Challenging the frivolities of power: the ubiquitous camera and Nigerian political elites

Africa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 286-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Emeka Agbo

AbstractThe last decade has witnessed the ubiquitous presence of camera devices, from conventional cameras to communication gadgets (such as mobile phones, iPads and tablets), built with the capacity to produce, edit, disseminate and interact through photographs. In this article, I analyse visual materials circulated on Facebook, YouTube and Nairaland (a locally popular social-networking website used by Nigerians) to demonstrate how the ubiquity of the camera, its overt and surreptitious use, and the transformation and circulation of the resulting photographs constitute political acts in a postcolonial African context. The camera's ubiquity encompasses the increasing availability of photographic devices, but also the growing, and politically charged, inclination to put them to use, framing the world through which their users move. The production and dissemination of the resulting photograph gives it the status of an eyewitness account, amidst contestations that heighten its force as political articulation. Lastly, the ubiquitous camera is a means through which the public observes, polices and exposes the duplicity of state functionaries. The article contributes to an understanding of the ways in which digital infrastructure allows public access to the political undertaking of photography.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-91
Author(s):  
Dominic Bryan

This article examines the way in which the availability of cheaply produced polyester flags has changed the symbolic landscape in the public places of Northern Ireland. The “tradition” of flying flags to express identity is common throughout the world and an important feature of an annual marking of residential and civic spaces in Northern Ireland. Such displays have been a consistent part of the reproduction of political identities through commemoration and the marking of territory. However, the availability of cheaply produced textiles has led to a change in the way the displays take place, the development of a range of new designs and helped sustain the control of areas by particular paramilitary groups. It highlights how the “symbolic capital” of the national flags can be used by different social groups having implication on the status and value of the symbol.


Perceptions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Fiona Fackler

Benito Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship over Italy in the period between world wars remains a troubling element of the nation's history. It has heavily affected the contemporary politics and public displays of in addition to scholarship about the thriving artistic scene of that time, yet, the weight of Italy's Fascist legacy has either comprised the primary focus of or been entirely absent from studies on art in the 1920s-1930s until a recent academic interest in reinvestigating the political and cultural atmosphere of the period. This paper underlines the importance of such renewed critical interests in chapters of painful history and how those interests can influence public perceptions of national history and its outreach into contemporary culture. Specifically, I will examine the written and exhibited discrepancies between the life of the painter Mario Sironi under the regime and the life of selected paintings that perpetuate his existence in contemporary Italy. By comparing La Famiglia del Pastore in "Roma Anni Trenta: La Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Le Quadriennali (1931 - 1935 - 1939)" at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna and La Solitudine in "Time is Out of Joint" at the Galleria Nazionale I will analyze how exhibitions of art shape the Italian public's reception of this period. I contend that certain exhibiting styles can either deepen public reception and consideration for a work of art and the time from which it stems or can reduce understanding to that inspired by instantaneous connections, dependent on the institution's or curator's approach to context. For, no trip to a museum is simply a trip to a museum – whether actively or passively, museums shape how the public approaches the works in its halls and through these works, how the public approaches themselves and the world surrounding them.


2021 ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Kathleen Wellman

Although the ancient Greeks and Romans have long been appreciated as foundations for Western civilization, for these textbooks, the Greeks’ philosophy, gods, and immorality tar them as godless humanists. Nonetheless, the Greeks and the Romans allow these curricula to introduce several key social, political, and moral arguments. They assess whether ancient civilizations implemented the “family values” of the political right as it emerged in the 1970s. Thus the Greeks were commendable in excluding women from the public sphere and the Romans for their strong patriarchal families. But Rome fell when it failed to maintain family values. These textbooks disparage the Romans to downplay their influence on the American founding. Furthermore, the rise of Islam reveals the presence of Satan in the world. These curricula’s repudiation of the classical tradition reflects not only contemporary concerns of the religious right but also American anti-intellectualism.


