03_The Spectators


Students: Huijie Zhao & Tara Sadat Mousavi Gharavi





“The Spectator” depicts the audience watching a concert from different perspectives during the Pandemic in Beirut. All women are dressed in military uniforms which weaken the military's symbolism, replaced by another symbol of  the violence and injustice they are subjected to. The uniforms are open to everyone to wear and does not alienate any group. Performance accompanied by songs of Fairuz (a famous lebanon singer who became known as the first lady of Lebanese singing in 1960), present women can stay together to stand against their limitations and fight for their rights. No matter if they have different religions, levels of life, beliefs, and political views.

The special situation of COVID-19 has enabled us to focus on the transformation of the balconies into an alternative space for eating, activities, and other entertainments in the case of mandatory isolation or social distancing. The balcony has been a boundary between privacy and publicity.

It blurred the boundary between fact and fiction, expressing women's rebellion against patriarchy and violence in Lebanon.















 



METHOD 

We analysed different layers of this project. The site of the project is in Martyrs’ Square in Beirut ; the characters are a popular Lebanese singer (Fairuz) and Lebanese women. Fairuz became a symbol of standing and fighting for her rights as a woman against patriarchy and violence against women.

; The volume of Singing ; and camera angle to show the atmosphere of different parts of beirut for this event.


































































FAMOUS LEBANESE WOMEN


Linda Matar.  An activist of women’s rights for over 60 years.

Raya Hassan, the first Lebanese and Arab woman to be appointed to the paramount position of Minister of Interior.

May Chidiac, A former influential TV journalist.

Najla Abou Jahjah. Camerawoman, a Reuters journalist and writer.

Emily Nasrallah. A prizewinning Lebanese writer.

Rula Ghani is a Lebanese who became First Lady of Afghanistan.

Leila El-Solh Hamade, first Lebanese woman to hold a cabinet position as the Minister of Industry in 2004.

Rola Hoteit is the first ever Lebanese female pilot to fly a commercial airplane.

Raghida Dergham is a well-known Lebanese journalist, political analyst.

Paula Yacoubian. A former TV presenter, interviewed many politicians and decision











VIDEO TITLE



































The balcony becomes the space that combines
privacy and publicity.











REFERENCES



   
































Yael Bartana-“exercises in political imagination”
















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