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Aesth-Ethics

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The Theatrical Spectaculum

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology ((PSLA))

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Abstract

Part II analyzes the theatrical unseen—its “geometrical ethics,” the iconization rules that underlie the spectacle, and the ideological intentions of its creators behind the scenes. Acting is described as a form of theatrical defilement within the triangle of relations that the actor constructs vis-à-vis character, partner, and audience, and is replaced with gaming, analyzed according to Deleuze’ and Guattari’s “abstract machine” conception. The “cult of precision” that envelops the artists confirms Buber’s perception of the I–Thou relationship as pre-ontological. An audiovisual stage “world” is constructed—a wholeness that carries the symbolic ethical baggage that makes it a spectaculum. Theatrical signification invests the signified objects and gestures with deep significance at the stage of re-fusion, which assures the experience of flow as Alexander theorizes.

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Gamliel, T. (2020). Aesth-Ethics. In: The Theatrical Spectaculum. Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28128-1_2

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