ABSTRACT
Aside from frame analysis, there has been little use of dramaturgical insights into the analysis of contemporary protests. This is somewhat surprising given the rise of scholarly interest in media-centered activism both before, during, and following the mass uprisings across the Arab world that have now come to be known as “Arab Spring” (Mair and Keeble 2010; Noueihed and Warren 2012). An array of studies have assessed the use of the internet and new communication technologies in establishing hybrid forms of democracy (Dahlberg 2007); engaging in political advocacy and digital activism (Hick and McNutt 2002; Joyce 2010); navigating affairs of state (Costigan 2012), and developing new strategies of “hacktivism” against image-conscious, global corporations (Lubbers 2002). Consideration of how saturated the social movement sector has become with new social technologies such as Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, Skype and other tools has led Sobieraj, in her recent book “Soundbitten”, to ask “What if the whole world isn’t watching? … Does it matter if the whole world isn’t watching?” (2011, pp. 1, 18). Sociologically, we might ask additional questions. What new social technologies, images of power, and dramaturgical strategies exist as tools in the tactical repertoire of both protesters and police as they capture world attention? To what degree are contemporary protest actions planned versus improvised? Is it possible for street actors to create “improvisational repertoires?” And, how do protesters and police capture audience attention in ways that enhance their own legitimacy while limiting their opponents’?
