Mainstream Media 'Discovers' Palestinian Art Amidst Erasure
The New Arab celebrates Annemarie Jacir's film 'Palestine 36' for 'rewriting the colonial gaze,' spotlighting Palestinian resistance from 1936. How quaint. While outlets praise a film about historical resistance, they often downplay contemporary resistance, or demonize it entirely. This narrative conveniently centers the 'discovery' of Palestinian agency by an international audience, rather than
its continuous, bloody existence despite all efforts to erase it. They highlight a historical uprising, while the present-day reality of systematic dispossession continues, funded by US taxpayer dollars with bipartisan 'support'. We applaud artistic endeavors to reclaim history, but let's not pretend this is a revelation. Palestinian people have been telling their story, resisting, and enduring
for generations, whether the Western media decides to 'discover' it or not. The 1936 uprising wasn't a footnote; it was a precursor to the 1948 Nakba, a foundational event largely omitted from US history books. How many more artistic 'rewrites' will it take for actual policy rewriting?