Zeid Hamdan and General Suleiman: The Authoritarianism of Fragile Egos (or vice versa)

Karl Sharro

Republished with permission from Karlremarks. Follow him also on twitter @Karlremarks.

Message from Zeid Hamdan in prison: 'Dear friends, I am now in the prison of the police station of the palace of justice in Beirut because of my song "General Soleiman". They are prosecuting me for defammation of President Soleiman. I dont know, until when I am staying in prison. Please mobilize!'

The Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan, recently back from participating in the Shubbak Festival in London, sent this message from his detention cell in Beirut earlier today. Shubbak was intended as a 'window on contemporary Arab culture', the bitter irony is that this incident has now given an all too realistic view of the contemporary culture of repression and arbitrary use of power in Lebanon. The song in question, General Suleiman, is a light-hearted reggae number that has has provoked the humourless authorities to go after Zeid Hamdan, in all likelihood for the 'offence' of demeaning the position of the President of the Republic. This archaic residue of the French mandate period has often been used by the authorities to clamp down on the freedom of expression.

Last year I reviewed General Suleiman, and I may have been too harsh on the borrowed imagery in the video clip and the soft satire it employed. Zeid explained at the time that the idea for the song came out of the political frustrations of the power vacuum that the country experienced, and how he saw the election of General Suleiman as a positive step. The song is in fact is a plea for change, for stability, for normalcy. As a result of the authorities' incompetence, lack of humour and heavy-handedness, perhaps it will now spark a genuine drive for change. The reaction to the detention has been swift, the news travelled very quickly and protest will hopefully follow very soon.

While it's tempting to defend Zeid on the basis that the song isn't actually offensive, I think this is the wrong approach. What we need to defend here is the freedom of expression, without qualifications, and push for abolishing the archaic laws that provide the legal basis for such arrests. No politician or public figure should be beyond critique, and they shouldn't be allowed to use those laws in a desperate bid to gain the respect that their political record hasn't gained them. The role of art and music isn't to flatter the fragile egos of insecure public figures. Let's say a resolute no to these forms of intellectual intimidation and fight for our freedom to offend the clique of fools that is ruling us.

Join the Free Zeid page on facebook.

'Avatar': An Anti-Imperialist Epic?

By Joseph El-Khoury

The bad habit of carpet bombing: Apocalypse Now 1979

Avatar starts on a depressing note. In 2154, humans are still invading foreign lands, digging for underground resources and serving their interests with complete disregard to universal values and life in its various shapes (in this case , the shape of oversized cat-like figures with an unhealthy blue tinge). Not one lesson learned from the Iraq inquiry or the Goldstone report. Not one dent to the might of the military-industrial complex!

Things do improve as we realise that a small eccentric group of idealist geeks refuse to abide by the rules and go out of their way to fraternise with the indigenous population. They, well-meaning as ever, end up causing the most damage, although only in the medium term (This is Hollywood after all and a happy ending beckons). I thought here to draw parallels with the kind-hearted American missionaries caught ‘rescuing’ a few dozen Haitian children from their fate as...Haitian children. These, just like Corporal Jake Sully, find themselves misunderstood and vilified from San Domingo to Salt Lake City. A Far-fetched analogy, you might think. Not as ludicrous as the parallels drawn by some with the Iraq invasion. Everything in Hollywood these days seems to refer to Iraq, as if this one tragedy was out of character for Uncle Sam and deserved ad nauseaum analysis. But why look hard when the birth story of the United States is also that of the uprooting of a native people with animist beliefs and a dress sense suspiciously similar to the ‘Na’vis’. While the jungle on Pandora coupled with the heavy reliance on airborne combat tactics and carpet bombing is reminiscent of the Vietnamese conflict. Nothing new there. As the story unfolds, we are quickly back to old clichés of the all-American hero who gets the girl, dodges bullets and defeats evil. The heartbroken local chief has no choice but to swear allegiance to the well-bred natural leader of men and humanoids alike. Perversely, I can’t think of another occasion where an American audience will be asked to revel in watching Americans troops die in droves while justice prevails. If you are still convinced of an Iraqi reference, then James Cameron must be suspected of links with Al-Qaeda. Unlikely, judging from his lifestyle.

I have to conclude that Avatar is pleasant enough to watch and the technology behind it is to be admired. Unfortunately, I am none the wiser about Mr Cameron’s views on imperialism but certainly aware of his taste in music...and on that front not much progress since ‘Titanic’.

Joint Palestinian/Israeli Photo Exhibition in London

http://www.bewarethecostofwar.org/

To those interested in photojournalism but more generally in the visual depiction of the Arab-Israeli conflict this small exhibition in Old Street is an interesting reflection on human suffering in its plainest expression. The photographers are Israelis and Palestinians, so are the victims and the perpetrators of violence in the images displayed. Expect blood, tears, destruction at a scale that is unfortunately too common in parts of the Middle East. One could argue that blurring the boundaries between aggressor and victim, oppressor and oppressed undermines the cause of the Palestinians by equating their suffering with that of the occupiers. Others might see it as an honest expression of anti-war sentiment. Many of the images have little artistic value while others reflect the events in a perversely beautiful manner.

Whatever your views or inclination, it wont leave you indifferent. For me it raises one important question: Can the very personal and individual experience of human suffering be objectively measured and compared?

Dalia Khamissy: Social Arab Lens

By Joseph El-Khoury

Through a random succession of events I ended up at Dalia Khamissy’s presentation of her work in a Central London basement Last Thursday. Dalia’s talk was part of photo-forum, a monthly meeting of London based photographers. The setup was informal and the atmosphere generally friendly and supportive. Dalia was last to speak, preceded by Two British photographers whose personal work revolved around the theme of England and the English. Their work was inspiring and though provoking. The contrast between their romanticised views of a peaceful England could not contrast more sharply with what followed. It felt like the equivalent of switching your TV dial from BBC4 to Al-Jazeera without blinking. Dalia suitably prepared the crowd for the switch, apologising in advance for dampening the mood. And in fact carried out by emotion, she went on to apologise again at a later stage, when it was probably unwarranted. All in all, she presented 3 sets of pictures related to 2 past series and an ongoing project.

Her first series consisted of pictures taken in the year that followed the 30 day war that swept through South Lebanon in July 2006. For a second, Dalia struggled in introducing the theme to an unknown Western audience comfortably eating crisps in the dark. Was that an Israeli aggression, a Lebanese-Israeli war or a conflict between Hezbollah and the IDF on Lebanese soil? Ultimately, she stuck to basics and introduced the facts: 2 soldiers kidnapped on the border, Israeli bombardments and I shot the result. Dalia focused on a narrow but essential aspect of the devastation by shooting pictures of the inside of village dwellings that sustained significant destruction. Now open air exhibits and mostly gutted out these living rooms nonetheless retain some elements (sofas, chairs, phones, carpets)that remind us of their previous function as someone’s living space, intensely private and personal. The sometimes uncomfortable sensation of voyeurism is offset by an excellent use of lighting and colours with predominance for the Green walls so common across Lebanese villages.

