This thesis is concerned with how fans experience, create meaning from, and
contribute to the creation of a spectacle. Existing theorizations of spectacle are
limited and often undifferentiated. Furthermore, there is little knowledge of how
an event becomes a spectacle.This research addresses these gaps. In particular, it
aims to develop a better understanding of the concept of spectacle and process of
spectacularization in the context of a rock music event. It investigates the
contribution of the spectators to the creation of spectacle, arguing that the
spectators of U2’s ‘360°’ tour (2009W2011) as human agents are more than passive
consumers of commercial entertainment. A comprehensive theoretical framework,
drawing on the concepts of community, identity and power, helps to address
questions of belonging and identity, embodied experiences and politics.
Adopting a social constructionist philosophical position, the research draws on a
blend of netnography, ethnography and critical sociology. Rich qualitative data
were collected in three phases, including preliminary online research of selected
U2W related websites, in depth semi structured interviews with 26 fans, and U2’s
Show director, and a qualitative content analysis of documentary material. Three
overarching, partly overlapping and prominent themes emerged from the
interview data: community and identity, enchantment, and politics. Thematic
analyses of the findings revealed that U2’s concerts gave individuals a sense of
belonging to a global community of fans. They also provided an enchanting, liminal
space, which offered transcendent experiences and increased fans’ awareness of
certain socio political issues, although this was highly regulated and
choreographed. Despite the temporary and episodic nature of U2’s shows, the
community was real for many of the fans, and was perpetuated online. This
research contributes to re defining an re theorizing the spectacle in the context
of rock music events. Consequently, any contemporary attempts to define modern
spectacles in the context of rock music events need to include the notions of
community, enchantment, and politics, and account for visual, artistic, spiritual and
spatial aspects as well as scale.
Date of Award | May 2017 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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Supervisor | Udo Merkel (Supervisor), Paul Gilchrist (Supervisor) & Catherine Palmer (Supervisor) |
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Music Events as Contemporary Spectacle: U2’s ‘360°’ Tour – a collective experience of rock, rituals and resistance
Williams, M. (Author). May 2017
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis