a powerful photo

http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2009/09/the-practice-of-domination-in-every…






by contributor Robert Hariman

Amidst the many images of hostility, conflict, and destruction that come out of the occupied territories in Palestine, this one is truly shocking.


The photo appeared on page A8 of the morning edition of the New York Times with this caption:

“Tinderbox In Hebron, a Jewish settler threw wine at a Palestinian woman. The city is a center of tensions between settlers and Palestinians.”


The complete set of images, which included a photo on page 1 of an Israeli child being bathed and three other photos on page 8 labeled “Veneration,” “Remembrance,” and “Preparation,” clearly favored the Israeli settlers. Even so, the photo above gives the lie to the myth of taming the frontier in the Holy Land.

But why does it shock? He is not hitting her, and surely spraying her is less of a crime than, say, razing a house with a military bulldozer. Or blowing up a bus with a suicide bomber. Since there is violence enough on both sides, why make so much of a minor incident of teenage insolence?

I think that there are at least three reasons for the photograph’s impact.

One is that it reveals what is rarely shown: the small acts of personal viciousness and humiliation that make up the practice of domination in an occupied land. Second, it is clear that both the boy’s aggression and the woman’s protective reaction are often-practiced, habitual responses. Were he taunting an older woman for the first time, he would be likely to look much more ragged, uncoordinated, and either furtive or overly demonstrative. Instead, he could be a figure out of Whitman: throwing his weight around without breaking stride, a figure of youthful grace on the city street. Likewise, she isn’t being caught by surprise. Her head is already turned, her body hunched against the impending blow. She’s been through this before, and she’s learned that direct confrontation is not an option. This may be her neighborhood, but it’s his street.

The third dimension of the photograph’s power derives from its capacity for analogy. Look at the woman’s coat and hat, and at the Star of David scrawled on the storefront; she could be in the Warsaw ghetto, and all it takes is a change of costume to see him as a German soldier. Or they could be an African-American woman and a young cracker in the Jim Crow South, or any other tableau that depicts the small details of domination. One picture isn’t enough to nail down such comparisons, but it should make you think of them.


(image: Rina Castelnuovo/The New York Times)

Sep 16, 2009 E said...
Amazing shot, really. I think the power also derives from the quality of the photo. How did the photog manage to capture the wine in mid-air?? Quite an insightful post, so thank you very much.

Reply Sep 16, 2009 at 10:34 PM David said...
Well done analysis. You've echoed what I was thinking "before the jump."

Reply Sep 16, 2009 at 10:35 PM Aurora said...
As a composition it is beautiful; especially the turquoise and the red echoes of the wine. The spray of wine first registers as a sickle, a tool and weapon of the people of the land.

The postures of the two participants are not particularly stressed out; he is almost casual and she signals resignation. What does that say about habits of behavior...

The circumstances seem so fraught that staging would not be possible; yet I question how on earth did the photographer capture this?

Also, in general, do photogs ever come to the site and join the conversation? I have not seen it yet, may have missed it, and would surely welcome it.

Thank you again for creating a unique web experience.


Reply Sep 16, 2009 at 10:59 PM liz said...
not to mention the boy's payot (the long locks of hair on the sides of his head), with their implications of religious adherence and piety, and the irony of that given his action in the picture.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 12:13 AM Amir Goy said in reply to liz...
Sorry Liz...there is no great 'irony' here at all. If the young 'Chosen' one has indeed been faithfully studying his Talmud, he'll know that others not of his kind are to be regarded as 'lower' life forms, much like cattle or insects... and can be abused, cheated, robbed, or even murdered with impunity.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 05:50 AM Michaeldg said in reply to Amir Goy...
Wow- Are you saying that all religious Jews who have studied the talmud are instructed to treat non-Jews an nonhuman? Was that before or after the talmudic passage that instructs on the use of a gentile child's blood for the making of matzoh?