Voyeurism, unavoidable in decent photojournalism, is also present in her second, and in my opinion, most personal series. As she explained to the audience, in 2004 Dalia spent a number of weeks within a refugee camps set up on the Iraqi-Jordanian borders. This self funded initiative allowed her to spend the time necessary to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, connecting at every level with the refugees; a group of Iraqis, Palestinians and Kurds displaced by the events in Iraq. Her Black and White pictures are high contrast, reflecting the scorching conditions in one of the hottest places on earth. Interestingly, it is not so much sadness that is projected in her portraits, rather a mixture of resignation and disappointment.

Her final 3 photos, part of an ongoing project is original both in its concept and in its design. She managed to explain in a few sentences the complexities of Lebanese citizenship law, which denies women from passing on their nationality to their foreign husbands and their common children. Having passed that hurdle, she wowed them with 3 separate portraits of 3 women dominating a living room, with husbands and children thrown in out of focus. The universality of the theme is emphasised by the choice of households from a range of social and religious background. The discussion overran and the chair forced us to wrap up but I am hopeful that Dalia’s conceptual creativity and technical ability were well received by this tough to please London crowd.

عن الستاند آب كوميدي في العالم العربي

خالد برّاج

تكثر في الآونة الأخيرة بين بيروت و دبي مروراً بعمَان الحانات و المقاهي التي تتباهى بتقديم عروض الستاند آب Stand-Up Comedy على غرار تلك الحانات الأمريكية و الأوروبية التي دأبت على تقديم مثل تلك العروض منذ عشرات السنين.

لا شك أنّ عروض الستاند آب هي محاولة لخلق جو فكاهي/ نقدي جديد على عالمنا العربي الحزين المكتظ بالأنظمة والقادة والجهل وزنازين الشعوب، ولعلّ بروز هذا النمط الفني/المسرحي الجديد في مدننا العربية يعود إلى الترويج له من قبل بعض المحطات والشبكات التلفزيونية الفضائية من خلال بث أبرز عروض الستاند آب في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وبريطانيا، حتى أنّ شبكة شوتايم العربية قد قامت في الأمس القريب بإنتاج برامج وعروض متنقلّة خاصة بالستاند آب مستقدمةً ستاند آب كوميديين محترفين من الولايات المتحدة ممّا دفع ببعض الشباب العربي الى التمثُل بهم وخوض تلك التجرية من خلال بعض المقاهي التي شرعّت أبوابها لهؤلاء الشباب آملةً بذلك استقطاب جمهور متنوِع يبحث عن فسحة مرح في عالم عربي مليء بالسباب والشتائم والتخوين.

لكن لعّل خوض تلك المغامرة من قبل مجموعة من الشباب العربي ولا سيّما اللبنانيين والمصريبن و الأردنيبن بشكل خاص قد طرحت علامات استفهام كثيرة فيما يتعلّق بجودة ومحتوى العروض المقدّمة إلى غاية الآن، وإذا آخذنا بعين الاعتبار ابتعاد الستاند آب كوميدبين العرب عن أسلوب بعض أشهر الستاند آبس كريشارد براير و إدي مورفي لأسباب متعلّقة بمحرمات وطبيعة العالم العربي (السباب والشتائم على المسرح – التلميحات الجنسية – الانتقاد الديني – الانتقاد السياسي المباشر إلخ...) و الاعتماد بشكل واضح على أسلوب و واضيع تشبه إلى حدٍ ولو بسيط أسلوب جيري ساينفلد وبيل كوسبي وبيلي كريستل (أي الابتعاد عن المواضيع الجنسية الواضحة والسباب والشتائم المباشرة على المسرح) فإنّ محتوى العروض بشكل إجمالي هو إلى حدّ الآن أقل من الوسط و ذلك يعود لعدة أسباب / عوائق أهمّها التالي:

- إفتقار بعض الستاند آب كوميدين العرب إلى الموهبة وحس الفكاهة والدعابة رغم المحاولات التي يقومون بها خلال العرض والتي غالباً ما تبوء بالفشل لانّ الموهبة هي بالفطرة ولا يمكن إستحداثها بمجرّد أن يقرِر شخصاً ما خوض غمار الستاند آب كوميدي.

- استحضار النكتة اليومية إلى خشبة مسرح الستاند آب علماً أنّ المقصود والمعروف عالمياً أنّ الستاند آب كوميدين يستمدون مواد العرض من الأمور اليومية والحياتية حيث يقومون بعرضها مستخدمين أسلوباً نقدياً ساخراً، على أنّ إخبار النكت اليومية التي يتداولها الناس من قبل مجمل الستاند آب كوميدين العرب لا تمط بصلة إلى مفهوم و مبدأ الستاند آب كوميدي.

- محاولة تقليد أسلوب وطريقة الستاند آب كوميدين الاميركيين ممّا يسبِب بضياع العرض بشكل كلّي لاختلاف الجمهور وتفاوت المواضيع التي ما غالباً يحاول البعض نقلها من إطارها الاميركي الصرف إلى إطارٍ محلي ممّا يؤدي في كثيرٍ من الأحيان إلى كارثة لعدم استيعاب الجمهور/ المشاهد العربي لها.

- الاعتماد على الغناء الفكاهي و الهزلي كمحاولة لكسر الجليد مع الجمهور ممّا يؤدي إلى ضيق خلق الجمهور لكثرة الغناء خلال العرض وافتقار كلمات ونص الأغنية إلى مقوِمات المعنى و السخرية الهادفة.

إنّ محاولات خلق مساحة للستاند آب كوميدي في عالمنا العربي هي محاولات جريئة وموضع احترام ممن يقدّر هذا النوع من الفن وهي بالنتيجة تغني الوسط الفني بوافدٍ جديد يقف على مسافة واحدة من السينما والمسرح والغناء و الشونسونيه، إلا أنّ تلك المحاولات معرّضة للفشل (ممّا يؤدي إلى فشل التجربة يشكلٍ عام) إذا ما استمرّت تلك العوائق في الظهور عند كلِ عرضٍ سواءاً كان الستاند آب لبنانياً، مصرياً أو أردنياً.

