International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics - Volume 18, Issue 1, 2022

The cultural dimension of politics is not secondary but rather a constitutive element of its social dynamics and of the logic of power, which must be visualized to be effective. Some authors, including Jeffrey Alexander and Randall Collins, have elaborated upon this dimension: the former with the concept of political performance, and the latter with rituals and social domination. The combination of the two perspectives is useful for us to look at the use of the inaugurations of momentous events and festivities with a new light – as a privileged instrument to legitimize a narrative of power and to create symbols of dominance embodied by political figures. This fabrication of narrative charisma in politics could be observed in Valencia (Spain) between 1991 and 2015, during the long political domination of conservative regionalism. Likewise, this case is a clear example of how almost absolute political dominance can fall apart, partly because of deficient performances and failed political rituals. This fact highlights the fragility, contingency of power and dependence on its symbolic performativity.

This article analyses the architecture of affective witnessing in the biographical film, A Private War (Michael Heineman 2018), representing the life and work of famous war correspondent, Marie Colvin. Focusing on the self-reflexive representation of affective witnessing in the film, the article discusses the ethical aspects of compassion in war reporting and the politics of trauma and moral injury with their dangerous impact on the life of the protagonist. Affective witnessing implies an ethical position of compassion and responsibility for the victims of war, but it also implies various levels of trauma, with maladaptive effects on the psyche of war correspondents. The analysis of the film is the basis for a theoretical exploration of the affective practice of witnessing and the dangers of trauma and moral injury that accompany the work of war journalists.

Jordanian cultural space has been dominated by the abstract figure of the nashmi, an Arabic word of obscure origin denoting chivalry, generosity, hospitality and courage. It has become indelibly associated with East-Banker Jordanian masculinity, specifically with national emblems including army, police, and civil defence officers, and national sports teams. Palestinian-Jordanian masculinities owe their cultural constructs to a different set of socio-economic and political contingencies that situate them in the much-poorer refugee camps of East Amman. This article aims to explore how the Jordanian channel Roya TV has afforded a platform to comedy productions that entrench the figure of the fringe masculinity of the dawanji (trouble-makers) as an antidote to the mainstream masculinity of the nashmi who dominates state-owned television and radio stations, and virtually all cultural media of representation. Adopting an affective-discursive approach through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the top 200 episodes of the most viewed comedy shows on Roya TV, the article will argue that the emphasis on the figure of the dawanji has resulted in high levels of physical and verbal aggression and extremely negative portrayals of female characters on these comedy shows which are widely watched by both adults and children.