All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries
Related to the increasing attention to so-called Egyptian revolutionary graffiti, one can also observe the appearance of “Rebel-Documentaries”, focusing on a similar group of protagonists: young, mostly male (graffiti) artists and revolutionaries. In this article, I will take a closer look at a sele...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies
2016-05-01
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| Series: | Middle East : Topics & Arguments |
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| Online Access: | http://meta-journal.net/article/view/3801 |
| _version_ | 1818690476354568192 |
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| author | Ilka Eickhof |
| author_facet | Ilka Eickhof |
| author_sort | Ilka Eickhof |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Related to the increasing attention to so-called Egyptian revolutionary graffiti, one can also observe the appearance of “Rebel-Documentaries”, focusing on a similar group of protagonists: young, mostly male (graffiti) artists and revolutionaries. In this article, I will take a closer look at a selection of these documentaries and their inherent power structures that frame the representational mechanics with a focus on the western notion of ‘the revolutionary rebel.’ The case examples are: Abdo–Coming of Age in a Revolution (Jakob Gross, 2015); Art War (Marco Wilms, 2014); Al Midan–The Square (Jehane Noujaim, 2013); and The Noise of Cairo–Art, Cairo, and Revolution (Heiko Lange, 2012). All four focus on the role and the supposedly ‘free, rebellious spirit’ of the young generation in Egypt. Although taking different perspectives, the films sketch out a snap shot of a generation that is caught in an ongoing violent revolutionary process by (re)presenting a specific rebellious Egyptian identity. In discussing the works, I will look at different intertwined representational effects that are related to the composition, realization and commercialization of the films. Finally, the article raises questions about the self-positionality of the protagonists as well as to the localization of the films, and the existence of embedded power structures and symbolic capital complicit with neoliberal and other pressures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:26:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-893e54adb74f41e6b298585ea5a55920 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2196-629X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:26:36Z |
| publishDate | 2016-05-01 |
| publisher | Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Middle East : Topics & Arguments |
| spelling | doaj.art-893e54adb74f41e6b298585ea5a559202022-12-21T21:48:44ZengCenter for Near and Middle Eastern StudiesMiddle East : Topics & Arguments2196-629X2016-05-0160132210.17192/meta.2016.6.38014991All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian RevolutionariesIlka Eickhof0NVIC Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo Anthropology, University of AmsterdamRelated to the increasing attention to so-called Egyptian revolutionary graffiti, one can also observe the appearance of “Rebel-Documentaries”, focusing on a similar group of protagonists: young, mostly male (graffiti) artists and revolutionaries. In this article, I will take a closer look at a selection of these documentaries and their inherent power structures that frame the representational mechanics with a focus on the western notion of ‘the revolutionary rebel.’ The case examples are: Abdo–Coming of Age in a Revolution (Jakob Gross, 2015); Art War (Marco Wilms, 2014); Al Midan–The Square (Jehane Noujaim, 2013); and The Noise of Cairo–Art, Cairo, and Revolution (Heiko Lange, 2012). All four focus on the role and the supposedly ‘free, rebellious spirit’ of the young generation in Egypt. Although taking different perspectives, the films sketch out a snap shot of a generation that is caught in an ongoing violent revolutionary process by (re)presenting a specific rebellious Egyptian identity. In discussing the works, I will look at different intertwined representational effects that are related to the composition, realization and commercialization of the films. Finally, the article raises questions about the self-positionality of the protagonists as well as to the localization of the films, and the existence of embedded power structures and symbolic capital complicit with neoliberal and other pressures.http://meta-journal.net/article/view/3801RepresentationOtheringRevolutionary ArtSymbolic CapitalEgypt |
| spellingShingle | Ilka Eickhof All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries Middle East : Topics & Arguments Representation Othering Revolutionary Art Symbolic Capital Egypt |
| title | All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries |
| title_full | All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries |
| title_fullStr | All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries |
| title_short | All that is Banned is Desired: ‘Rebel Documentaries’ and the Representation of Egyptian Revolutionaries |
| title_sort | all that is banned is desired rebel documentaries and the representation of egyptian revolutionaries |
| topic | Representation Othering Revolutionary Art Symbolic Capital Egypt |
| url | http://meta-journal.net/article/view/3801 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ilkaeickhof allthatisbannedisdesiredrebeldocumentariesandtherepresentationofegyptianrevolutionaries |