American Popular film on the War on Terror plays a powerful role establishing cultural and political discourses surrounding the War on Terror. Furthermore, the attempts of liberal films as a source of critique of American Hollywood conservative War on Terror films are insufficient. I argue that Third Cinema from the Middle East provides a necessary counter-discourse in providing platforms for alternative discussions regarding definitions of terrorism and the production of the Orientalist other.

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Dominant approaches in film studies reflect the deeply-rooted assumption – inherited in large part from Marx and Foucault – that human nature and human history are inherently characterized by conflict and the struggle for power. However, this normative adversarialism prevents us from acknowledging the experiences and works of individuals who operate under a different set of foundational assumptions based instead on mutualism, cooperation, and forms of power that do not engage in zero-sum struggles. This dissertation will treat adversarialism not as an essential, inevitable, or preferable aspect of human nature, but rather as a culturally learned pattern of behavior that can be overcome, both individually and collectively. How would dominant theoretical frameworks in film studies be affected by a view of human nature that does not celebrate moments of conflict and adversarialism, but mutualistic tendencies instead? By mobilizing the definition provided by the Bahá’í discourse community (BDC) of “world citizenship” as a global ethic founded on the inherent oneness of humanity, this study will challenge three generally adversarial assumptions in the study of film: 1) That any filmmaker working within a non-democratic or “oppressive” state is politically worthy of celebration primarily when actively criticizing the politics of that state; 2) That any filmmaker with a complex multicultural background will have a psychologically difficult time reconciling their own cultural differences and reflect that internal struggle in their films; and 3) That conflict is an essential part of any popular cinematic narrative. Current approaches to filmmaking in an era of globalization, operating under normative adversarialism and often emphasizing the articulation of difference, are inadequate to explain the works of filmmakers living and working within a mutualistic ethic of world citizenship. By taking Dayyan Eng – a multicultural filmmaker based in Beijing, China – as the primary case study, I will develop a “world citizen” framework based on the articulation of the essential oneness of humanity and a filmmaker’s development of a “triple fluency” (cinematic, cultural, and industrial) to address limitations inherent in existing concepts in order to more appropriately illuminate the works of other media makers who work and live according to similar conceptual frameworks.

Beyond Charitable Imperialism investigates the role of film, digital media, and music in mediating social and political change in conflict regions with specific attention to the aesthetic choices, ethical implications, and lived consequences of audio-visual production in and about Congo. This study intervenes in the discourse on activist African cinema through a bi-directional investigation of (1) increasingly prominent instances of aesthetic and ideological practices in Congolese film that are emerging as central to larger projects of social transformation, and (2) the extent to which humanitarian narratives depicting present-day Congo obscure or expose the ongoing, neo-colonial power struggle between Congo and the West. My research includes critical analyses of temporality, memory, and language in audio-visual representations of Congo, as well as extensive field research investigating embodied instances of the 'film act.' In this context I advocate a historically informed reading of the correlation between current cinema practices and contemporary history based on the evolutionary relationship between audio-visual media, politics, and identity. Drawing on frameworks of militant Third Cinema this study interrogates the role of media in the creation and dissemination of 'Truth' and thereby draws pointed attention to global consequences that form the basis of what I call charitable imperialism. With methodological inspiration across disciplinary lines from scholars including Frantz Fanon, Teshome Gabriel, and Stuart Hall, I offer an anatomy of the particular ways in which film can emerge as a real means of social transformation in the face of conflict and mental colonization. Central to this inquiry is the history of resistance embedded in Congolese musical practices. I suggest that, fortified by intersections with visual technology, the elevated cultural capital of song as a vehicle of social mobilization is reconstituting both music and visual media and increasingly allowing Congolese voices to participate in global dialogues on their own terms. Ultimately I conclude that mediated agency effectively challenges charitable imperialism and repositions Congolese subjects as viable agents of sustainable social transformation. / African and African American Studies

