Sensing slowness: a phenomenology of slow cinema spectatorship

<p dir="ltr">This thesis explores the audience reception of slow cinema through the lens of (micro-) phenomenology. Slow cinema is a contemporary trend in art cinema characterised by its minimalist, austere aesthetics and is associated with a distinct spectatorial practice. The thesis addresses a current lack of empirical knowledge of the experiential effects associated with this type of film, such as viewers’ mode of attention, time perception, and affective-embodied engagement. It thus complements existing literature on the topic within the frameworks of hermeneutics, film analysis, as well as critical theory and philosophy of slowness.</p><p dir="ltr">To investigate viewers’ responses to cinematic slowness, it employs the method of micro-phenomenology, a two-tier interview and analysis method for generating detailed and accurate descriptions of subjective experience. It proceeds by conducting in-depth interviews with participants about their experiences of watching a slow film, followed by systematically comparing and analysing the material in order to detect structural features of the descriptions shared across the interviewees.</p><p dir="ltr">Key results include, firstly, the development of an ideal-typical process-model of film viewing that describes a range of spectatorial responses to cinematic slowness: from a mode of immersive, relaxed, and mindful viewing to a form of engagement characterised by attentional effort, perceptual challenge, and reflexive thinking. Moreover, the micro-phenomenological method enabled the discovery and description of forms of spectatorial agency, such as letting go and attuning to the film, that support viewers to achieve sustained engagement with film and allow manifold sensory, bodily, and mental gratifications. The method has thus facilitated viewers in becoming explicitly aware of mental micro-acts or inner gestures they generally perform tacitly when watching slow cinema, and, in turn, also potentially allows them to improve and transfer these viewing competencies.</p><p dir="ltr">The dialectical model contributes to discourses of spectatorship as they nuance simplified dichotomies of fast/slow, active/passive, or attention/distraction. Additionally, the results give way to a renewed understanding and appreciation of the unique aesthetic experiences engendered by cinematic slowness in the era of post-cinematic reception contexts. What is more, the methodological intervention of this dissertation is to demonstrate the value of micro-phenomenology for the field of film and media reception studies, as it is uniquely suited to systematically explore experiential aspects of attention, embodiment, and sensory engagement with film. Finally, the findings not only advance our understanding of the aesthetic modes viewers adopt in the cinema, but can also inform future thinking about the ethical or cultural significance of slowness in the broader context of the contemporary attention economy.</p>