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 09:53 AM dissector said...
"it is clear that both the boy’s aggression and the woman’s protective reaction are often-practiced, habitual responses ... he could be a figure out of Whitman: throwing his weight around without breaking stride, a figure of youthful grace on the city street."

For me, the stark white shirt, dark hat and casual personal violence invokes Malcolm McDowell's portrayal of Alex in Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Once I've compared the 'boy' to Alex, there is little else for me to say.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 03:37 AM lytom said...
What has she done to him?
The neighborhood shows the deterioration of the businesses, the graffiti and finally human contact.
Despicable, cruel, and criminal. Those would be descriptions of Jewish actions toward the Palestinians.
Not punished and tolerated, even more bred in and army protected the settlers have all the rights.
There is no protection for this woman and for every Palestinian living in their environment.
Intimidation to try to make the living impossible and the threat to life and killing finally worked early in days of creation of Israel. Land grabbing, refugees, genocide. That resulted in 1948 in al Nakba.
Nothing has changed!

Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 03:39 AM Stella said...
Excellent - thank you.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 05:44 AM bystander said...
For me, the power of this photograph occurs in the recognition of how intensely personal this humiliation is, and was meant to be. There are no abstractions or generalizations behind which to hide. Caught by the cameral lens, moment it time, this is a male youth assaulting a vulnerable older woman. You are correct, Michael, to point out the familiar choreography; the dance has been ritualized.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 06:11 AM Michael Shaw (The BAG) said in reply to bystander...
Bystander,

I'd love to take credit for this post, but it's authored by Bob Hariman, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern. Bob and John Lucaites, co-authors of the wonderful No Caption Needed book and blog, are contributers to BNN.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 09:47 AM bystander said in reply to Michael Shaw (The BAG)...
Thanks Michael. My visceral response got the better of me. Appreciate the correction and kudos to Bob Hariman. Also, appreciate the additional links. Maybe my gaffe had a silver lining, after all.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 04:33 PM Gasho said...
This is a very very emotional shot. I want to take it to my friends, coworkers and others who are "pro Israel" and support various AIPAC type organizations just because they are jews and Israel is the homeland and their unquestioning support is a given. Go to them and say - "how does this make you feel"? I have great sympathy for the Palestinians.

The ritualization of this kind of violence is interesting to point out. We've been trained, too, I think. Trained to think that the "Israel/Palestinian Issue" is too complex to really get to the bottom of. It's been going on forever and both sides have committed such harm that there is no way to take sides - so we shouldn't speak up, but rather just let it play out.. Well, I've got to say that I'm sympathizing more and more with the Palestinian people and the more I read from intelligent people (Juan Cole comes to mind) the less and less I feel I can put up with the Israeli violence.

War criminals everywhere need to be called out and prosecuted. If Israel is committing war crimes, which the international community says that it is, then it needs to be held accountable. The majority of the Bush era characters need to face the same inquiries and consequences. Until the international community finds the strength to carry out these trials and clean up the evil messes that are infesting the world political scene there won't be any movement towards a more just world - only further deterioration of our moral fiber and descent into the ugly side of human nature.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 09:08 AM Rima said...
Is there some special significance in throwing wine at someone? Would water, coffee, or 7-Up have been equally contemptuous?


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 09:17 AM Heron said in reply to Rima...
Observant Muslims do not drink alcohol. I think the intent is a sort of "defilement".


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 09:24 AM g said in reply to Rima...
I'm curious too. Is wine typically carried on the street? Was this an impulse act while carrying a drink, or did the young man take it out into public with him intending to use it this way?


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 10:50 AM Wordsmith said in reply to g...
Or is it a feather? When I first looked at this I thought it a feather.


Reply Sep 17, 2009 at 11:49 AM Reactionary said...
"Or they could be an African-American woman and a young cracker in the Jim Crow South, or any other tableau that depicts the small details of domination."

Cracker is disparaging and offensive. Why use it?