'Body of Lies': Another misrepresentation of the Middle East

By Joseph El-Khoury

Watching ‘Body of Lies’(2008) was like watching an updated version of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, except that the language is raw, the Toyotas had replaced the horses and Turkey is no longer a major player. Unfortunately the portrayal of the Middle East by film directors has barely evolved. While David Lean might have been excused in 1962, Ridley Scott’s vision smacks of laziness and repackaging. The narrative in blunt terms consist of: The Middle East is a hot and dusty place populated by a majority of semi ignorant and brutal individuals, mostly of the male variety. But even if we accept the usual Orientalist clichés as the only possible way for the Arab world to be represented in Western popular art, a number of puzzling elements still stand out in the scenario and the making of the movie. For these I am not sure whether to blame David Ignatius, the Washington Post ‘Middle East expert’ behind the book of the same name or Scott, who directed the movie. Again, the myth of the astute Westerner who blends into the local society by sporting a beard, learning the language and wearing traditional Bedouin garb is revisited. While Lawrence might have had a chance on a Camel, Leonardo emerging from a van to lure informers is far less convincing. Another interesting twist is that Agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) falls for a local woman and approaches her in a casual, almost callous manner, which must have gone against the Langley rule book. The woman in question is an unlikely character. The daughter of an Iranian exile, she works as a nurse in a Palestinian refugee camps. You get the sense that the character was designed to fit the actress (Golshiftheh Farahani) who originally hails from Iran. Her behaviour is even less likely. While she hesitates to shake the agent’s hand under the judging eyes of her neighbours, she happily chooses to sit with him in an open air popular cafe despite the stares of Arab manhood in the background. This uncomfortable attitude towards this culture is best exemplified by the choice of actors for indigenous characters. The main Arab ‘hero’ is Hani Salaam, chief of the Jordanian secret services, played by actor Mark Strong, born to an Italian father and Austrian mother (Wikipedia). Hollywood still struggles with fitting Arab actors to play central positive Arab roles. And while some Israelis are brought in to impersonate Arabs, every character played by an Arab actor (mostly Arab Israelis or North Africans) is either a villain or a victim. In terms of the broader lessons from the movie, the cavalier attitude of Ed Hoffman (good performance by Russell Crowe) is memorable. The Senior CIA operative is shown going about his middle class all American suburban life while organising targeted assassinations in Baghdad, destroying any illusion on the way the US behaves on foreign soils. I will not dwell on the plot since ‘Body of Lies’ is still a movie worth watching as adrenaline generating light entertainment, keeping in mind that the critics did find it quite predictable as a spy flick. But on every other count it is a forgettable enterprise, a bit like the Liberation of Iraq. It seems that those who advised Scott have much in common with those who advised Bush on the Middle East, resulting in a catalogue of errors.

Beirut (Live) Overdose

By Joseph El-Khoury

Beirut was brought to the East End of London last Sunday... that is if you believe the organisers of the event ‘Beirut Live’ held at the Vibe Bar in Brick Lane. The venue was funky enough and the crowd suitably dressed. There was no entrance fee, which is unusual for a people obsessed with exclusivity, and the event seemed to attract a mixed audience, from various generations and backgrounds. I suspect that Westerners in attendance would have had to know at least one Lebanese person, (not counting the head waiter at Maroush on the Edgware Road) since as far as I know Beirut is still yet to trigger sustained international interest.

I have to say that I have generally low expectations of events organised by Arabs for Arabs (yes the Lebanese are Arabs!). Having been to a few of these along the years I usually yawn past the speeches and mutual acknowledgment of greatness hoping for one glare of brilliance in the midst of a sea of mediocrity. Beirut Live was not different, except that brilliance was nowhere to be seen. Art was on display intensively promoted by Jana Zeineddine, our Cleopatra for the evening, and the ‘artists’ themselves. As I mingled around attempting to avoid the centrepiece of recycled cottage cheese tubs, I realised I was not the only one with a baffled look on my face. I felt relieved at the thought that my failure to connect with the abstract symbolism displayed on the walls was a shared response. While some photographs (Karen Kalou, Ayla Hibri) were pleasant enough to look at, the rest just did not deserve to be exhibited...anywhere...ever!

We soon moved to the show. The chosen theme of Beirut as opposed to Lebanon was very revealing. The artists and performers all come from privileged cosmopolitan background, having spent a significant amount for time abroad and having acquired lifestyles, behaviours and beliefs that have no relevance to the broader Lebanese reality. While this in itself is not unheard of in other societies. (I.e. London vs. the rest of the UK) presenting themselves as ambassadors of the suffering people of Lebanon was of bad taste. The proceedings kicked on with Zeina El-Khalil and her book. Reading one excerpt from ‘Beirut, I love you!’ she definitely showed an ability to combine words and syllables together in a striking manner. I was less sure whether it all made any sense on paper. The clichés of sex and death, love and war she introduced were explored ad nauseaum as the night progressed, despite the fact that many of the performers were still pre-pubescent by the time the real civil war (1975-1990) had ended. But if Zeina El Khalil’s only sin was melodrama the show went downhill from there. Nadine Khoury was definitely subdued with her brand of minimalist singing. She was not helped by the failing sound system and the apparent absence of any technical support. Her attempts at wooing the audience by asking them to shut up did not go well with some. You wouldn’t mind hearing it from a well established artist...but with all my respects to Miss Khoury, Amy Winehouse she isn’t! Mr Hibry was unnoticeable with his insistence on “going back” and a nihilistic performance. Mazen Zahreddine destroyed my hopes for a dawn of Lebanese stand up comedy. Frequently Blurting obscenities in a manic Shakespearean style he revisited the now abused theme of sex and death unconvincingly and worse...unamusingly. By the time the rapper Rayyes Beyk arrived on stage the mention of the word ‘Beirut’ was enough t make me sick and I decided to join some friends on a cigarette break although I don’t smoke.

Writing this piece was a painful exercise, since I am a proud Lebanese. But the Lebanon I am proud of was decidedly absent on Sunday night.

Go to Gaza, Drink The Sea

By Joseph El-Khoury

‘...Go and Drink the Sea of Gaza’ Yasser Arafat (1929-2004)

There are plays that leave you in two minds about contemporary theatre. ‘Go to Gaza’ playing in North London was one of them. The experience meant to be truely total, my friends and I squatted on pillows, sacrificing comfort for Arab authenticity. The strikingly designed stage consisted of a mound of abandoned shoes. It would have been enjoyable if it wasn’t for the overwhelming fumes that would invariably shorten the life of an asthmatic. Never since the filming of Michael’s Jackson’s ‘Beat it’ has so much fumes been released in the atmosphere in the name of art. But seeing, with a bit of effort, passed the aesthetics and you are from the onset struck with a message: In Gaza, People die! Mostly miserable deaths caused or worsened by the Israeli occupation. Whether on the beach or in the camps, in their houses or on the roads, eating their dinner or firing AK-47s they die.