Submitted by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-07-07T19:22:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1760311 bytes, checksum: 2989c19e2a8125dafab059065b8903d7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T19:22:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1760311 bytes, checksum: 2989c19e2a8125dafab059065b8903d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Our goal is to reflect upon the images of Brazilian Northeast on contemporary regional Cinema. We will observe the representation of this space in a specific time frame. In the repertoire of the national culture, the Northeast is one of the most recurrent spaces, but over the years there were various images formulated to represent it. Thus, the very construction of a regional identity permeates these representations. In the context of Brazilian Cinema, the Northeastern representation reached its apogee in the Cinema Novo movement, with the called “sertão trilogy” (SYLVIE DEBS, 2007): Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Glauber Rocha, 1964. “Black God, White Devil”), Os Fuzis (Ruy Guerra, 1964) e Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963. “Barren Lives”). However, as Dídimo (2012), we understand that film Brazilian Northeast is an approach that is not dissociated from a political and historical context. The contemporary Cinema view on this region address issues relevant to the globalized world, making a reinterpretation and reconstruction of the space: it discusses multiculturalism and the local x global relationship, without, however, leaving aside the symbolic structures that permeates the Northeastern imaginary. Thus, our goal is to construct a study on the representation of Brazil’s Northeast on the national contemporary Cinema. Thereunto, we will prioritize productions – in an “auteur theory” (AUMONT, 2008; BORDWELL, 2008) perspective – from this own region: O Som ao Redor (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2012. “Neighboring Sounds”), Árido Movie (Lírio Ferreira, 2005) and A História da Eternidade (Camilo Cavalcante, 2014). By understanding that in the national contemporary Cinema there is a reinterpretation in the representation of Brazilian Northeast space, we selected these movies with the aim of investigate how this region is approached in a globalized context. Therefore, we began a foray that seeks to stablish a dialogue between the “new” Third Cinema/Peripheral Contemporary Cinema (PRYSTHON, 2010) and the contemporary regional movies, but not leaving aside aesthetic issues concerning the Third Cinema and its process of transformation. / Nossa proposta é refletir sobre as imagens do Nordeste brasileiro na cinematografia regional contemporânea, observando o processo de representação do espaço nordestino a partir de um recorte temporal. No repertório da cultura brasileira, o Nordeste é um dos ambientes mais recorrentes, porém, ao longo dos anos, várias foram as imagens formuladas. E, desta forma, a própria construção da identidade regional perpassa por tais representações. No contexto do cinema brasileiro, a representação nordestina conheceu seu apogeu no movimento Cinema Novo, por meio da chamada trilogia do sertão (SYLVIE DEBS, 2007): Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Glauber Rocha, 1964), Os Fuzis (Ruy Guerra, 1964) e Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963). Todavia, assim como coloca Marcelo Dídimo (2012), também entendemos que filmar o Nordeste brasileiro é uma postura que não está abstraída do conjunto histórico e político de uma época. Os olhares do cinema contemporâneo para a região abordam problemáticas emergentes no mundo globalizado, e fazem releituras e reconstruções do espaço: discutem o multiculturalismo, a relação local versus global, mas, muitas vezes, sem deixar de lado as estruturas simbólicas que permeiam o imaginário nordestino. Desta forma, o nosso objetivo é construir um estudo sobre a representação do Nordeste no cinema brasileiro contemporâneo e, para tanto, priorizaremos produções – dentro da perspectiva de um “cinema de autor” (AUMONT, 2008; BORDWELL, 2008) – oriundas da própria região nordestina: O Som ao Redor (Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2012), Árido Movie (Lírio Ferreira, 2005) e A História da Eternidade (Camilo Cavalcante, 2014). Por entender que existe uma releitura na representação do espaço nordestino, no cinema regional contemporâneo, fizemos o nosso recorte com o intuito de observar as abordagens referentes ao Nordeste em meio a um contexto globalizado. Partimos de uma investida que busca estabelecer um diálogo entre a estética do “novo” Terceiro Cinema/Cinema Periférico Contemporâneo (PRYSTHON, 2010) e os filmes nordestinos da contemporaneidade, porém, sem deixar de discutir as questões estéticas referentes ao Terceiro Cinema e o seu processo de atualização.

