A study analyzes the notion of spectacle through the figure of Antigone

A research study at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) analyzes the notion of spectacle as an enunciative space that is located beyond mediatic logic. In contrast to the generalized concept of spectacle laden with negative connotations, the study proposes a distancing of that concept from that of entertainment. UC3M Full Professor Pilar Carrera, in her essay Antígona o la razón espectacular (2023), published in the review Signa,advocates the notion of spectacle from the perspective of spectacular distance as an inherently political enunciation. The author points to the figure of Antigone as an example of this spectacular logic. The spectacular distance or the distance in relation to representation has been practically removed with the dominant mediatic models of enunciation and reception that imply forms of pseudo-intimacy with the media. The digital space has radically reduced this spectacular distance through rhetorical strategies that resort to concepts such as horizontality, empowerment, co-creation and democratization. In light of the foregoing, the author notes the importance of in-depth analysis of the implications of a mediatic environment "whose narrative adheres to a supposedly anti-spectacular form".