This omnipresent threat of death drives the play, through the obsessions and ruminations of the main character, a Palestinian young man. Too well-dressed, middle-class and detached from his surrounding(Not that the three are intrinsically linked)he is presented to us with too little background to allow empathy to develop. While all the main characters are Palestinian, an Israeli refusenik is thrown suddenly in the mix. Representing a fringe movement, she provides no real insight into the Israeli side of events. This is left to Mark Regev and Alan Dershowitz through recorded news interviews. Their smug, technical account of events is in contrast with the screams and sounds emanating from the strip. And here lies the problem for me; again Arab characters seem to shine in their state of emotional victimhood all the way to their decision to die a martyr of a generic colourless and faithless resistance far removed from the reality of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Although full of energy, the choreographed closing piece is too reminiscent of the PLO training camps of the 1970s, reflecting a phase of the struggle with which the traditional British Left is more at ease. All in all, I felt the play too targeted at a western audience to strike a chord with me. At times the attempts to help this audience identify with the sufferings of a Palestinian mother felt less than subtle (using the Madeleine McCann analogy) and with the potential to backfire. On a more positive note, the play contains moments of striking rawness and authenticity. My favourite being a father’s account in Arabic of a confrontation with the Israeli military machine that left his family in tatters and his home destroyed.

As I left the theatre I reflected on the weeks that followed the savage Israeli assault. With the siege still in place the Gaza strip is still on the mind of many activists. Not a day passes without a concert for Palestine, an exhibition for Palestine or a dinner for Palestine; all done in genuine support of the struggle of this people denied a land and an identity for too many years. This buzz coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation on 10th March. The irony that this now province of the People’s Democratic Republic of China has enjoyed public Western sympathy for many years wasn’t lost on me. Over the years, the Tibetan cause has become the equivalent of a cuddly cub or a helpless puppy: cute, popular and everyone’s favourite pet. It enjoyed the right celebrity endorsement and became an unavoidable political topic. But whether you believe the Dalai Lama is a peace loving saint or an astute manipulator, you cannot but acknowledge that when things get serious Tibetan freedom is downgraded to the level of East Timoran stability. On a recent visit to China, the appointed international face of Obama’s promises of change, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, demonstrated the A to Z of post-modern Realpolitik. With the latest global financial downturn, a people’s rights to freedom and auto-determination are relegated to the anti-chamber while mutual interests dominate the agenda.

I wonder in that environment what chance the Palestinians have of seeing progress on the peace process in the foreseeable future. They, because of their persistent struggle, in its guerrilla version, its international terrorism version, its rock throwing version, its suicide bomber version or its Kassam Rocket version have no chance of playing at the cuddly puppy. Despite all the best efforts of their supporters, they can at best hope to be viewed by the wider audience as an exhausted haggard mutt with the right scars to show it.

Read more About the Play:
http://gotogaza.wordpress.com

“Arabesque” Unveils Arab Art to Americans

By Bachir Habib

“Unwrap the cultural treasures of the Arab world in this Kennedy Center international festival showcasing the varied cultures of the 22 Arab nations that represent the Arabic-speaking world. From the Arabian Gulf to the Levant to North Africa-this region of the world is the birthplace of human civilization and features extraordinary diversity in geography, traditions, landscape, religion, and contemporary aesthetics. In cooperation with the League of Arab States, the three-week festival brings together artists, many of whom are making their U.S. debut, in performances of music, dance, and theater, as well as exhibitions featuring art installations, fashion, a soundscape, cuisine, a marketplace, and much more. Discover the evolution of art forms born from the cradle of human civilization. Experience an amazing breadth of culture that spans both eons and continents.”

This is how John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington has unveiled its 10 million dollars event called “Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World”. It is indeed an important moment for the Arab Culture and the Arab art scene to be invited to such a prestigious institution and environment.

Arabesque as the above press release and video show is an important moment for the Arab art scene and the American audience altogether. It happens only a month after the inauguration of President Barack Obama who revealed a new American diplomacy in his speech on the 20th of January. He addressed the Muslim world saying that Washington seeks “a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect”. The coverage of the launch of Arabesque by international news agencies strongly mentioned the link between the festival and the dawn of a new American diplomacy towards the Arab and Muslim world.

Both events can be linked, but on the other hand, as Alicia Adams, head of International programming at Kennedy Center said, they are not directly related. According to the organizer who spent three years roaming more that 15 Arab countries to find artists and new talents and bring them to perform in the US, the relation between both events is a coincidence. This festival was going to happen no matter what the outcome of the US elections would have been. But Adams insists that it was not an easy task to prepare Arabesque for it was all put in order at “a time when the popularity of the USA was very low and there was a possibility that the artists would say they were not interested because it was America and Kennedy Center, which is a quasi-federal institution”.

Since it started on the 23rd of February, the festival lasting until the 15th of March is of interest for the American, international and Arab media. However, this big event mainly featuring mainstream and “commercial” art of the Arab world, fails to focus on the colossal structural problems the Arab art scene faces at home.

Freedom of expression, censorship and self censorship, lack of investments, negative public reaction to the notion of difference, and finally tyrannical state policies and intolerance are the main challenges art faces in many Arab countries.

Art and Culture are spheres that can generate social and even political changes. If used properly as spaces where concepts, ideas, talents and challenges meet, interact and evolve, they might create the right path towards achieving the “dream of a Nation that draws strength and coherence from its differences and diversities”, as assassinated Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir once said.

January Blog of the Month: The Female Hanthalah

http://www.meiroun.blogspot.com

‘Hanthalah and Meiroun are friends’... at least on Facebook. This Palestinian affair is only natural and the reunion inevitable, since Naji’s El-Ali’ caricature character, having melted our hearts for Palestine, was bound to engender friends and relatives. But caricatures have moved with the times. Meiroun is older, more sophisticated in her approach and comfortable at venturing into more global themes: Love, Hate, the Internet etc.

Amal Kaawash blogs since 2005 and uses cartoons and drawings as her main communication medium. Words rarely take centre stage in her posts except to illustrate images. Meiroun, her online alter-ego is named after her home village in Galilee, Northern Palestine (Now part of the State of Israel). A wavy dark figure against simple stylised backgrounds she screams her nostalgia for a nation’s past, her sorrow for its present and its hope for its future.

Amal, through her cartoons, does not shy away from firm political stances, whether on the Intra-Palestinian conflict or the Intra-Lebanese conflict of the last 3 years. This is nowhere less obvious than in her personal take on the ‘I Love Life’ poster campaign launched by the media machine of the March 14th coalition in 2006. But she does it subtly and without offending, triggering reflection and soul searching. There is a clear positive evolution over the years in style and content. Her talent was duly rewarded at the Hanzala Cartoon Contest in May 2008 in Egypt.

Naji El Ali, had he not been tragically assassinated in 1987, would be proud... Palestine should be proud!

Suzanne, Talaat and Mohsen

By Joseph El-Khoury

I had vaguely heard of Suzanne Tamim prior to the news of her murder. Unless you follow closely the world of Arab showbiz, the succession of divas on your TV screen is akin to background elevator music: repetitive and barely distinctive. Working the necessary recipe of commercial blandness and traditional feminine sex appeal, Suzanne easily found her spot under the spotlights in the wake of her success at the 1996 edition of the Lebanese talent show ‘Studio El fan’. I had heard even less of the man who allegedly ordered her cold blood ‘execution’ in Dubai this last July. Judging from the news reports his, was a crime of passion...by proxy.
The loyal employee, Mohsen El-Sukkary, who carried out the attack, translated the passion of his ‘Beyk’ for the victim into multiple stab wounds, a slit throat and extensive disfigurement. It didn’t take much investigative work from the Emirati police to build the picture of a revenge crime involving sex, love and money. Arab audiences need look no further for drama and tragedy. This classic one, an Egyptian and Lebanese production, trumps the best Mexican Telenovela as it moves between Cairo, London and Dubai. The ‘Beyk’, Mr Hisham Talaat Mustafa motivated by anger and frustration chooses to ‘terminate’ his ex-lover. A rich businessman and public figure, he probably felt that his position as a close protégé of the Mubarak clan would confer on him immunity well beyond Egyptian borders. And not long ago it would probably have, but two factors made that difficult in 2008.
Dubai having become an international financial and societal hub had to remain an oasis of safety in the turbulent Middle East. On the other hand, the Egyptian regime has been on the defensive for a few years in the face of growing opposition to its economical policies and accusations of corruption. Not a day goes by without further revelations of succession of events and conflicts leading to the death of Suzanne. In a way this is a tragedy for all those involved and foremost for a society living in constant denial, which behaves as if ‘these things happen elsewhere’ in Hollywood, Bollywood or Mexico city while their ruling elite mixes traditional attitudes, religious piety and extravagant lifestyle in an explosive recipe. This time, Mustafa had gone too far, although it is doubtful that remorse is on the agenda.
Few Arab men endowed with money and power will accept that no amount of humiliation is worth a murder charge, especially when the humiliation is carried out by a lover. We are still a long way from the trial and as in every soap opera; the producers might have a few more surprises in their sleeve.

Peaceful Palestinian Walks disturbed by Zionism

By Bachir Habib

On the second of August 2008, the title of an opinion article in the Jerusalem Post caught my interest. Titled “The ‘Economist’ Rewrites History” by Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the United States it accuses The Economist of revisionism only because it positively reviewed, under the Arts section, a book called Palestinian Walks, Notes on a Vanishing Landscape, written by Raja Shehadeh, a Palestinian Lawyer and founder of Al Haq* organization in 1979.
In his book, winner of the Orwell Prize 2008, Shehadeh describes the change in the landscape of the hills surrounding Ramallah through seven walks he took in the area. His lyrical description of the “Biblical Hills” comes as a perfect justification of the prize awarded to the author and his book. The seven walks counted were not made within a year or two; they are spread at least over two decades. That’s exactly why the reader, while turning the pages of this book, is taken through the geographical changes to the hills and their surroundings over a troubled time, where political and military events had the strongest impact on transforming the peaceful nature of what Shehadeh calls the “Highland Hills of Palestine”.
Shehadeh’s perspective is also interesting in the way he shows how the function of the hills surrounding Ramallah changed over the generations. From a place where Palestinian men used to escape the hot summers, working the land and building Qasr (round stones structures built without concrete dotting the land where farmers kept their produce and slept on the open roof), the hills now fulfill a security function, but this time for the Israeli settlers building outposts to better control Palestinian areas. Shehade’s journey and description of this change of function intersects with the Israeli architect Eyal Weizeman’s thesis called "The Politics of Verticality", where the latter develops the idea that the Israeli architecture has played an important role in the conflict for the past six decades. Weizeman’s more recent work has focused on the way the Israeli outposts are built in a South African “apartheid” style.
Shehade’s book is Art, contrary to what his Excellency the ambassador pretends. How can art not relate to politics in that part of the world where the historical artistic patrimony is transformed daily by political conditions? In that specific sense the book is politically potent. Even if its formal relation to the political sphere is subtle, using hints and questions that push the reader to seek political answers elsewhere.
This last argument is probably one of the reasons why Shehade was awarded the Orwell prize. He doesn’t impose political conclusions nor affirms ideological positions. A fact he comes across as a very harsh critic of all Palestinian factions and militias, simply by counting the number of times he came close to being shot dead by armed Palestinian militants on his walks, or the abuse he suffered, he who founded an organization to protect Palestinian rights, at the hands of those who pretended to protect him.
In its review to Shehade’s work, The New York Times Book Review found that: “Few Palestinians have opened their minds with such frankness”. Such acclaim disqualifies totally Shoval who showed nothing but hatred and racism in his judgmental article published in the Jerusalem Post. Nowhere was that more obvious than in the disdain he showed “a certain Raja Shehade, portrayed as a lawyer and a writer…” As if he, a government official, did not know that Shehade is well known to Israeli tribunals as a lawyer who defended the Palestinians against land expropriation practiced by Israel. Shoval’s position is in fact against anyone who dares looking at the Israeli – Palestinian conflict from an angle that questions long-established Zionist myths. That is why he accused The Economist of re-writing History.
His Excellency knows well enough that if this book achieved fame, it is because Shehade does not play political games. Instead, as an experienced professional lawyer, sticks to the hard facts. A concept that the seasoned diplomat obviously struggles with.

*Al-Haq is the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists - Geneva, and is a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Habitat International Coalition (HIC), and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO).

وأنت وجوه نحبّها في وجه واحد

وائل عبد الرحيم

محمود درويش يتوسط ياسر عرفات وجورج حبش

هنالك انت، على تلة في رام الله، تناكدنا برحيلك المبكر، تُبكينا وتُثقل علينا.. ما انت إلا وجه اجتمعت فيك كل الوجوه التي نحبها، فكأنما برحيلك رحلوا كلهم... على هذه الأرض قصيدة حب تستحق أن نولد معها من جديد.. على هذه الأرض فلسطين التي زيّنتها انت وسرّحت شعرها وغسلت قدميها، وهي الآن تحضن جسدك.

انت فلسطينُك فلسطيننا، وانت امُّك امنا...

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حينما يغرُب وجهٌ آخر من الوجوه الحلوة، ...
حينما يذهب فدائي إلى النوم، ويعلن العام ان سيدة، ام البدايات والنهايات، حزينة للفراق، وحينما يبكي الشعراء سيّد الشعراء، وتنزوي عصافير الجليل وترفض ان تطير...
حينها، فلنعلم انه اكثر من موت وأصعب من لحظة رحيل.
شخصياً، أفضل العام الذي قبل هذا العام على العام الحالي. وحتماً افضل الذي قبله، وقبله..
وربما كنت افضّل لو ان الزمن ما عاد زمنا.. تجمّد او تحجر او اخترع الله او العلماء له بديلاً.. هكذا لكنا عشنا احلامنا في سني الحُلم ولم نهزم عشرات المرات.

