Back to the Spectators Themselves: A Methodological Proposal for Adopting Empirical Phenomenology in Film and Media Studies

Abstract

This article advances a methodological proposal for integrating empirical phenomenology into film and media studies, focusing on the reception of slow cinema. The study investigates spectators’ lived experiences using micro-phenomenology (MP), a second-person interview method that elicits fine-grained descriptions of embodied, affective, and attentional dimensions of film viewing. Drawing on a selective sample of experienced viewers, the study identifies recurrent experiential patterns that extend beyond traditional accounts of cognitive effort or intellectual labor. Key findings highlight distinct forms of passivity—such as letting go, attuning, and surrendering—that enable sustained and pleasurable engagement with slow cinema. These experiential categories reveal the subtle interplay between activity and receptivity in spectatorship, challenging binary models of active versus passive viewing. By making implicit spectatorial skills explicit, Micro-phenomenology demonstrates its value in uncovering overlooked dimensions of aesthetic experience and refining phenomenological categories relevant for interdisciplinary research. The study concludes that micro phenomenology provides a rigorous means of generating thick descriptions of cinematic experience, with implications for theory formation, audience research, and future collaborations with cognitive neuroscience. Ultimately, the paper argues that empirical phenomenology enriches film reception studies by deepening our understanding of how films affect embodied viewers in time.