Abstract
This article investigates protesting under restricted conditions of public assembly. In Spring 2020, social movements were (partly unwittingly) using choreographic means in order to deal with the prohibition of corporeal masses gathering outside, imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Examples in Tel Aviv (Black Flag protest, 19 April) and the campaign Empty Chairs in Germany (24 April) have one prominent characteristic in common: The lack of expansive spatial movement.
The article delineates the ways in which these protests aimed to make their voices heard: Choreographic arrangements of physically distanced bodies on site were applied in order to produce highly affective images for social media, thus shifting the focus of the protests’ visibility into the online public sphere. Along with this, the different situations of vulnerable bodies calling to action are of interest: Given the pandemic times, the concept of protection is taking precedence.
The article delineates the ways in which these protests aimed to make their voices heard: Choreographic arrangements of physically distanced bodies on site were applied in order to produce highly affective images for social media, thus shifting the focus of the protests’ visibility into the online public sphere. Along with this, the different situations of vulnerable bodies calling to action are of interest: Given the pandemic times, the concept of protection is taking precedence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | (In-Press) |
| Journal | Forum Modernes Theater |
| Volume | (In-Press) |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 18 Nov 2022 |