This study investigates to what extent the curatorial project of Documenta 11 offered an operative cultural concept beyond multiculturality by favouring a transcultural approach to difference in the global sphere. It questions whether the central strategy employed – of postcoloniality as tactical manoeuvre to expand both the public and aesthetic spheres in order to create the conditions for an ethical engagement with difference – could facilitate a workable exemplar for showing art from different production sites, yet resist levelling of differences for an ever-expanding global art market. Proceeding from the postcolonial institutional critique envisioned by the artistic director, Okwui Enwezor, this study engages critically with the notion of opening-out Documenta in terms of inclusivity and equality of representation. It is argued that while the proposed postcolonial reinvigoration of overlapping public spheres held the promise of heterogeneous participation and minimised the formation of hegemonies, the expansion-project of Documenta 11 could on another level be interpreted to function as a globalising instrument usurping previously unexplored territories and discover marketable ‘others’ for a neocolonial cultural marketplace. Documenta 11 set out to subvert the expansionism of a global art market by constructing the global as postcolonial space in which proximity became the ethical space of engagement. It is the contention of this study that by emphasising the production of locality, the five Platforms localised the global discourse and expressly addressed how inclusivity and pluralism could be approached against the disparities created by globalisation processes. Historically, for artists from the South denial of proximity and coevalness based on colonial conceptions of space and time had meant exclusion from the canon and, where modernist notions persist, being labelled as deficient. In order to breach gaps, de-hegemonise cultural coding and aid transcultural translation, Documenta 11 located its project in its entirety in Homi K. Bhabha’s in-between space, in the gap, as it were. This orientation towards the gap is examined in terms of homelessness, displacement and nomadic subjectivity that impact the archiving logic of Documenta to become anarchival: memory production turned into counter-memory and the work of remembrance was shaped as counter-memorials. Criticised for a skewed commitment to social engagement, rather than aesthetics, the exhibition of Documenta 11 was nonetheless informed by a threshold aesthetic. Different kinds of oppositionality employed by artists, and adversarial approaches reinvigorated by Situationist and Third Cinema strategies put forward by the curators, are evaluated in this regard. An agonistic positioning is explored as, firstly, a counter-localisation to multiculturalism in a transcultural exhibition and, secondly, to resist assimilation and co-optation. It is argued that the embrace of the threshold, of thirdness and littoral curating by Documenta 11 could be considered an exemplar of a global trickster positioning aiming for an expansion of critical visual strategies. The contention of this study is that, having set out to grapple with the construction of multiple public spheres and the space of the transnational exhibition as a creole location, this Documenta at the very least opened up discursive spaces that could expand artistic discourses. At best, Documenta 11 uncovered routes by which difference in the transcultural field could be (re)negotiated. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Visual Arts / unrestricted

Alimenté par le développement continu d’une compréhension matérialiste de la circulation de la culture dans le circuit sociotechnique du jeu vidéo, ce mémoire se consacre à la notion d’idéologie en tant qu’appareil de reproduction sociale et son articulation au sein de ce circuit. Héritière d’un système économique global historiquement bâti pour conduire à une accumulation polarisée des ressources globales vers des métropoles impérialistes, la culture vidéoludique, principalement adressée à un public occidental, tend à renforcer les subjectivités nécessaires pour assurer la continuité de cette matrice coloniale du pouvoir. Par l’introduction des contributions formelles et activistes du troisième cinéma et de l’art du Black Panther Party, tel la cultivation d’une compréhension diagnostique, la proximité avec la formation d’une organisation politique et la conscience de la possibilité d’alternatives, ce mémoire s’intéresse aux possibilités d’alimenter de nouveaux usages de vieux radicalismes. Le mémoire se clôt sur des interventions issues du milieu du jeu vidéo qui entretiennent des similitudes avec ces arts engagés, soit par des plateformes alternatives qui permettent l’émergence de telles contre-histoires, soit par des actions sur les représentations effectuées par des créateur·rices qui délimitent des segments au sein desquels il devient possible d’opérer. De tels espaces critiques participent à faciliter l’accès à un processus de conscientisation. / Influenced by the continuous development of a materialist understanding of the circulation of culture within the socio-technical circuit of video games, this dissertation is dedicated to the notion of ideology as an apparatus of social reproduction and its articulation within this circuit. Inherited from a globally built economic system historically designed to lead to a polarized accumulation of global resources towards imperialist metropolises, video game culture, primarily directed at a Western audience, tends to reinforce the subjectivities necessary to ensure the continuity of this colonial matrix of power. By introducing the formal and activist contributions of the Third Cinema and the Black Panther Party's art, such as cultivating a diagnostic understanding, proximity to the formation of political organization, and awareness of the possibility of alternatives, this dissertation explores the possibilities of fueling new uses of old radicalisms. The dissertation concludes with interventions from the gaming milieu that bear similarities to these engaged arts, either through alternative platforms that enable the emergence of such counter-histories or through actions on representations carried out by creators which delimit segments within which it becomes possible to operate. These critical spaces can then facilitate the process of conscientization.

