Symes, Katerina (2013) Eccentricity, Spectatorial Desire, and The L Word: Toward a Theory of Identification. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
This thesis introduces the concept of “eccentric spectatorship” in order to explore the ways in which Showtime’s The L Word – a fictional program about lesbian women – may address heterosexual spectators, and how the specificity of one’s spectatorial position can exceed this address at the level of identification and desire. Using Teresa de Lauretis’ formative theory of the “eccentric subject,” this thesis will discuss how the effects of one’s excessive spectatorial position may extend beyond the immediate viewing process; the occupation of an excessive spectatorial position is a transformative subjective experience, altering the ways in which spectators make sense of themselves and interact with their social and material reality. To make this argument, this thesis will include a brief case study of The L Word in order to explore how the camera work, narrative, and visual images offer heterosexual spectators specific positionalities of identification and desire. This thesis will conclude that an eccentric viewing position not only accounts for spectators’ multiple interpretative possibilities, but also acknowledges differences between (and even within) spectators; representations engage viewers differently based on the social, cultural, and subjective (conscious and unconscious) positions within which they are situated. As a result, spectatorial identifications are revealed to be as equally unstable as identity itself.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Media Studies |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Symes, Katerina |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M.A. |
| Program: | Media Studies |
| Date: | May 2013 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Lynes, Krista |
| Keywords: | Spectatorship; Identification; Eccentricity; Television; The L Word |
| ID Code: | 977356 |
| Deposited By: | KATERINA SYMES |
| Deposited On: | 25 Nov 2013 17:09 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2018 17:44 |
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