Theatre/Spectacle

[Glen Nichols]

On Tue, 6 Feb 1996, susan heald wrote:
 
> Eric Grace refers to the "difference between spectacle and what I think
> of as theatre."  What is that difference?  I've been thinking a lot about
> "spectacle" lately, and would be interested in how its difference from
> theatre is theorized.
 
My impression of this statement was that it was more valuative than
evaluative or theoretical. What was being said was that "I like some kinds
of things and I don't like others" that "the things I like are more
'important' than those I don't".  One viewer's "spectacle" is another's
"theatre". ...de gustibus...etc.  As long as one understands the code of
such 'criticism' it is meaningful.
 
I wonder if these two terms really are "comparable" in a legitimate
fashion. They appear to have fundamental functional differences, so as to
preclude truly meaningful comparision (the horses and oranges
analogy...).  Or they can be seen as interconnected in such a way that
"comparison" is possible only in a highly reductive manner (pips versus
oranges in this case...?).  I think we're dealing with a specious
distinction at best.
 
Glen