"Politics in the Middle East is now ‘seen’ and the image is playing a central part in processes of political struggle. This is the first book in the literature to engage directly with these changing ways of communicating politics in the region - and particularly with the politics of the image, i
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ts power as a political tool. Lina Khatib presents a cross-country examination of emerging trends in the use of visuals in political struggles in the Middle East, from the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon to the Green Movement in Iran, to the Arab Spring in Egypt, Syria and Libya. She demonstrates how states, activists, artists and people ‘on the street'’ are making use of television, the social media and mobile phones, as well as non-electronic forms, including posters, cartoons, billboards and graffiti to convey and mediate political messages. She also draws attention to politics as a visual performance by leaders and citizens alike." (Publisher description)
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"While acknowledging the contribution of the dominant Hindi Sanskritic narrative tradition to the shaping of popular Hindi cinema, this chapter aims to explore the alternative narrative streams that have governed storytelling in Hindi films, particularly the Perso-Arabic legacy of the qissa and dast
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an that has been erased or marginalised in the construction of national cinema. Through tracing the disruption of the dominant Hindu epic narratives by the Perso-Arabic qissa or dastan, it will show that it is the imbrication of the Perso-Arabic heritage with the Hindu Sanskritic that constructs the syncretic cinematic universe of the Hindi film." (Pages 183-184)
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"In this chapter, we have looked at how Buddhism and orality have been translated into film in Bhutan. We have argued, that cinema operates as a secondary oral medium, through the various rituals of production, distribution and consumption and, most significantly, at the level of story construction.
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Although Bhutan has a remarkably strong oral legacy, cinema and electronic media have undeniably changed its traditional narrative structure, re-mediating it and, in the process, creating new storytelling forms." (Conclusion, page 170)
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"The Lebanese paramilitary political party Hizbullah is the leading Islamist group in the world in terms of possessing a sophisticated image management strategy. This strategy is reliant on a number of components, from media outlets and products to public displays to the use of personified politics.
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Its purpose is to support Hizbullah’s political activities and cultivate legitimacy for the group among its target audiences. This paper focuses on Hizbullah’s image management strategy over the past five years. It examines the strategy’s purpose and components, showing how they have come together to transform Hizbullah into a brand. It also shows how Hizbullah has used this strategy to modify its image over the years to ensure political survival. Hizbullah’s most notable achievement in this regard has been the merger of credibility and adaptability, a key characteristic for brand longevity. But the Arab Spring has brought new challenges for the group, and it remains to be seen how Hizbullah’s image management strategy might deal with those challenges." (Abstract)
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"[...] This authoritative book answers key questions about the connections between media and political change in the Arab world. Using research into, for example, practices of Internet users, journalists, demonstrators and producers of reality TV, it explores the interface between public interaction
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over the airwaves, at the polls and on the streets. A lively group of contributors explores such issues as whether young people are served well by new media, whether blogging is an influential political tool, whether satellite news helps or hinders diasporic communities politically, and much more." (Publisher description)
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"Is today’s changing media landscape in the Middle East empowering women? This is the first book to address the dynamics of media ecology and women’s advancement in the contemporary Middle East. The book spans both the region and media forms, from Iran’s women’s press, via Maghrebi women fil
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mmakers and Egyptian political films, Palestinian TV and Hezbollah’s TV station, Al-Manar. It takes as its starting point the diverse experiencees and multi-layered identities of women and treats media institutions and practices as part of wider power relations in society. By analysing media production, consumption and texts, it reveals where and how gender boundaries have been erected or crossed." (Publisher description)
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