led to increased feelings of excitement, it led to no other restorative or affective benefits when compared to silence. In contrast, the addition of natural sounds was associated with greater feelings of restorative potential, calmness, and excitement. Natural sounds also drove significant increases in the complex emotions of awe and nostalgia. Crucially, results showed the substantial moderating effects of participant memories. Those with positive memories stimulated by the experience reported significantly greater effects across all conditions and dependent variables. We find that although the acoustic design of virtual nature encounters can affect a range of emotional responses, the memories triggered by these experiences may be far more important for predicting viewer outcomes.

A Tale of Two Audiences: Formative Research and Campaign Development for Two Different Latino Audiences, to Improve COVID-19 Prevention Behavior.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected the Latino population in the United States, further exacerbating the existing racial and ethnic health disparities that this group faces. While government health entities rushed to develop COVID-19 prevention educational materials in Spanish, these failed to recognize the unique motivators and barriers that move different Latino audience segments to act. We conducted five online focus groups with two different Latino audience segments, general Latino people, and Latino migrant workers, to assess their experience navigating the pandemic, their engagement in preventive behavior, and their consumption of health news. While the general Latino audience had higher levels of social capital and established preventive healthcare, they were more skeptical about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Migrant workers needed to be vaccinated to retain their jobs, and saw the vaccine as the only way to keep their families healthy. We used the focus group results to develop two different creative concepts that aligned with each audience's unique experience. Our study highlights the importance of developing hyper-focused messages, responsive to the experience of distinct audience segments, for maximum impact.

The Formula 1 Race as a Phenomenon

When I started a course in English, the teacher explained that we were all to give a presentation on a chosen subject, but he did not want to hear another one on F1 and Mika Häkkinen! This shows that there is not only an interest in watching F1 on TV, but also in exploring the subject and talking about and explaining facts about the sport. I also seem to discern a current debate on the meaningfulness versus the meaninglessness of Formula 1. I myself have found F1 fairly meaningless. But why is all this discussed? What values does the debate express? What opinions are there of Formula 1 and what do they tell us about today's society? My aim is to analyse Formula 1 as a modern/latemodern phenomenon; partly as a phenomenon as such and partly in terms of how the ordinary TV audience experiences and describes it. Today only men drive F1 cars, and therefore I think that Formula 1 might also reveal something about the current concept of masculinity.