Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Program
Digital Humanities
Advisor
Mario DiGangi
Committee Members
Matthew Gold
Subject Categories
Acting | Digital Humanities | English Language and Literature | Film and Media Studies | Other Film and Media Studies | Other Theatre and Performance Studies | Performance Studies | Theatre and Performance Studies
Keywords
Shakespeare, Zoom, Covid-19, fandom, vernacular media, The Uncanny
Abstract
This thesis surveys the phenomena of Shakespeare performance on Zoom (‘Shakespeare on Zoom’) that have emerged during the current Covid pandemic in order to illuminate a complex intersection of lockdown culture, fandom, and new media’s techno-social archive, including its affective resonances. As case studies, this study pays attention to The Show Must Go Online (TSMGO) and Zoom Shakespeare Productions (ZSP) to examine countercultural fandom, vernacular creativity, and technologically imperfect aesthetics (or anti-aesthetics) in ‘Shakespeare on Zoom’ performed by underfunded artists or amateur fans. In analyzing TSMGO’s and ZSP’s endeavors of production and dramaturgy, I bring in Sigmund Freud’s notion of “The Uncanny” to approach the experience of encountering the disembodied and often grotesque double of self on Zoom from our pandemic ‘cave.’ My analysis of ‘Shakespeare on Zoom,’ however, channels the surprising experience of “The Uncanny” into the humorous realization of our enforced isolation at home and our inordinate reliance on technologies for the make-believe of connection. In the comparative study of TSMGO and ZSP, in favor of ZSP, I advocate an imperfect theater of ‘Shakespeare on Zoom’ where a creative mundanity of glitches or imperfections proliferates with the festive suggestions of presenting heterogeneous self-expressions and plurality to the media-sphere and its affective participants.
Recommended Citation
Kim, Hyemin, "Shakespeare on Zoom, Fandom, and the Uncanny Humor of Imperfections and Plurality: A Comparative Study of The Show Must Go Online and Zoom Shakespeare Productions" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5206
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Included in
Acting Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons