Torture Incarnate, and Propped on a Pedestal

[struggle4progress]

<snip>
The image appears in mock advertisements in New York, in paintings in San Francisco, on murals in Tehran and on mannequins in Baghdad. It shows no dogs, no dead, no leash, no face, no nakedness, no pileup, no thumbs-up. It is the picture of a hooded prisoner standing on a box, electrodes attached to his outstretched arms.

Why this image above all the rest? It is far from the most violent, but easily the most graphic. You need less than a second's glance to know exactly what it is. The triangle of the hood silhouettes sharply against the hot pink or chartreuse background of a fake iPod ad. Andy Warhol himself could not have done better. It holds its own on murals meant to be read from far away. It plays well against the Statue of Liberty. It suggests Christ on the cross. And, best yet, the hooded figure in the photograph is on a pedestal. It is already an icon.

As a symbolic shape, the hood is almost as strong as a cross. The difference is that the hood has generally been the sign of the persecutor, not of the victim. It is the uniform of the executioner, the sheet of the Klansman, the mask of Death. Until now. In these images, you can see the hood's meaning begin to change and take root.
<snip>

The photo is an ad for martyrdom, made in America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/weekinreview/13boxe.html?ex=1087704000&en=7910b3c3cd21ea33&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[acmavm]

1. And how many will buy the product?

.

[struggle4progress]

2. None, I hope, but I'm afraid that's wishful thinking.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. The hood is the coroza, the tunic the san benito

the imagery is straight out of the Spanish Inquisition.



Goya - Inquisition Scene (1816)

All that's been added is the electric wires to update it, and the crucifix pose. We've gone back to a Christian Empire torturing the heretics.

[skip fox]

4. Let's parse it!

What is the effect of shifting the picture (iconography) of the oppressor (Klansman, Mr. Death) to that of the victim, marrying the sign of destroyer to redemption through profound suffereing (he's spread as on a Cross)? Just why is this effect, esp. ot the Arab mind that would see itself as the oppressed. There's a marvellous crossing of signs here from the Muslim perspective. They are made into the oppressor's Christ and into the nightmare of himself (us) as oppressor. They see how we have demonized (the hood) the "enemy" (them) and how we have recognized ourselves (unconsciously) as oppressors by making ourselves into those who killed our spiritual hero (Christ). The point is, they see that we have accepted, even embraced our role as oppressor. We have projected our worst nightmares of ourselves into that image: it contains the Klansman--of=the spirit we would presumably eradicate but also the Christ of ourselves, which given our relation to the photo, we would kill.

It tells of the nightmare spiritual horror of our crusade (from the Arab mentality).

[donhakman]

5. Revealing this symbology of the inquisition is interesting

[Beetwasher]

6. It's Powerful, Powerful Iconic Symbolism

It's amazing how these things just take on a life of their own...Jung was definitley onto something...

[skip fox]

7. Yes, excactly the general direction in which I was going (above).

We try to explain the unexplainable, yet we try. The reversal here are fascinating from my standpoint:

1. We prosecute the terrorist (klansman) in us, or project our own worst nature onto our victim.

2. We make him into a Christlike martyr.

But imagine what it must seem like from an Arabic prespective!

1. They are told they are terrorists like Klansmen or mortality (Mr. Death) itself (himself).

2. They see they persecutors as so cold that they (us) would continue their abuse even in they (the Arabs) were as meekly suffering as Christ, their persecutor's God. (THAT's hard!)


And given the nature of their persecutor's leader's initial statements about a cruscade . . . well . ...

Yes, a powerful message.

[Beetwasher]

9. Yup, I Was in Part Responding to and Agreeing W/ Your Excellent Post!

It's fascinating stuff...

[myopic4141]

8. Triangulation

One of the indicators of a person's character used in handwriting analysis is triangulation. Triangulation is an indication of tyranny. It is a symbol of control which is why these images have a stark effect on those who view them. That and the fact there is nothing in the images to smooth out the lines and soften what is being viewed. It is a vision of cold reality.

[skip fox]

10. sweet

Beetwasher and myopic4141,

We might not be iconographic theorists &c., but we're giving intelligent human analyses on the basis of our own sight and insight. We're articulate as well. Glad to meet you guys.

skip