open Democracy News Analysis - Beirut and contradiction, Mai Ghoussoub - Comments

johannabartley on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

johannabartley — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:48:01 +0100

I have seen a similar picture in a commercial for discount auto parts and the first thing that went trough my head was: how can they promote vanity over pain? What happened there? And how come these girls were there?

BB™ on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

BB™ — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:22:22 +0000

Rick HAUSER Founding Partner, Beyond Broadcast™ Co-Founder, THE PERFORMANCE LAB™ In the sense that the photographer observes (only), I find the remarks about the picture interesting and the equation invited with Helmut Newton and voyeurism provocative. Yet the "capturing" of the moment is meaningless to me; "being there" is not enough of a motivation. Surely we don't mean that the apparent banality of the subject matter and the accident of its recording "elevates" it to the level of art? Truly fine war photography captures/has captured moments of universal — anguish — hope — iconographically. This picture is little more than a snapshot — little choice other than to snap the shutter has been made . . . And — in that — all the meaning, I wager someone will say . . .

pdebeer on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

pdebeer — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:54:18 +0100

What is wrong with this picture and with Mai Ghoussoub's views about Beirut? This picture shows us a slice of Beirut as it is and not as some politically correct minds - from Hizbullah to ... - would like Lebanon to be seen. Yes, thanks God or nature, there are beautiful women in Beirut, whose house as been destroyed or not. And there are also a lot of bright women, obviously more than bright men, otherwise Lebanon would not be in the present state of affairs. And, among these bright women is also Nadine Labaki, whose movie, Caramel, has just been released in Paris. It shows life in Beirut through four women who meet to gossip in the most unexpected of peace havens, a beauty parlour where religion, social origin disappear behind layers of cucumber slices and beauty creams. Whenever there are bright and brave women, there is still hope.

Unknown2007 on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

Unknown2007 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:05:51 +0100

... thinking about what you've written some more, I guess what it comes down to is something like the 'orientalism' you mention (ie exposing the prejudices in the audience, not necessarily capturing any other 'truth' about the situation) - but since the people in the photgraph have commented on it, it's worth letting their voices be heard too. And if you live in Beirut, of course you'll know the Isrealis bombed the rich too. My apologies!

Unknown2007 on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

Unknown2007 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 09:52:06 +0100

The people in the car were inspecting the damage to their house - they weren't being disaster tourists at all. More at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385969.stm (8 March 2007). Another example of prejudice overriding reality. Do you think the Israelis only bombed poor people?

Not logged in on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

Not logged in — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:05:14 +0000

This article is typical of Mai: willing to re-think things, generous-spirited, empathic, ready to give credit to other artists and not rush to judgement or to condemn. I wish more people could think and feel as Mai's extraordinary life taught her to think and feel. But as soon as I write that, I realise Mai would never have wanted more people to be like her, since she believed in variety and diversity above everything. I am probably just saying I wish from the bottom of my heart that she were not dead. If you look at her life and her struggle to become an artist and fight for freedom of expression, to cross cultures, bringing what she learned from one life to enrich the next, to publish books she believed in, many of which, like my own The White Family, might never otherwise have seen the light of day, you see that Mai Ghoussoub was an emblematic figure for Open Democracy. This space carries forward the freedoms she believed in, and her friends will be grateful that you mourn her today.

David Page on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

David Page — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 23:38:11 +0000

Michael Bix does not seem to understand that Mai Ghoussoub is"us" - she is from Beruit, it is her city, hence her reaction is sympathetic not harsh (see her account of going there after the war).

michaelbix on "Beirut and contradiction: reading the World Press Photo award"

michaelbix — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:19:37 +0000

Unfortunately, without projecting greatly, I don't believe we know enough to make the judgements suggested by Mai Ghoussoub. We do not know the neighbourhood. Perhaps the woman with the greatly pained expresson (and phone camera) is directly in front of her own family's home... seeing the wreckage, everyone smelling a broken gas main or the remains of the family dog. Perhaps it is the ruins of her uncle's business. We don't know. If this had been Montr�al or Boston and our car were a relatively recent model Toyota or Ford (and we were dressed in clean, if not necessarily stylish, clothing), perhaps the suggestion of voyeur would instantly spring to mind. But I suspect that is a bit harsh and premature. These are people in the middle of a modern city - a modern city torn from its normal routine by unexpected bombs from the sky. Think about it. How would it feel to us. How would we react? How would we appear if this had been us?

Beirut and contradiction, Mai Ghoussoub

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

World Press Photo of the Year 2006
©Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images | Reprinted by kind permission, World Press Photo
Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August

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