This thesis focuses on documentaries by North African women, who have been marginalised within the limited space of the field of African filmmaking. I illustrate how North African cinema has suffered from neglect in studies on African as well as Arab culture and particularly African and Arab cinema. I discuss the work of four pioneering women documentary makers in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Consecutively I will discuss Ateyyat El Abnoudy, Selma Baccar, Assia Djebar and Izza Génini’s work. My approach is transnational and Bakhtinian in the sense that I am an outsider looking in. I promote a constant self-awareness as a Western European and an academic interested in the area that is defined as the Middle East. Like the documentary makers, I take the nation state as a starting point so as to understand its effects, in order to be able to critique it and place the films in a transnational context. The documentaries in this thesis illustrate that films of a socio-political nature contest the notion of a singular national identity and can become a means of self-definition. Asserting one’s own cultural and national identity, and subjectively offering the spectator an individual’s interpretation of that self-definition, is a way towards female emancipation. Going against the grain and avoiding stereotypes, evading censorship and dependence on state control, these directors find ways to give a different dimension to their identity. Analysing the work of these four pioneering filmmakers, I uncover diverse female subject matters treated by a similar aesthetic. I argue that through overlooked cinematic techniques, they succeed in subverting the censor and communicating a subtle but convincing critique of the patriarchal system in their respective countries. Their preoccupation with representing ‘the other half’ puts a new and under-explored spin on perceptions of anti-establishment filming with subtly emancipating consequences. I suggest that their common aesthetic is one that develops moderation in terms of context, content and style. There is a cinematic way of implicitly subverting not only the (colonial) past but also the (neo-colonial) present which goes further than re-inscription or compensation: new modes of resistance co-exist with the more rebellious and heroic ones. These women’s films rewrite, imply and contemplate rather than denounce and attack heroically. They do not reject as much as interrogate their situations, counting on the empathic and intersubjective abilities of the spectator. A relationship of trust between director, subject and spectator is crucial if we want to believe in the subalterns’ aptitude for voicing issues and gazing back. I reveal a different approach to communication beyond the verbal, and a belief in the subjects’ capacities to speak and listen. This is echoed in the filmmaker’s sensitive analysis of the subjects’ expression and voice and the non-vocal expression – the gaze. The intended outcome is dependent on the willingness of the spectator to take part in the intersubjective communication triangle. I conclude with the idea that moderation is the foundational concept of a post-Third Cinema transnational aesthetic in North Africa. Ateyyat El Abnoudy, Selma Baccar, Assia Djebar and Izza Génini are pioneers of women’s filmmaking in North Africa, who opened up a space for underrepresented subjects, voices and gazes.

Dans une société médiatique on ne peut pas définir l’intellectuel comme une personne qui simplement travaille avec les lettres; on doit le définir plutôt comme une personne qui utilise d’autres moyens de communication en cherchant la meilleure façon de critiquer la société. En regardant la problématique de la définition de l’intellectuel dans la société médiatique on étudie dans ce mémoire les films Rodrigo D. No futuro et La Vendedora de Rosas réalisés dans les bidonvilles de Medellin par le directeur colombien Víctor Gaviria. Dans les films on peut voir la vie de jeunes garçons et des enfants pour qui la réalité est faite de drogue et de pauvreté. L’étude s’étend sur trois chapitres : Dans le premier on examine l’ensemble socio-historique dans lequel les films ont été réalisés et aussi on examine le concept de « sicariato » qui a été utilisé dans des études scientifiques et des romans. Le second chapitre porte sur la problématique de la définition de l’intellectuel et sur le processus de création de Víctor Gaviria, appelé « Voluntad Realista ». Dans le troisième chapitre on examine le manifeste écrit par Víctor Gaviria « Las Latas en el fondo del río » dans le contexte historique du troisième cinéma latino-americain, dont les cinéastes ont écrit des manifestes semblables. / In a media society, we cannot define the intellectuals as a person who works only with letters. We should instead define the intellectual as one who uses different forms of communication or different media to better criticize society. Following existing definitions of the intellectual in a media society, we study in this thesis the films Rodrigo D. No futuro and La Vendedora de Rosas that were made in the shantytowns of Medellin by Colombian filmmaker Víctor Gaviria. In these films we can see the lives of teenagers and kids who live in a poor and violent society. This study is divided into three chapters. The first chapter surveys the socio-historic moments in which the films were made and looks at the concept of “sicariato” that has been used in academic studies and novels. In the second chapter we look at the problematic of the definition of the intellectual and at Víctor Gaviria’s creative process called “Voluntad Realista”. In the last chapter we study Gaviria’s manifesto “Las latas en el fondo del rio” in the historical context of Latin America’s ‘Third Cinema’, whose filmmakers wrote similar manifestos. / En una sociedad mediática no podemos definir al intelectual como una persona que se dedica simplemente a trabajar con las letras. Debemos definir al intelectual como una persona que utiliza otros medios de comunicación para buscar la mejor forma de criticar a la sociedad. Mirando la problemática de la definición del intelectual en una sociedad mediática hemos estudiado en esta memoria los largometrajes Rodrigo D. No Futuro (1990) y La Vendedora de Rosas (1999), que fueron producidos en las comunas de Medellín por el cineasta colombiano Víctor Gaviria. Estos largometrajes muestran las vivencias de jóvenes y niños que habitan en una realidad violenta llena de droga y pobreza. Nuestra investigación se articula en tres capítulos: el primero enfoca el momento socio-histórico en que las películas fueron filmadas, para luego examinar el concepto del “sicariato” que ha sido utilizado en estudios científicos y obras literarias. El segundo capítulo se adentra en la problemática de la definición del intelectual y en el proceso creador de Víctor Gaviria que llama la “Voluntad Realista”. En el tercer capítulo estudiamos el manifiesto escrito por Víctor Gaviria “Las latas en el fondo del río” en el contexto histórico del tercer cine, cuyos cineastas produjeron manifiestos similares.