ليست الهزيمة ان تُحتل الأرض ويمزقها جدار.. بل الهزيمة ان نعود إلى البداوة، والجاهلية تنخر عقولنا وتصيب القلوب بالتيبّس. فلكم هو بليغ حقاً سميح القاسم في رثائك يا محمود درويش، يبكيك فإذ هو يبكي فلسطيننا الآن.. فهي حقاً "ذُبيانُ تَغزو. وعَبْسٌ تُحارِبْ".. وها هو القاسم يتمنى لو انه يلحق بك غير آبه بحزننا، فيصرخ "خذني معك"، حتى لكأنه نكاية يريد ان يضيف حزناً على حزن في الزمن الحزين.
فها هي غزة يا محمود درويش إمارة حيث "صار لكل عصابةٍ نبيّ، ولكل صحابيّ ميليشيا"...!

***

هل اختار محمود درويش الرحيل عن سابق تصوّر وتصميم؟
هل اصيب بجرح الاقتتال وتدمير الذات الذي يمارس ليلاً نهاراً وجهاراً جهاراً دون حياء ودون تورية؟
ربما.. وربما هو مجرد موت..
لكنه القدر ان تغيب الوجوه التي شكّلت وعينا، ترحل وجهاً بعد آخر، تخلي مكانها لأبي سفيان وصبيانه.. وتعلن ان موعد فلسطيننا مع انتفاضة انسانية متجدّدة تأجّل زمناً...

***

انت الذاكرة يا محمود درويش، وانت عرس الجليل، وانت انتفاضة الحجر في رام الله.. وانت مقاومة الحصار في غزة.. وانت الذي ما غادرت حيفا..
انت الاخرون الذين توالى رحيلهم في سنوات القهر هذه، انت ياسر عرفات وجورج حبش وابوعلي مصطفى.. وأنت توفيق زيّاد وإميل حبيبي... وانت وجوه نحبّها في وجه واحد..
وانت بيروت الشعراء والفدائيين... وانت العواصم العربية في لحظة حرية.. وأنت الذاكرة والذكرى.
برحيلك اليوم، تشرف دائرة الحلم على الفراغ... لكن برحيلك يا احبّ الناس إلى فلسطين يزداد الإصرار على التمسك بجوهر الصراع.

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انا لم أعد اؤمن بالحتميات التاريخية، لكن هذه القضية التي نزفت 100 عام واكثر لن تنمحي.. وهذا الشعب الذي قدّم أغلى الشهداء واجمل الأبناء ليحيا، لن يموت.. هذه هي الحتمية التاريخية!
وسيبقى علمك يا فلسطين، علم منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، مرفوعاً عالياً عالياً عالياً ما بقي حيّ على هذه الأرض.. وسيبقى هذا الشعب ينشد مع توفيق زيّاد أننا باقون.. باقون.. "كأننا عشرون مستحيل، في اللد، والرملة، والجليل"، واننا "هنا .. على صدوركم، باقون كالجدار"..

***

سنفتقدك يا محمود العائد إلى التراب.. سنفتقد قصائدك وثورتك وشجاعتك وصدق الأحاسيس..
و"فلسطين لنا".. ستظل قصيدة حب، وانشودة حرية وتحرر، ونبيذاً على جسد عار راقص في عرس بين كنيسة المهد ومسجد عمر.

The July War 2006 in Information Design

By Bachir Habib

33, is the number of days it took to implement a new Middle Eastern equation. On the 13th of July, only one day after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in Northern Israel, behind the so called “Blue Line”, Israel declared an open war on Lebanon. Hezbollah called its operation “The Truthful Promise” and Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah declared that its goal was to capture Israeli soldiers in order to exchange them with Lebanese prisoners in Israel. Two years after a war that devastated large parts of the country in just 33 days, Hezbollah is proving he is standing by his promise as we stand days away from the release of Lebanese prisoners in Israel.

Very few books have been released so far on this conflict and its outcome. But in the months and years to come this topic will become of high interest to Geo-strategists and Historians. In the meantime this war was also a source of inspiration in the artistic sphere. Pamela Hraoui, a Lebanese student of Information Design at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London decided to use the theme for her Masters project.

In her book titled 33, with a pitch black cover, Hraoui’s concept is articulated in three different movements. The first one is displaying opposing information by contrasting the headlines of the Lebanese Daily Star and the Israeli Jerusalem Post. The second is again opposing two main pictures, one from Israel and the other from Lebanon. These pictures have no legend and speak for themselves! Her third movement involves mapping the human, economical, and military cost on both sides, day by day, with forty novel design characters and symbols of her own creation.
In this unpublished book, each day of the war is summarized in six pages based on visuals, graphics and journalistic information.

Below are snapshots of the book (copyright: Pamela Hraoui) she kindly agreed to post on Arabdemocracy in memory of the July 2006 war.

في ذكرى كلود سوتيه : مخرج الواقع اليومي

The article that follows is the first contribution of Khaled Barraj to Arabdemocracy. Khaled is Lebanese and is based in Saudi Arabia where he works as a training specialist for a major media firm in the field of Pay TV. His broad cinematographic culture and interest in the history of the 7th Art qualifies him as an amateur film critic. We hope that you will enjoy reading his insight into this fascinating industry that has shaped popular culture like no other.

Arabdemocracy

خالد براج

تعود ذكرى وفاة المخرج والكاتب السينمائي الفرنسي كلود سوتيه هذه السنة لتحيي الجدل الجديد-القديم القائم بين معظم العاملين في قطاع السينما في فرنسا حول توصيف أعمال المخرج القدير، ومن خلالها وضع حد لسوء التفاهم الناجم عن وصف كلود سوتيه بمخرج برجوازية "السبعينات" الحزينة من قبل بعض النقاد.

على عكس التيار السينمائي الذي ساد في أواسط الستينات وبداية السبعينات والمتمثل بأعمال مخرجي "الموجة الجديدة" كـ فرنسوا تروفو وجان لوك غودار وإريك رومر وغيرهم، فإن كلود سوتيه إختار لنفسه نمطاً مغايراً تماماً وجنح نحو وصف علاقة الفرد البرجوازي و" شبه البرجوازي" بمحيطه وأصدقائه. قام سوتيه بذلك من خلال الإعتماد على عنصر أو حادثة معينة في النص السينمائي اعتبرها كفيلة بإبراز مشاكل هذا الفرد مع نفسه ومع محيطه الحالي والواقعي (على غرار مخرجي "الموجة الجديدة" الذين إعتمدوا ولجأوا في بعض الأحيان إلى مع يعرف بالفانتازيا).

لم تشد سوتيه إبداعية وثورية "الموجة الجديدة"، بل ظل محافظاً على بعد كلاسيكي طوره من خلال وصفه لقصص رومانسية معقدة أو مستحيلة تتلاقى في ذروتها مع شخصية الفرد البرجوازي المثقل بهمومه اليومية، وصولاً إلى نقد ولو عرضي لمجتمع فرنسي بدأ يخرج من المواجهة الديغولية / التغيرية أو الإنتظامية/الفوضوية-الثورية (خلال الستينات وبداية السبعينات)، إلى نوع من تطبيع مجتمعي جديد وغامض بدأت ملامحه تظهر في انكفاء الموجة الجديدة من جهة، وعدم العودة إلى كلاسيكيات الخمسينيات من جهة أخرى.