Author(s):  
Peter Townsend

Public access to secular music started the cult of superstars. Composition matched this new demand. Stars were eclipsed by ever greater virtuosity. This created a demand for more powerful instruments and better concert halls. Fame was equally available for the conductors. The pattern continues to the present day, with faster tempi, more power in performances, larger orchestras, and access to a wider range of music from recordings and broadcasts. We like this concept of idols, even if we can rapidly switch them off, to replace them with new ones. Nevertheless, they influence our musical tastes. A key factor in this is attributed to the new sounds generated by the science of recordings and electronics. The science that has allowed superstars to be heard worldwide has also changed the public perception of musicians and raised them from the unfashionable to include some with the status of musical heroes (and heroines).


How can democracies effectively represent citizens? The goal of this Handbook is to evaluate comprehensively how well the interests and preferences of mass publics become represented by institutions in liberal democracies. It first explores how the idea and institutions of liberal democracies were formed over centuries and became enshrined in Western political systems. The contributors to this Handbook, made up of the world’s leading scholars on the various aspects of political representation, examine how well the political elites and parties who are charged with the representation of the public interest meet their duties. Clearly, institutions often fail to live up to their own representation goals. With this in mind, the contributors explore several challenges to the way that the system of representation is organized in modern democracies. For example, actors such as parties and established elites face rising distrust among electorates. Also, the rise of international problems such as migration and environmentalism suggests that the focus of democracies on nation states may have to shift to a more international level. All told, this Handbook illuminates the normative and functional challenges faced by representative institutions in liberal democracies.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth Suhay ◽  
Brianna Maurer

The study of the “authoritarian personality” began in Europe with the rise of Hitler as an effort to understand why so many seemingly ordinary Germans (and others) were willing to lend their support to an obviously anti-democratic and racist leader. Research on authoritarianism continues in this vein today, although it is now used throughout the world to explain why many people oppose democratic institutions, support authoritarian leaders, and hold prejudiced attitudes. The study of authoritarianism is as popular as it is controversial, with scholars disagreeing over whether it is a personality characteristic or a set of attitudes, how it develops, whether it occurs only on the political right or on the left as well, and how it is best measured, among other debates. Even so, scholars generally agree on the characteristics associated with authoritarianism: those who exhibit authoritarianism tend to be high group identifiers, submissive to in-group authorities, traditional and conforming, and aggressive toward those who either defy accepted norms or are members of outgroups. As has been evident for decades, authoritarianism is closely associated with all manner of highly consequential social and political attitudes, including anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and homophobia, opposition to civil liberties and rights, support for war, and, of course, support for leaders who govern in an authoritarian manner.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Mahmudah

Abstract. This study examines the origin,  existence, and development of Islamism group in Indonesia since pre-independence until now. Islamism is a group of Muslims who are obedient to the teachings of Islam, but they are very extreme, literal,  static and rigid in understanding the teachings of Islam (Alquran), and reject to the other Muslims who disagree with Islamic ideology that they have embraced. The group of Islamism existed and emerged in Indonesia, it was not apart from the influence of the spread of Islamic teachings from al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun that was founded by Hasan al-Banna in Egypt in 1928. The group of Islamism was the first Muslim group before the other Muslim groups in Indonesia; such as the Pos-Islamism group, the Liberal Islam Group, the Moderate Islamic Group, the Progressive Islam Group. The group of Islamism in Indonesia—as al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun in Egypt who aspires to spread the ideology of Islam for all of the world—seeks  to spread  their ideology with the movement of "creeping up" for all of the area in Indonesian, since before independence until now. Islamist groups succeeded in spreading Islam and Sharia through mosques, schools, ta'lim majlis. The existence and development of Islamist groups in Indonesia today are flattered. They have very much support from the political elite. However, they are not aware that their hands are being borrowed or exploited by political elites to seize or get the  power in irrational ways. Keywords: Islamism, Emergence, Existence, Development, Indonesia. Abstrak. Studi ini membahas tentang asal usul, eksistensi dan perkembangan kelompok Islamisme di Indonesia sejak pra-kemerdekaan sampai sekarang. Kelompok Islamisme adalah kumpulan Muslim yang patuh terhadap ajaran Islam, namun mereka sangat ekstrem, literal, statis dan kaku dalam memahami ajaran Islam (Alquran), serta menolak golongan Muslim lain yang berbeda dengan faham Islam yang sudah mereka anut. Kelompok Islamisme ada dan muncul di Indonesia tidak terlepas dari pengaruh penyebaran ajaran Islam ala  al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun yang didirikan oleh Hasan al-Banna di Mesir pada tahun 1928. Kelompok Islamisme merupakan kelompok Muslim yang pertama ada sebelum adanya kelompok-kelompok Muslim lain di Indonesia; seperti kelompok Pos-Islamisme, Kelompok Islam Liberal, Kelompok Islam Moderat, Kelompok Islam Progresif. Kelompok Islamisme di Indonesia –sebagaimana al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun di Mesir yang bercita-cita menyebarkan faham berislam ke seluruh dunia—berupaya menyebarkan paham Islamisme dengan gerakan “merayap” ke seluruh bumi Indonesia sejak sebelum Indonesia merdeka sampai sekarang. Kelompok Islamisme berhasil menyebarkan faham Islam dan Syariah melalui, antara lain:  masjid-masjid, sekolah-sekolah, majelis-majelis taklim. Eksistensi dan perkembangan kelompok-kelompok Islamisme di Indonesia zaman ini sedang merasa tersanjung, karena banyak mendapat dukungan dari para elit politik. Namun sebaliknya, mereka tidak sadar bahwa tangan-tangan mereka sedang dipinjam atau pun dimanfaatkan oleh para elit politik untuk merebut atau pun mendapatkan sebuah kekuasaan dengan cara-cara yang tidak rasional. Kata Kunci: Islamisme, Eksistensi, Kemunculan,  Perkembangan, Indonesia.


