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Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film

Year 2020, , 193 - 217, 18.01.2021
https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032

Abstract

The Middle East is considered as a marginalized geography and difficult to understand for Western countries due to an orientalist and postcolonial perspective. Today, Lebanon, which offers an important opportunity to understand the Middle East from the political, economic, sociological and security perspectives, is a country facing various problems such as poverty, economic and political instability, ethnic and sectarian conflicts, uncontrolled migration movements and gender inequalities. Capernaum is a significant and effective example in terms of reflecting different living conditions and security perceptions in the Lebanon. In this study, how the security is defined through the eyes of the people from the Lebanon and how the perception of threats is shaped by the security issues of Lebanon are examined through the compelling Capernaum (2018) film of Lebanese female director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki. In this respect, the qualitative thematic content analysis of the film is carried out and it is revealed how the economic, social and religious problems of the Lebanese individuals evaluated in the context of human security are reflected in the film. As a result of the analysis, Capernaum is an exemplary film in terms of addressing the security concerns of Lebanon with a human security and gender perspectives. However, the film cannot address the causes, historical and social origins of these problems adequately, so, this might cause disconnections in the imagination of the audience.

Supporting Institution

The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.

References

  • Aridi, S. (2018, 11 April). Capernaum is not just a film, but a rallying cry. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/movies/Capernaum-nadine-labaki.html
  • Aristoteles (2017). Poetika Şiir Sanatı Üzerine (F. Akderin, Trans.). İstanbul, Turkey: Say Yayınları.
  • Armes, R. (2015). New Voices in Arab Cinema. Bloomington, USA: Indiana University Press.
  • Badran, T. (2009). Lebanon’s militia wars. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 35-62). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Bağır, M. (2018). Aristoteles’in mimesis ve katharsis kavramları üzerinden bir film incelemesi: Dogville. Ege Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Medya ve İletişim Araştırmaları Hakemli E-Dergisi, 2, 36-55.
  • Barkawi, T., & Laffey, M. (2006). The postcolonial moment in security studies. Review of International Studies, 32, 329–352. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210506007054
  • Barrington, L. (2019, 8 March). Hezbollah calls on supporters to donate as sanctions pressure bites. Reuters. Retrieved from https://reut.rs/2EX7AqS
  • Bilgin, P. (2005). Regional Security in the Middle East. New York, USA: Routledge.
  • Bilo C., & Machado, A. C. (2018). Children’s Right to Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa Region—an Analysis of Legal Frameworks from a Child Rights Perspective. New York, USA: UNICEF & IPCIG.
  • Bowering, G., Crone, P., Kadi, W., Stewart D.J., & Zaman, M.Q. (2012). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press.
  • Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Çalık, M., & Sözbilir, M. (2014). İçerik analizinin parametreleri. Eğitim ve Bilim, 39(174), 33-38.
  • Çalık, M., Ünal, S., Coştu, B., & Karataş, Ö. F. (2008). Trends in Turkish science education. Essays in Education, Special Edition, 23-45.
  • Cleveland, W. L., & Burton, M. (2004). A History of the Modern Middle East. Oxford, UK: Westview Press.
  • Davison, R. H. (1960). Where is the Middle East? Foreign Affairs, 38(4), 665-675.
  • Dursun, Ç. (2001). TV Haberlerinde İdeoloji. Ankara, Turkey: İmge Kitabevi.
  • Erdem, G. (2018). Lübnan’da Şii siyasi hareketin evrimi: Emel’den Hizbullah’a. The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, 49, 21-55. https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000316
  • Faour, M. A. (2007). Religion, demography and politics in Lebanon. Middle Eastern Studies, 43(6), 909-921. https:// doi.org/10.1080/00263200701568279
  • Farha, M. (2009). Demographic dilemmas. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 83-98). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Fernández, M. C. R. (2014). Under the skin they live in: Gendered conflicts in contemporary European films. In J. F. Fernández & A. M. Álvarez (Eds.), A Rich Field Full of Pleasant Surprises: Essays on Contemporary Literature in Honour of Professor Socorro Suárez Lafuente (pp. 64-80). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  • Graham, D. T., & Poku, N. K. (2000). Migration, Globalization and Human Security. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Haddad, S. (2009). Lebanon: From Consociationalism to Conciliation. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 15(3-4), 398-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537110903346684
  • Hall, S. (1982). The rediscovery of “ideology”: Return of the repressed in media studies. In T. Gurevitch, M. Bennet, J. Currna, & J. Woollacott (Eds.), Culture, Society and the Media (pp. 56-90). London, UK: Methuen.
  • Hansen, L. M. (2014). Cautious optimism: The Helsinki Process as a model for negotiations in the Middle East. In C. Kane and E. Murauskaite (Eds.), Regional Security Dialogue in the Middle East (pp. 19-37). New York, USA: Routledge.
  • Harris, W. (2009). Reflections on Lebanon. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 9-23). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Haytayan, L. (2006). “Beirut.” In M. Dumper, & B. E. Stanley (Eds.), Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia, (pp. 82-88). California, USA: ABC Clio.
  • Hermez, S. (2017). War is Coming: Between Past and Future Violence in Lebanon. Philadelphia, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Hill, J. N. C., & Cavatorta, F. (2019). Dimensions of security. Middle Eastern Studies, 55(2), 177-181. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00263206.2018.1538966
  • Hottell R. A., & Pallister, J. L. (2011). Noteworthy Francophone Women Directors: A Sequel. New York, USA: Lexington Books.
  • Hubbard, B., & Saad, H. (2018, 7 March). Lebanon elections boost Hezbollah’s clout. The New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/world/middleeast/lebanon-election-hezbollah.html.
  • Kaldor, M. (2011), Human security. Society and Economy, 33(3), 441–448.
  • Nuruzzaman, M. (2013). Human security and the Arab spring. Strategic Analysis, 37(1), 52-64. https://doi.org/10.1 080/09700161.2013.737583
  • Rizkallah, A. (2017). The paradox of power-sharing: stability and fragility in postwar Lebanon. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40(12), 2058-2076. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1277031
  • Rubin, B. (2009). Introduction. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (pp. 1-8). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Seghaier, R. (2018). Poverty porn and reproductive injustice: A review of Capernaum. Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research, 4(2), 229-235.
  • Siklawi, R. (2010). The dynamics of Palestinian political endurance in Lebanon. The Middle East Journal, 64(4), 601-603.
  • Soffer, A. (1986). Lebanon: Where demography is the core of politics and life. Middle Eastern Studies, 22(2), 197205. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263208608700659
  • Spyer, J. (2009). Israel and Lebanon: Problematic proximity. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (pp. 195-212). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Traboulsi, F. (2012). A History of Modern Lebanon. London, UK: Pluto Press.
  • Tür, Ö. (2007). The Lebanese war of 2006: Reasons and consequences. Perceptions, 12, 109-122.
  • UNDP. (1994). Human Development Report 1994. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
  • Wallerstein, I. (1997). Eurocentrism and its avatars: The dilemmas of social science. Sociological Bulletin, 46(1), 2139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022919970102
  • Zenko, M. (2018). US Military policy in the Middle East. London, UK: Chatham House Research Paper.

Orta Doğu’da Güvenliği Yeniden Tanımlanmak: Kefernahum Filminde Özgürleştirici Bir Söylem Olarak Güvenliğin Temsili

Year 2020, , 193 - 217, 18.01.2021
https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032

