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Sheherazade Says No: Artful Resistance in Contemporary Egyptian Political Cartoon

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Street Art of Resistance

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture ((PASCC))

Abstract

Taking sociological and psychological functions of humor seriously, this chapter explores the cultural psychology of political cartoon in contemporary Egypt. Political cartoon is approached as a form of art and resistance, in which the artists speak for a ‘cherished community’. In a political system that aspires to democratic ideals, but bears features of an authoritarian system, political cartoonists assume the role of activists. By analyzing what they are fighting for (the constitution), whom they are fighting for (the citizen), and how they picture themselves (as inseparable from their subject matter), we arrive at a view of Egyptian cartoonists as socio-psychoanalysts, who link past, present, and potential futures, share in the pain of their cherished community, and transform it, if only for a moment, into laughter.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For dubbed versions of the videos see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DtOr6BBOHg (first speech, 28 January 2011); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz5ZkO2jb4s&feature=related (second speech, 2 February 2011); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS7RBGvKyyM&feature=related (third speech, 10 February 2011).

  2. 2.

    For a recording of the song, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy6Zq1ZlvII; for a translation of the lyrics, see: http://www.shira.net/music/lyrics/ezzai.htm

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Acknowledgments

Mohamed Helmy was funded by the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation (Finland). We thank xxxxx xxxxxxx for wading through thousands of cartoons, and for expert advice; Deena Samir Dakroury for acting as our contact at Al-Masry Al-Youm; and Shahinaz Hammouda for making the connection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiology of Aging and Disease, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Mohamed M. Helmy & Sabine Frerichs

  2. Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria

    Mohamed M. Helmy

Authors
  1. Mohamed M. Helmy
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  2. Sabine Frerichs
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Sarah H. Awad

  2. Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Brady Wagoner

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Helmy, M.M., Frerichs, S. (2017). Sheherazade Says No: Artful Resistance in Contemporary Egyptian Political Cartoon. In: Awad, S., Wagoner, B. (eds) Street Art of Resistance. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63330-5_15

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