Dans une société médiatique on ne peut pas définir l’intellectuel comme une personne qui simplement travaille avec les lettres; on doit le définir plutôt comme une personne qui utilise d’autres moyens de communication en cherchant la meilleure façon de critiquer la société. En regardant la problématique de la définition de l’intellectuel dans la société médiatique on étudie dans ce mémoire les films Rodrigo D. No futuro et La Vendedora de Rosas réalisés dans les bidonvilles de Medellin par le directeur colombien Víctor Gaviria. Dans les films on peut voir la vie de jeunes garçons et des enfants pour qui la réalité est faite de drogue et de pauvreté. L’étude s’étend sur trois chapitres : Dans le premier on examine l’ensemble socio-historique dans lequel les films ont été réalisés et aussi on examine le concept de « sicariato » qui a été utilisé dans des études scientifiques et des romans. Le second chapitre porte sur la problématique de la définition de l’intellectuel et sur le processus de création de Víctor Gaviria, appelé « Voluntad Realista ». Dans le troisième chapitre on examine le manifeste écrit par Víctor Gaviria « Las Latas en el fondo del río » dans le contexte historique du troisième cinéma latino-americain, dont les cinéastes ont écrit des manifestes semblables. / In a media society, we cannot define the intellectuals as a person who works only with letters. We should instead define the intellectual as one who uses different forms of communication or different media to better criticize society. Following existing definitions of the intellectual in a media society, we study in this thesis the films Rodrigo D. No futuro and La Vendedora de Rosas that were made in the shantytowns of Medellin by Colombian filmmaker Víctor Gaviria. In these films we can see the lives of teenagers and kids who live in a poor and violent society. This study is divided into three chapters. The first chapter surveys the socio-historic moments in which the films were made and looks at the concept of “sicariato” that has been used in academic studies and novels. In the second chapter we look at the problematic of the definition of the intellectual and at Víctor Gaviria’s creative process called “Voluntad Realista”. In the last chapter we study Gaviria’s manifesto “Las latas en el fondo del rio” in the historical context of Latin America’s ‘Third Cinema’, whose filmmakers wrote similar manifestos. / En una sociedad mediática no podemos definir al intelectual como una persona que se dedica simplemente a trabajar con las letras. Debemos definir al intelectual como una persona que utiliza otros medios de comunicación para buscar la mejor forma de criticar a la sociedad. Mirando la problemática de la definición del intelectual en una sociedad mediática hemos estudiado en esta memoria los largometrajes Rodrigo D. No Futuro (1990) y La Vendedora de Rosas (1999), que fueron producidos en las comunas de Medellín por el cineasta colombiano Víctor Gaviria. Estos largometrajes muestran las vivencias de jóvenes y niños que habitan en una realidad violenta llena de droga y pobreza. Nuestra investigación se articula en tres capítulos: el primero enfoca el momento socio-histórico en que las películas fueron filmadas, para luego examinar el concepto del “sicariato” que ha sido utilizado en estudios científicos y obras literarias. El segundo capítulo se adentra en la problemática de la definición del intelectual y en el proceso creador de Víctor Gaviria que llama la “Voluntad Realista”. En el tercer capítulo estudiamos el manifiesto escrito por Víctor Gaviria “Las latas en el fondo del río” en el contexto histórico del tercer cine, cuyos cineastas produjeron manifiestos similares.