Abstract

Ötekileştirilmiş bir coğrafya olarak kabul edilen Orta Doğu’nun, Batı ülkeleri için oryantalist ve postkolonyal bir bakış açısıyla anlaşılması zordur. Bugün Orta Doğu’yu siyasi, ekonomik, sosyolojik ve güvenlik açılarından anlamak için önemli bir fırsat sunan Lübnan, yoksulluk, ekonomik ve politik istikrarsızlık etnik ve mezhep çatışmaları, kontrolsüz göç hareketleri ve cinsiyet eşitsizlikleri gibi çeşitli sorunlarla karşı karşıyadır. Kefernahum (2018), Lübnan’daki farklı yaşam koşullarını ve güvenlik algılarını yansıtmak açısından önemli ve etkili bir örnektir. Bu çalışmada, güvenliğin Lübnan halkının gözüyle nasıl tanımlandığı ve onların tehdit algılarının Lübnan’ın güvenlik meseleleri tarafından nasıl şekillendirildiği Lübnanlı kadın yönetmen ve senarist Nadine Labaki’nin ilgi uyandıran filmi Kefernahum (2018) üzerinden incelenmektedir. Bu bağlamda, filmin tematik içerik analizi yapılmakta ve Lübnanlı bireylerin ekonomik, sosyal ve dini sorunlarının filme nasıl yansıdığı insan güvenliği bağlamında ele alınmaktadır. Analiz sonucunda Kefernahum’un Lübnan’ın güvenlik endişelerini insani güvenlik ve toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifleriyle ele alma konusunda örnek bir film olduğu değerlendirilmektedir. Ancak, filmin bu endişelerin nedenlerini, tarihsel ve sosyal kökenlerini yeterince ele alamaması seyircinin tahayyülünde kopukluklara neden olabilir..

References

  • Aridi, S. (2018, 11 April). Capernaum is not just a film, but a rallying cry. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/movies/Capernaum-nadine-labaki.html
  • Aristoteles (2017). Poetika Şiir Sanatı Üzerine (F. Akderin, Trans.). İstanbul, Turkey: Say Yayınları.
  • Armes, R. (2015). New Voices in Arab Cinema. Bloomington, USA: Indiana University Press.
  • Badran, T. (2009). Lebanon’s militia wars. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 35-62). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Bağır, M. (2018). Aristoteles’in mimesis ve katharsis kavramları üzerinden bir film incelemesi: Dogville. Ege Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Medya ve İletişim Araştırmaları Hakemli E-Dergisi, 2, 36-55.
  • Barkawi, T., & Laffey, M. (2006). The postcolonial moment in security studies. Review of International Studies, 32, 329–352. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210506007054
  • Barrington, L. (2019, 8 March). Hezbollah calls on supporters to donate as sanctions pressure bites. Reuters. Retrieved from https://reut.rs/2EX7AqS
  • Bilgin, P. (2005). Regional Security in the Middle East. New York, USA: Routledge.
  • Bilo C., & Machado, A. C. (2018). Children’s Right to Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa Region—an Analysis of Legal Frameworks from a Child Rights Perspective. New York, USA: UNICEF & IPCIG.
  • Bowering, G., Crone, P., Kadi, W., Stewart D.J., & Zaman, M.Q. (2012). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press.
  • Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Çalık, M., & Sözbilir, M. (2014). İçerik analizinin parametreleri. Eğitim ve Bilim, 39(174), 33-38.
  • Çalık, M., Ünal, S., Coştu, B., & Karataş, Ö. F. (2008). Trends in Turkish science education. Essays in Education, Special Edition, 23-45.
  • Cleveland, W. L., & Burton, M. (2004). A History of the Modern Middle East. Oxford, UK: Westview Press.
  • Davison, R. H. (1960). Where is the Middle East? Foreign Affairs, 38(4), 665-675.
  • Dursun, Ç. (2001). TV Haberlerinde İdeoloji. Ankara, Turkey: İmge Kitabevi.
  • Erdem, G. (2018). Lübnan’da Şii siyasi hareketin evrimi: Emel’den Hizbullah’a. The Turkish Yearbook of International Relations, 49, 21-55. https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000316
  • Faour, M. A. (2007). Religion, demography and politics in Lebanon. Middle Eastern Studies, 43(6), 909-921. https:// doi.org/10.1080/00263200701568279
  • Farha, M. (2009). Demographic dilemmas. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 83-98). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Fernández, M. C. R. (2014). Under the skin they live in: Gendered conflicts in contemporary European films. In J. F. Fernández & A. M. Álvarez (Eds.), A Rich Field Full of Pleasant Surprises: Essays on Contemporary Literature in Honour of Professor Socorro Suárez Lafuente (pp. 64-80). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  • Graham, D. T., & Poku, N. K. (2000). Migration, Globalization and Human Security. London, UK: Routledge.
  • Haddad, S. (2009). Lebanon: From Consociationalism to Conciliation. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 15(3-4), 398-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537110903346684
  • Hall, S. (1982). The rediscovery of “ideology”: Return of the repressed in media studies. In T. Gurevitch, M. Bennet, J. Currna, & J. Woollacott (Eds.), Culture, Society and the Media (pp. 56-90). London, UK: Methuen.
  • Hansen, L. M. (2014). Cautious optimism: The Helsinki Process as a model for negotiations in the Middle East. In C. Kane and E. Murauskaite (Eds.), Regional Security Dialogue in the Middle East (pp. 19-37). New York, USA: Routledge.
