• Demythologizing the Palestinian in Hany Abu-Assad’sOmarandParadise Now

    Author(s):
    Hania Nashef (see profile)
    Date:
    2015
    Group(s):
    CLCS 20th- and 21st-Century, MS Screen Arts and Culture, MS Visual Culture, TC Popular Culture, TC Postcolonial Studies
    Subject(s):
    Culture--Study and teaching, Mass media--Study and teaching, Middle Eastern literature
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    21st Century Literature, Arab cinema, arab media, cultural studies, Palestine, Cultural studies, Film studies, Media studies, Postcolonial literature
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6CP73
    Abstract:
    In the past, Palestinian cinema was dominated by a nationalist discourse revolving around refugee ideology, resulting from the trauma of the lost homeland. As the past is generally static, revisiting it became an exercise in nostalgia. The last decade, however, has seen the emergence of a number of transnational Palestinian films telling stories of those who remained in historical Palestine post-1948. This late depiction is no longer one of reductionism but a visual narrative that exposes the daily challenges individuals face under occupation, as they fluctuate between a diminishing homeland and a lost one. These latest films have relied on a personal angle to tell the story, contrary to earlier film portrayals that favoured depictions of a mythical homogeneous society rooted in nationalist, heroic and revolutionary discourse. This article examines two internationally acclaimed films by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, Al Janna Al Aan/Paradise Now and Omar. In both, Palestinians hover between security walls, refugee camps and occupied space, as they deal with issues of betrayal, frustration, martyrdom and treason, portrayals that ultimately demythologize the Palestinian individual.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1080/20403526.2015.1080984
    Publisher:
    Informa UK Limited
    Pub. Date:
    2015-10-29
    Journal:
    Transnational Cinemas
    Volume:
    7
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    82 - 95
    ISSN:
    2040-3526,2040-3534
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    7 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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