DOI: 10.31123/akil.1789962 ISSN: 1304-3846

Hangout Films as Atmospheric Assemblage: Vibing with Dazed and Confused

Mehmet Sarı
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Purpose: This study examines the “hangout film” as an informal genre that privileges atmosphere, temporal flow, and character interaction over plot progression. It addresses a gap in genre scholarship by questioning narrative-centered classification models and proposing an alternative account of how hangout films are recognized and experienced. In film and media studies, it focuses on viewer engagement.Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a qualitative single-case design centered on Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993). It combines atmosphere-oriented aesthetic criticism with phenomenological description. Through close reading and a first-person lens, the analysis investigates how pacing, character interactions, cinematography, and sound co-produce the hangout atmosphere for the viewer.Findings: The analysis shows that hangout films derive genre identity less from narrative formulas than from an emergent atmospheric assemblage generated through the interaction of form and reception. The “hangout vibe” functions not as background mood but as a shared, embodied process of affective attunement between film and viewer.Research limitations/implications: Because the study is based on a single-film case and interpretive analysis, its claims are not generalizable. Future research could test this framework through comparative corpus studies, cross-cultural samples, and audience-oriented empirical methods.Practical implications: The findings offer criteria for filmmakers, critics, and festival programmers by showing how pacing, ensemble interaction, and sensory design can be orchestrated to create engagement beyond plot-driven storytelling.Originality/value: The study introduces “atmospheric assemblage” as a conceptual tool for rethinking hangout films and contributes an affect-centered perspective to genre theory by integrating aesthetics, phenomenology, and attunement.

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