#Ears to Hear & Eyes to See...
Pretty much everyone on social networking sites has caught the meme virus, or is atleast aware of it. Animation is hot right now, so to keep with the times, in this post we're going to look at the power of *pictures*
...i'm talking cartoons, comics and sketches (politically/religiously motivated ones).Pretty much everyone on social networking sites has caught the meme virus, or is atleast aware of it. Animation is hot right now, so to keep with the times, in this post we're going to look at the power of *pictures*
Now, if at any point you turn on the news, chances are something morbid is going to pop up on either Palestine/Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Syria etc. It’s safe to say that currently, the Muslim world has got conflict coming out of it’s ears.. wars, oil, politics, corruption, poverty..
Despite us regularly hearing all this stuff on the news, there is an overwhelming notion from within the Muslim community that the material given by the news is not enough to go by or it's biased and sheds Islam in the worst possible light. These views result in the rocky relationship between Muslims and the mainstream media (read more here). So, how have some Muslims tried to express their take on things and show events from another angle? By going back to the drawing board. Literally.
Despite us regularly hearing all this stuff on the news, there is an overwhelming notion from within the Muslim community that the material given by the news is not enough to go by or it's biased and sheds Islam in the worst possible light. These views result in the rocky relationship between Muslims and the mainstream media (read more here). So, how have some Muslims tried to express their take on things and show events from another angle? By going back to the drawing board. Literally.
If you browse through the internet and look through websites, social networks and forums, there is a wealth of some really very powerful and witty graphics coming out of the Muslim world showing a side to the conflicts not seen in the mainstream.
Political/religious cartoons are by no means an unheard of phenomena, in fact, they date all the way back to Leonardo Di Vinci and perhaps even before (i'm not kidding, check it out). Animation is a good way of spreading a message as it is not as restricted or limited by factors such language barriers in the same way posters are. Also, it's pretty amazing how much of a message one little cartoon can carry, but then again, they do say a picture is worth a thousand words.
So, visual propaganda? Animated expression? Decide for yourself.
Here are some examples.
Political/religious cartoons are by no means an unheard of phenomena, in fact, they date all the way back to Leonardo Di Vinci and perhaps even before (i'm not kidding, check it out). Animation is a good way of spreading a message as it is not as restricted or limited by factors such language barriers in the same way posters are. Also, it's pretty amazing how much of a message one little cartoon can carry, but then again, they do say a picture is worth a thousand words.
So, visual propaganda? Animated expression? Decide for yourself.
Here are some examples.
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| Too preoccupied with wealth to care about other parts of the Arab world? |
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| Holocaust used to justify violence by Israel? |
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| Syrian government targeting civilians? |
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| Palestinians, victims of the new Holocaust? |
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| All Muslims labelled as terrorists? |
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| Saudi Arabs aiding Western corruption? |
Powerful stuff (maybe I got a bit carried away with the amount of images though)
So, readers, what do you think..?
So, readers, what do you think..?
- Are graphics such as these promoting propaganda and conspiracy, or are they just a new way of giving a voice to the voiceless by shedding some light on the realities in the Muslim world?
- Just as Music is being used as a tool of re-education, are pictures not re-educating but showing re-ality?
- Are cartoons and graphics showing the bigger picture more so than actual pictures (shown on news)?
- Finally, what effects can such images have on the Muslim community?
Interesting topic, I cover this kinda thing quite a bit in my blog.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what that last picture means? :S Who is the woman in black? Why are some of the saudi arabians happy and some sad?
Hey Jo.. when i came across that last picture, the tag pretty much sums up what the website was expressing; a notion within some aspects of the Muslim community that Saudi Arabia are sort of "sell outs" to the West.. and because of this, they would look on/be apathetic/encourage any corruption? Very controversial stuff.. but as a neutral observer, i think it's important to portray all the different views people have.
ReplyDelete=]