كانت فكرة سوتيه في بداية أعماله بسيطة جداً ونكاد أن نقول أنها تمثلت بوصف لمرحلة ما بعد هذا الحلم أو الأمل التغييري الذي لم يحصل. فقد تطرق المخرج الى تخبط الفرد بشكل عام من خلال تصوير حيرة وشكوك وخوف الفرد البرجوازي في مجتمع السبعينيات. وتجدر الاشارة الى ان العلاقات الغرامية الصعبة الكامنة في اساس أعمال سوتيه، تتشابك مع الإفلاس والفشل كما في (Vincent, Francois, Paul et les Autres)، وتتجلى في حالة هوس تصل إلى حد الجنون كما في (Cesar et Rosalie)، أو ترسم حيرة رجل ضائع بين امرأتين - أو كما يحلو للبعض بين مجتمعين

في (Les Choses De La vie).

بشكل عام فإن أعمال سوتيه في بداية السبعينات ومنتصفها تتضمن نقداً مبطناً لمجتمع أصبح استهلاكيا شيئاً فشيئاً. مجتمع أصبح يضيق حتى على أعناق رموز البرجوازية ويخنقها كالطبيب والكاتب والصناعي
(من Les Choses De La vie إلى Mado). من تلك النقطة يكمل سوتيه تلك اللوحة الوصفية في مجمل أعماله خلال السبعينات ليعود ويضيف إليها في أعمال الثمانينات والتسعينات شيئاُ من السكون المشهدي، من النظرات المعبرة ومعضلة التلاقي والتفاهم بين الأجيال المختلفة كما فعل في (Un Mauvais Fils; Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud).

يصح القول بأن العنصرين الأساسيين في كل أعمال سوتيه يندرجان في وصف دقيق لأفراد وأشخاص يشعرون باستياء داخلي لا يستطيعون تحديده أو تعيينه - هل هو الشعور بالاستياء من الحياة؟ - ونقدٍ مبطن لمجتمع لا يزال يبحث عن هوية ما في دينامية النموذج الإستهلاكي القاسية، ليس فقط للطبقات الأقل حظاً، بل أيضاً للبرجوازية الميسورة التي تقع في صميم الدورة الإستهلاكية اليومية وتعتبر صمام المجتمع الفرنسي الحديث.

إن الجدل حول أعمال سوتيه لا يزال قائماُ إلى حد الآن. ولا يمكن إنصاف هذا المخرج المبدع الا من خلال الإعتراف بأهمية أعماله في السينما الفرنسية المعاصرة ومن خلال الإبتعاد عن التصنيفات غير المجدية والفارغة من أي نقدٍ بناء.

اعمال كلود سوتيه جعلت منه اليوم نهجاً سينمائياً يفتخر بعض المخرجين المخضرمين والشباب مثل أنيس جاوي وميشيل دوفيل وسيدريك كلابيش وغيرهم بالإنتماء إليه.

Lyrical Fonts at ALBA (Lebanon)

By Antoine Abi Aad

Under the supervision of Aurore Abi Nader Beaini, The Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, ALBA, University of Balamand, explored typography, untraditionally. 30 students of advertising, after four sessions spread on four weeks, presented their work to the jury on the 18th of April.
The purpose of the project was to perceive typography beyond mere printing of traditional graphic exercises. The class was divided into 5 groups of student, each one exploring one typeface through one piece of music: Times/ Pieces for Bandoneon, Evan Lurie; Bodoni/New Soul, Yael Naim; Helvetica/Magic Flute, Mozart; Gill/Take Five, Dave Brubeck; and Frutiger/Orly, Jacques Brel. The students were: GHAZZAOUI Marya, HANNA Ramy, KHOURY Elyse, KOLEILAT Wissameddine, MOUSSA Carmen for Times; HAJJ Elsy, NOHRA Maya, RMEILY Rana, TANNOUS Tonie, TENN Georges for Bodoni; ABDELSAMAD Rayan, ABDO Daniella, ABOU SAAD Nancy, ACHKOUTI Stéphanie, ASMAR Christian, BOUSTANI Yasmina for Helvetica; CHALHOUB Joseph, EID Wissam, HADDAD Leslie, HADDAD Pia, HAIDAMOUS Cyril, HAMED Linda for Gill; and BASSIL Zeina, BOUSTANY Myriam, BOUSTANY Naël, FADDOUL Rana, GHALI Michèle for Frutiger.

Through amusing sequences of interacting games, the group of Times (picture 1 & 2) treated a song without lyrics, Pieces for Bandoneon. Though inspired by movie the way things go, the final project was far different from the original inspiration, since all tricks were done through/by typography.

The group of Bodoni travelled through a 3d typographical animation with the song New Soul. Back to reality, they transcribed the animation into an installation were people can also travel in it, feeling typographical spaces.

Helvetica group pointed to the usage of Arial by Microsoft instead of Helvetica used by Mac Apple. They interpreted the matter as a crime, where Helvetica assassinates Arial with an apple in a parody of Hitchcock’s Psycho; it was a creative and funny way of connecting it to the crime of the Magic Flute. The whole animation was done with typography. After the animation, the students moved the public to the crime scene, all done with typography as well.

Gill typeface was illustrated as an orchestra, where each instrument was a letter. Executed in 3d, the arrangement of letters permits a sphere to travel for a short time, passing in/on/through the letters to land on the electricity switch and light up the word idea. The concept symbolizes the brainstorming process to arrive to an idea and it also points to the 5 minutes break when Dave Brubeck and his group composed the song Take 5.

Frutiger/Orly based their concept on a key-sentence of the song “la vie ne fait pas de cadeaux”, which means “life does not offer gifts”. The students chose a Christmas tree where the gifts best lie, and the same time, the tree symbolizes the best place for lovers to meet. The whole tree was covered by Frutiger letters “v”, “i” and “e” composing the word “vie” (life).

ALBA is looking forward to exhibiting this project in the near future.

Lebanon: Student Housing with a Touch of Design

Lebanese Universities graduate hundreds of Architecture students on a yearly basis. They do not lack enthusiasm but opportunity. Creativity is sacrificed in the interest of quick profit. As a result Beirut and other cities from a hilltop view, helped by the absence of state regulation, have become urban sprawls that lack harmony. In our efforts to promote homegrown talent we present The USEK Student housing project developed by the team of Henry and Samer Eid. It is certainly visually stunning while blending in the chaotic architectural environment of the Zouk locality, North of Beirut. Following is a presentation of the project in the words of the people behind it.