Author(s):  
Cherif rym

The aim of this research is to identify the concept of arguments as an interactive linguistic phenomenon produced by society following a communication and intellectual revolution and the increased use of the concept of arguments more after the outbreak of the so- called "spring revolution" at all levels without exception in order to persuade and influence and reveal the hidden to the public. In particular, the political arguments originally depended on systematic and studied persuasion. But, after the revolution, there became picture arguments dependent on the mockery in which the image is used to express the idea to be communicated, which gives a new persuasive character. Thus, the research reached the following results: - That sarcasm has multiple and varied dimensions revealed by political and social articles. - The study also revealed that the arguments of satire is a creative art in which the whole complex represented in language, thought, art and philosophy is mixed. - Irony is a position on life issues, an expression of the idea and a challenge to a specific situation, especially the status of a specific issue that has a political dimension. - The results also showed that satirical images are a weapon of much resistance to corruption, as they are considered a manifestation of popular resistance and rebellion against injustice, by depicting them in a comic manner.


2012 ◽  
pp. 422-433
Author(s):  
Sebnem Cilesiz

Among various forms of public access to computers and the Internet, cybercafés are a specific phenomenon around the world. Predominantly, they are frequented by young people, thus attracting the attention of educators and policymakers. Despite the worldwide prominence of cybercafés, very little research has examined youth’s activities at cybercafés and the outcomes of their participation. This chapter reviews the literature on cybercafés in general, followed by the status of current knowledge about the role of cybercafés in social interaction, informal learning, and youth development. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research directions on the relationship between cybercafés and youth development.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Andrade

The Vulgarity of Democracy explores key aesthetics and affective aspects of democracy via a visual ethnographic exploration of political pornography and the public uses of machismo to construct agendas for popular redemption in Guayaquil, Ecuador, during the 1980s. This period was the beginning of a highly conflictive social process as a result of the imposition of neoliberal policies. Its focus is on the life and work of Pancho Jaime (1946-1989), the most controversial and widely known rock promoter and independent journalist. Between 1984 and his assassination in 1989, Jaime’s underground publications used in-depth investigation as well as gossip, pornographic cartoons, and obscene language to comment on democracy and the corruption of political elites. Jaime’s strategy was to denounce the conduct of powerful figures in public office, and caricaturize their deformed bodies as indexes of their supposedly “deviant” sexuality. Following contemporary and comparative discussions on the political economy of images, and the materiality of image-objects, X. Andrade analyzes the production, circulation, and consumption of Pancho Jaime’s political magazines, audience responses to grotesque visual and aggressive textual discourses, and the effects of revealing public secrets about popular understandings of politics.


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