How do you watch a revolution? Notes from the 21st century

Abstract

Focusing on the events of the Arab Spring, this article considers the visual language of the protest within geopolitical contexts characterized by violent repression and state monopoly on information media. The author looks at the ways new technologies - namely mobile phones and social media - are used to produce and disseminate counter-documentation that actively challenges states of invisibility and conditions of deformation. The regime of visibility and visuality of the protestors' statements are analysed in their relation to existing systems of power and to the channels of distribution of information through an examination of the material conditions of their production and reception, and through an attempt at retracing their erratic and multiple trajectories - from YouTube's unsanctioned and unchecked collections, to international news broadcasts, to their re-presentation in public screenings and in works of art.