Skip to content
1981
Volume 3, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2635-1609
  • E-ISSN: 2635-1617

Abstract

was a dance adaptation of the Wachowskis’ 1999 film , positioned as a response to current anxieties and excitement around artificial intelligence. Here I offer the aesthetic context of a range of post-cinematic live performances. Theoretical contexts are from film theory and studies of contemporary labour. By contrasting explorations of contemporary screen-based labour and consumption with the visible, physical work of live performers emphasized in the show, this article is intended to show how live performance can be offered as a luxury to audiences more accustomed to screens. The article also includes reflections on what this means for culture more broadly.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/ipol_00033_1
2025-03-18
2025-04-30
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. ABBA (2022–25), ABBA Voyage, ABBA, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, 22 May–25 November.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Anon. (n.d.), ‘About Boy Blue’, Boy Blue, https://www.boyblue.co.uk/about-boy-blue. Accessed 28 July 2024.
  3. Auslander, P. (1999), Liveness, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Beller, J. (2006), The Cinematic Mode of Production, Lebanon: Dartmouth College Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Berardi, F. (2009), The Soul at Work: From Alienation to Autonomy (trans. F. Cadel and G. Mecchia), Los Angeles, CA: Semiotexte.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bourdieu, P. ([1979] 1984), Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (trans. R. Nice), London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Boyle, D. (dir.) (2012), Isles of Wonder, opening ceremony to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Olympic Stadium, London, 27 July.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Brown, W. (2007), Walking with Dinosaurs Live, Scott Faris (dir.), O2 Arena, London, 15 August 2018.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Cavell, S. (1979), The World Viewed, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Cousins, M. (2011), The Story of Film, London: Pavilion.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Darley, A. (2000), Visual Digital Culture, Abingdon: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Debord, G. ([1967] 1970), The Society of the Spectacle, Detroit, MI: Black and Red.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Deuze, M. (2007), Media Work, Cambridge: Polity.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Elson, D. (2016), Value, London: Verso Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Factory International (2023), Free Your Mind, event programme, Aviva Warehouse Manchester, 13 October–5 November.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Factory International (n.d.), ‘Free Your Mind’ (press release), Factory International, https://cdn.archilovers.com/projects/4021d26a-6b71-414e-a34e-7915f03586a9.pdf. Accessed 28 July 2024.
  17. Free Your Mind: The Matrix Now (2023), BBC2, UK, 31 December.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Gottdiener, M. (1997), The Theming of America, Oxford: Westview Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Gray, M. and Suri, S. (2019), Ghost Work: How Amazon, Google, and Uber Are Creating a New Global Underclass, New York: Harper Business.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Heinberg, A. (2011), Batman Live, James Powell (dir.), O2 Arena London, 24 August 2011.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Lazzarato, M. (2010), ‘Immaterial labor’ (trans. P. Colilli and E. Emory), in P. Virno and M. Hardt (eds), Radical Thought in Italy: A Potential Politics, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 13350.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Manovich, L. (2018), AI Aesthetics, Moscow: Strelka Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Marx, K. (1957), Capital (trans. Eden and C. Paul), London: Dent.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. The Realm Cast (2011), ‘Batman Live trailer – World Arena Tour’, YouTube, 21 May, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BYAB9WhkBI. Accessed 7 August 2024.
  25. Rifkin, J. (2000), The Age of Access, New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Robb, A. (2024), ‘Aviva Studios, home of Factory International’, TIME, 25 July, https://time.com/6992334/aviva-studios-at-factory-international/. Accessed 31 October 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Rodowick, D. N. (2007), The Virtual Life of Film, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Sandy, M. (chor.) (2023), Free Your Mind, Danny Boyle (dir.), Produced by Factory International, Aviva Studios, Manchester, 3 November.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Shaviro, S. (2010), Post Cinematic Affect, Winchester: O Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Sholette, G. (2011), Dark Matter, London: Pluto Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Stead, R. and Gawne, E. (2024), ‘Emerging artists take over Manchester’s flagship £240m arts venue’, BBC News, 29 June, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz5rgkmrmy1o. Accessed 2 August 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Tanner, G. (2020), The Circle of the Snake, Winchester: John Hunt Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Thornhill, J. (2024), ‘Superfluous people vs AI: What the jobs revolution might look like’, Financial Times, 14 March, https://www.ft.com/content/f9b964bd-0edc-4dfd-ad30-88b011cd4fde. Accessed 1 November 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Tungate, M. (2009), Luxury World: The Past, Present and Future of Luxury Brands, London: Kogan Page.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Valente, T. (2023), ‘Tales of a state of mind, body and space: The quest for the next luxury’, Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal, 2:1, pp. 722, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1386/ipol_00017_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. The Wachowskis (1999), The Matrix, USA: Warner Brothers.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Walking with Dinosaurs (1999), BBC One, 4 October.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Whitby, R. (2022), ‘Ben Hur Live as post-cinematic adaptation’, Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, 15:1, pp. 6175, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1386/jafp_00069_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Woolf, V. (1993), ‘The cinema’, in R. Bowlby (ed.), The Crowded Dance of Modern Life: Selected Essays, vol. 2, London: Penguin, pp. 26872.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/ipol_00033_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/ipol_00033_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): adaptation; artisan; cinema; Free Your Mind; labour; liveness; performance
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test