Judith Mayne her examines and assesses the major theories of spectatorship as they have developed over the last fifteen years, to explore how the analysis of a genuine dialogue between history and theory can show us how cinema engages its viewers.

Introduction PART ONE: THEORIES OF SPECTATORSHIP 1. The Subject of Spectatorship 2. Spectatorship as Institution 3. Spectatorrship Reconsidered 4. Paradoxes of Spectatorship PART TWO: READINGS OF SPECTATORSHIP 5. Textual Analysis and Portraits of Spectatorship 6. Star-Gazin 7. White Spectatorship and Genre-Mixing 8. The Critical Audience Works Cited