Arabdemocracy

It is a 9000-square-meter residence, delivered in 2007, it has a capacity of about 200 young female students coming from all over Lebanon, and its U-shaped layout includes a sheltered atrium with space for studying, meeting and socializing.
At first, the chaotic urban environment of the site was a real challenge. However, with an elegant modernism, the architects managed to invest, to the utmost, the potential of a difficult plot of land, brilliantly solving the issues of intimacy and community, investing the site’s negative constraints to support a positive reality.
Moreover, the project combines, through bits and pieces, numerous architectural themes of the USEK campus. Nevertheless, the edifice maintains a formal autonomy and originality within the context. Despite a contemporary aesthetics and a spirit of independence, this building is well-rooted in its milieu and reflects a certain relationship with the functional architecture of the overall campus.
Therefore, the project astutely responds to the challenges of scale, context and function, with an effect of contrasts, coupling monumentality and refined details, mass and lightness, compactness and openings. The edifice directly conveys its message and converses with the scenery, offering selective views of its environment.
Furthermore, lights and colours add life to the premises. A rich array of colours with luminous hues undoubtedly enhances the beauty of the edifice, which symbolically borrows some conceptual patterns, incarnated through a nautical metaphor.
With this new building, the designers succeeded in giving a degraded urban site a new lease of life, hence joining the campus with its surroundings by reshaping the university’s identity without compromising its historical and architectural value, providing an architectural solution that is lively, measured, and definitely contemporary. Finally, this residential housing illustrates a singular portal into another world free of worries, a gateway to freedom, a true dreamlike journey, a unique place, indeed, that is suitable for rest and study.

• At the ground floor, public activities are available. The collective space is thus composed and animated by the following functions: welcoming desk, administrative offices, visiting room, lounge, cafeteria and chapel.
• At the six upper floors, the privative space comprises the vertical circulation elements, the floor kitchens and the rooms. Each room has an entrance, built-in wardrobe, bathroom, sleeping area and study corner.
• Three underground levels comprise parking and general utilities.

The Student Housing project at the USEK campus in Lebanon was developed by Henry Eid Architect + SE.Arch Samer Eid Architect.

Picrures: Courtesy of Samer Eid / SE.Arch © 2007
All rights reserved

Ignorance Strikes Again: Persepolis Banned in Beirut

By Bachir Habib

Picture: Courtesy of www.fourteenfilms.typepad.com

Once again, ignorance strikes in Lebanon. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is the latest victim of our very “intellectual” General Security Censorship Department.
I first discovered Persepolis in Beirut, when I came across the series of comic books on which the movie is based.

Reading Persepolis was an amazing experience; I can easily label it as “Iran’s modern history for dummies”. Watching the movie was even better, for it operates on several levels. On one level it is a very simple and accessible piece of work that even a child can watch and enjoy. It is a highly emotional autobiography that tells the simple story of an Iranian girl growing up in the last years of the Pahlawi’s dynasty in Iran. She witnesses the rise of the Islamic Republic after 1979 and the implementation of the strict Islamic social and cultural code of conduct.
On another level It can be viewed as a very complex work focusing on how psychologically painful the experience of a teenager who is sent to live alone in a country with a very different culture (in 1983, at the age of 14, Satrapi was sent to Austria, by her parents in order to flee the Iranian regime).

The most sophisticated part of the movie is the historical and political angle through which Satrapi tells a vastly ignored part of Iran’s History. Through the experience of her socialist and communist family, from intimidation to imprisonment and killing, she shows how the Iranian Islamic Regime established its legacy by anihilating the Left who was the real avant-garde of the social and political movement that ended the Shah’s reign.

Banning Satrapi’s work in Iran may not be surprising, but banning it in Lebanon has a very different signification. I will not go into a political diatribe to convince my reader that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy. But simply, this movie and comic books add to the debate about Hezbollah’s role and political ambitions the kind of argumentation the party wants to avoid because it ruins years of efforts to give the very fundamentalist party of god a “modern and tolerant” face.
Those who know about Lebanese politics know for sure how powerful Hezbollah is in certain spheres of the Lebanese Administration, notably the General Security where the committee of censorship sits.

The outright banning of Persepolis is an added clue to the true Hezbollah. But the lesson from the Film is elsewhere, it is for the emerging “Neo-Left” in Lebanon and the Arab World, who picture Hezbollah today as the natural heir to the socialist and nationalist liberation movements of the sixties and seventies. For those “leftists” engaged in a marketing and propaganda campaign on behalf of “the resistant Hezbollah-Damascus-Teheran-Caracas Axis” Persepolis sends a very clear message: Help the fundamentalists to power once again and you will be at the receiving end of their first bullit.

Persepolis won the Jury Prize of Cannes Film Festival (2007), and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in January 2008.

NIHONTEN: Japan in Lebanon

By Antoine Abi Aaad

The Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, ALBA, University of Balamand recently organized a workshop and an exhibition “Nihonten” on the theme of Japan as seen by the Lebanese. Conducted by Antoine ABI AAD (Ph.D. in Design, University of Tsukuba in Japan), the purpose of the workshop was to expose a number of Lebanese advertising students to a new culture in order to open up their horizons. And indeed, one of the interesting outcomes of the workshop was the typographical mixing of Latin, Arabic and Japanese types. The 41 students from the school of Decorative Arts, section of Advertising and Graphic Arts followed the workshop for two weeks, and exhibited their works in the third week. ALBA is looking forward to exhibiting in Japan in the near future.

A new perspective on Arabic letters

Generally researchers and writers (especially westerners) tend to tackle the issue of Arabic letters from a religious angle. It somehow interests their public to frame Arabic within a religious context.

Beautiful religious works were executed in the Arab world through centuries of Islamic art, but it is high time that we stop reflecting the situation of the end of the 18th century, last great period of Arabic calligraphy (Othman), and look for/to new dimensions. Encouraging a new perspective at Arabic was one of the purposes of Nihonten, achieved through descriptions of Japan, in Arabic. A historical example would be that of the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudy who, although inspired by Arabic culture, was so original and so detached from traditional Arabic patterns: In that sense he made use of the heritage to move forward.
One of the new dimensions applied in Nihonten was the mixing of scripts: Latin/Arabic with Japanese. Latin letters through French and English, which are commonly used languages in Lebanon and Japanese language through its 3 systems of writing: Kanji, and the two syllable systems, the Hiragana and the Katakana. It is interesting to see weird mixtures of French, English, Arabic and Japanese languages through Latin, Arabic, Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana mixtures; it impresses people through their new approach of mixing types. In fact, this is how the Iranian designers are excelling internationally: impressing audiences with relatively new letters, Arabic ones. In fact, this is what was done with Japanese and Chinese characters in the last century. Chinese and Arabic calligraphies being the richest and oldest calligraphies accentuate this case comparison.

As for the Lebanese, visuals can be even more creative: multilingual by nature, the Lebanese can show their culture visually. It is a great potential that should be explored further.

For the complete series of posters follow the link http://www.posterpage.ch/exhib/ex201leb/ex201leb.htm