  • Harris, W. (2009). Reflections on Lebanon. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, (pp. 9-23). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Haytayan, L. (2006). “Beirut.” In M. Dumper, & B. E. Stanley (Eds.), Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia, (pp. 82-88). California, USA: ABC Clio.
  • Hermez, S. (2017). War is Coming: Between Past and Future Violence in Lebanon. Philadelphia, USA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Hill, J. N. C., & Cavatorta, F. (2019). Dimensions of security. Middle Eastern Studies, 55(2), 177-181. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00263206.2018.1538966
  • Hottell R. A., & Pallister, J. L. (2011). Noteworthy Francophone Women Directors: A Sequel. New York, USA: Lexington Books.
  • Hubbard, B., & Saad, H. (2018, 7 March). Lebanon elections boost Hezbollah’s clout. The New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/world/middleeast/lebanon-election-hezbollah.html.
  • Kaldor, M. (2011), Human security. Society and Economy, 33(3), 441–448.
  • Nuruzzaman, M. (2013). Human security and the Arab spring. Strategic Analysis, 37(1), 52-64. https://doi.org/10.1 080/09700161.2013.737583
  • Rizkallah, A. (2017). The paradox of power-sharing: stability and fragility in postwar Lebanon. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40(12), 2058-2076. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1277031
  • Rubin, B. (2009). Introduction. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (pp. 1-8). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Seghaier, R. (2018). Poverty porn and reproductive injustice: A review of Capernaum. Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research, 4(2), 229-235.
  • Siklawi, R. (2010). The dynamics of Palestinian political endurance in Lebanon. The Middle East Journal, 64(4), 601-603.
  • Soffer, A. (1986). Lebanon: Where demography is the core of politics and life. Middle Eastern Studies, 22(2), 197205. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263208608700659
  • Spyer, J. (2009). Israel and Lebanon: Problematic proximity. In B. Rubin (Ed.), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (pp. 195-212). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Traboulsi, F. (2012). A History of Modern Lebanon. London, UK: Pluto Press.
  • Tür, Ö. (2007). The Lebanese war of 2006: Reasons and consequences. Perceptions, 12, 109-122.
  • UNDP. (1994). Human Development Report 1994. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
  • Wallerstein, I. (1997). Eurocentrism and its avatars: The dilemmas of social science. Sociological Bulletin, 46(1), 2139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022919970102
  • Zenko, M. (2018). US Military policy in the Middle East. London, UK: Chatham House Research Paper.
There are 43 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Communication and Media Studies
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Mehmet Işık This is me 0000-0002-1682-2610

Emrah Özdemir 0000-0001-8125-6486

Publication Date January 18, 2021
Submission Date July 16, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2020

Cite

APA Işık, M., & Özdemir, E. (2021). Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences(59), 193-217. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032
AMA Işık M, Özdemir E. Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. January 2021;(59):193-217. doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032
Chicago Işık, Mehmet, and Emrah Özdemir. “Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security As an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, no. 59 (January 2021): 193-217. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032.
EndNote Işık M, Özdemir E (January 1, 2021) Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 59 193–217.
IEEE M. Işık and E. Özdemir, “Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film”, Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, no. 59, pp. 193–217, January 2021, doi: 10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032.
ISNAD Işık, Mehmet - Özdemir, Emrah. “Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security As an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences 59 (January 2021), 193-217. https://doi.org/10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032.
JAMA Işık M, Özdemir E. Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2021;:193–217.
MLA Işık, Mehmet and Emrah Özdemir. “Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security As an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film”. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, no. 59, 2021, pp. 193-17, doi:10.26650/CONNECTIST2020-0032.
Vancouver Işık M, Özdemir E. Redefining Security in the Middle East: Representation of Security as an Emancipatory Discourse in the Capernaum Film. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences. 2021(59):193-217.