Interpassivity is a term from media studies that refers to the phenomenon whereby a piece of art or technology seems to act on the audience or user's behalf; it is the opposite of

interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...

. The meaning of the term was interpreted mainly (in German) by in 1996, and was quickly taken up by

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New ...

Origin of the term

Pfaller picked up the term at a 1996 symposium in Linz, entitled ''Die Dinge lachen an unsere Stelle'' (trans: Things Laugh in our Place); in the same year he published an article entitled "Um die Ecke gelacht" (trans: Laughed Around the Corner) in ''Falter''. These titles refer to one of Pfaller's core examples of interpassivity,

canned laughter A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

: the laugh track laughs in the audience's place. Although Pfaller reinterpreted the term, he is openly indebted to a longer conceptual history. In his 1959-60

Seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

on ''The Ethics of Psychoanalysis'', French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan argued that, in

Greek Tragedy Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy. Greek tragedy is widely believed ...

, the

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

feels (emotionally) in the audience's place; following this insight, in his 1989 book '' The Sublime Object of Ideology'', Žižek argued that canned laughter is the exact modern counterpart to the Chorus. At this point, Žižek refers to the phenomenon as the "objective status of belief", in which the external object believes/feels/laughs on behalf of the subject, leaving the subject internally free from responsibility.

Meaning and examples

The book ''Interpassivity: The Aesthetics of Delegated Enjoyment'' by Robert Pfaller is the most authoritative source on the topic. Robert Pfaller has developed this theory since the 1990s, accounting for diverse cultural phenomena where delegation of consumption and enjoyment stands central, answering questions such as "Why do people record TV programmes instead of watching them?" "Why are some recovering alcoholics pleased to let other people drink in their place?" and "Why can ritual machines pray in place of believers?" An example of interpassivity, given by Žižek, in his book ''How To Read Lacan'', uses the VCR to illustrate the concept. The VCR records a movie (presumably to be watched later). However, Žižek argues that since the VCR can record, people who own them watch fewer movies because they can record them and have them on hand. The VCR does the watching of the movie so the owner of the VCR can be free not to watch the movie. Žižek uses the VCR to demonstrate the big other's role in interpassivity. The VCR, like canned laughter in a show, functions as a tool interacting with itself so the viewer can not watch the show. Pfaller, a professor of philosophy at the

University of Art and Design Linz The University of Art and Design Linz (common short form University of Arts Linz) is one of four universities in Linz, Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its ca ...

elaborated the theory of interpassivity within the fields of cultural studies and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

.. He has also received an award for the best 2014 book in psychoanalysis by the American Psychoanalytic Association, for his book ''On the Pleasure Principle in Culture: Illusions without Owners'', which also includes a discussion of the concept of interpassivity.

Juha Suoranta Juha Suoranta (born 24 February 1966 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish social scientist, and public intellectual. He is currently professor in adult education at the University of Tampere. Previously he worked as professor of education at the Unive ...

and Tere Vadén, working on the basis of Pfaller's and Zizek's insights, stress interpassivity's potential of changing "into its negative when illusory interactivity produces passivity".Juha Suoranta and Tere Vadén (2010). ''Wikiworld'', Pluto Press, p. 133

References

{{Reflist

External links

Research paper on Interpassivity
Psychodynamics Slavoj Žižek