Inverted cultures in the pictorial ceremonial of the suicide bomber: The case of Reem Raiyshi
(2016) The Making of Them and Us- Abstract
- On the 24th of January in 2004 a portrait of Reem Raiyshi and her son was published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. In a short notice the reader was informed that on the 14th of January Reem Raiyshi had killed herself in a terrorist attack at a border crossing between Israel and Gaza. The picture, a still frame from a video, was bought by Aftonbladet from AFP, but has also circulated on the Internet. Although the picture of Reem is her picture - its not unique, but forms part of a subculture: the ceremonial of the suicide bombers seems to require the pictorial rendering of the perpetrator/victim in his or her declaration of the action before completing the act. Published on Internet, and circulating in other mass media, the picture... (More)
- On the 24th of January in 2004 a portrait of Reem Raiyshi and her son was published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. In a short notice the reader was informed that on the 14th of January Reem Raiyshi had killed herself in a terrorist attack at a border crossing between Israel and Gaza. The picture, a still frame from a video, was bought by Aftonbladet from AFP, but has also circulated on the Internet. Although the picture of Reem is her picture - its not unique, but forms part of a subculture: the ceremonial of the suicide bombers seems to require the pictorial rendering of the perpetrator/victim in his or her declaration of the action before completing the act. Published on Internet, and circulating in other mass media, the picture addresses not only the Ego culture of the perpetrator /victim, but also that of the attacked culture.
At that time, after the September 11 attacks, Al-qaida and Hamas practised video recordings showing declarations of a readiness to carry out a suicidal attack. In this project the case of Reem Raiyshi is recognised from within this practice, however the pictorial story (or stories) of Raiyshi also stands out as different. As the mother of two children “her” about-to-die images that have circulated in media soon after, and years after, the attack differ from her contemporary suicide bombers (both female and male).
In the project the case of Reem Raiyshi is discussed in comparison to the pictures of her associated suicide bombers but is also put in the complex relation between media and terrorism that has been recognised at least since the 1970ies. It is recognised that the seemingly simple images, albeit with elements of the threat of violence, is part of a more elaborated but also opportunistic media culture in which the “making of us and them” is polysemous and flexible. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/82b07123-93bf-45ef-939c-b54c6f6140ef
- author
- Lenninger, Sara LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2016-12-07
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cultural semiotics, picture, media
- conference name
- The Making of Them and Us
- conference location
- Lund, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2016-12-07 - 2016-12-08
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 82b07123-93bf-45ef-939c-b54c6f6140ef
- alternative location
- http://projekt.ht.lu.se/en/the-making-of-them-and-us-matus/invitation-to-a-symposium-in-association-with-the-project-the-making-of-them-and-us-matus-cultural-encounters-conveyed-through-pictorial-narrative/abstracts/
- date added to LUP
- 2018-01-14 22:03:55
- date last changed
- 2023-04-27 12:37:33
@misc{82b07123-93bf-45ef-939c-b54c6f6140ef,
abstract = {{On the 24th of January in 2004 a portrait of Reem Raiyshi and her son was published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. In a short notice the reader was informed that on the 14th of January Reem Raiyshi had killed herself in a terrorist attack at a border crossing between Israel and Gaza. The picture, a still frame from a video, was bought by Aftonbladet from AFP, but has also circulated on the Internet. Although the picture of Reem is her picture - its not unique, but forms part of a subculture: the ceremonial of the suicide bombers seems to require the pictorial rendering of the perpetrator/victim in his or her declaration of the action before completing the act. Published on Internet, and circulating in other mass media, the picture addresses not only the Ego culture of the perpetrator /victim, but also that of the attacked culture.<br/><br/>At that time, after the September 11 attacks, Al-qaida and Hamas practised video recordings showing declarations of a readiness to carry out a suicidal attack. In this project the case of Reem Raiyshi is recognised from within this practice, however the pictorial story (or stories) of Raiyshi also stands out as different. As the mother of two children “her” about-to-die images that have circulated in media soon after, and years after, the attack differ from her contemporary suicide bombers (both female and male).<br/><br/>In the project the case of Reem Raiyshi is discussed in comparison to the pictures of her associated suicide bombers but is also put in the complex relation between media and terrorism that has been recognised at least since the 1970ies. It is recognised that the seemingly simple images, albeit with elements of the threat of violence, is part of a more elaborated but also opportunistic media culture in which the “making of us and them” is polysemous and flexible.}},
author = {{Lenninger, Sara}},
keywords = {{cultural semiotics, picture, media}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{12}},
title = {{Inverted cultures in the pictorial ceremonial of the suicide bomber: The case of Reem Raiyshi}},
url = {{http://projekt.ht.lu.se/en/the-making-of-them-and-us-matus/invitation-to-a-symposium-in-association-with-the-project-the-making-of-them-and-us-matus-cultural-encounters-conveyed-through-pictorial-narrative/abstracts/}},
year = {{2016}},
}