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The joker in Iraq’s Tishreen [October] protests : resistance, dehumanization and reclamation
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Mustafa, Balsam (2023) The joker in Iraq’s Tishreen [October] protests : resistance, dehumanization and reclamation. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication . doi:10.1163/18739865-tat00001 ISSN 1873-9857. (In Press)
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1163/18739865-tat00001
Abstract
This article explores how the cultural symbol of the Joker, from the 2019 American movie Joker, first unfolded during the 2019 Iraqi Tishreen [October] Revolution as radical-gradual creative imagery both shocking and contested among Iraqi activists. Considering the visuals as modes, I argue that they first emerged as antenarrative, open to multiple interpretations. The antenarrative quickly transformed into a derogatory label perpetuating a dehumanizing anti-protest narrative by dominant powers and their militias. ‘Axis of Resistance’ media channels in Iraq and Iran have transformed the Joker label into a weapon, framing the protest movement as a narrative of grand conspiracy with the West and consequently justifying the violent crackdown by security forces. Iraqi activists then reclaimed the label in an attempt to defy that narrative. The linguistic reclamation could not erase the parties’ narrative. Instead, the two narratives have continued to compete, triggering another set of polarized labels.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DS Asia H Social Sciences > HM Sociology J Political Science > JQ Political institutions (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.) N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Joker (Fictitious character), Joker (Motion picture), Protest movements -- Iraq, Iraq -- Politics and government -- 2003-, Masks, Social movements -- Political aspects, Art and social action -- Iraq | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Brill | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1873-9857 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | 2023 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| DOI: | 10.1163/18739865-tat00001 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | In Press | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 12 September 2022 | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 15 December 2022 | ||||||||
| Related URLs: |
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