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Magazine Vol

Article 311: Handala and the Cartoons of Naji al-Ali, By: Dr. Fayeq Oweis – Part VII

 Posted By Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.Ds- Dryahyatv from USA.

Symbols of Oppression and Occupation: In addition to the Evil Man representing all the evil forces, al-Ali also used a number of symbols to represent oppression, occupation, and corruption.  Israeli and American soldiers are shown with signs on their helmets. Barbed wires and prison bars represent settlements, borders, prisons, and fences that prevent the Palestinians from leaving their refugee camps and fences that prevent them from going back to Palestine. These also represent the detention centers that were created by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon.  Censorship and the lack of freedom of expression in the Arab world were major subjects for al-Ali and he incorporated newspaper headlines purporting to promote democracy and freedom of expression in his cartoons. The scissors that cut through the newspapers, the masking tape tying up the tongue of the good man to silence him, and the silencer itself  are all symbols protesting the lack of democracy.  Oil, a natural resource belonging to the common and ordinary Arab people, was also a frequent subject.   Al-Ali saw oil as a curse on the Arab people rather than a benefit.   In one cartoon, oil barrels are used as "Drums of War" by Israeli and American soldiers.  In another, an oil barrel is Satan or "iblis" and Handala and al-Zalama throw the stones at it while performing the Hajj rituals.  When Fatima asks al-Zalama about the role of oil in the struggle, al-Zalama answers "The Americans are drinking it all…" Oil barrels fall from the sky, attacking Handala alongside the Israeli bombs and the Arab regimes' daggers. 

Naji Al-Ali created a powerful visual vocabulary with strong symbols that have retained a contemporary resonance well beyond his death.  The consistency of his vision and his artistic voice made him one of the most popular artists of the modern Middle East.  His unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause and his sharp critique of the powers that be in the region won him many friends and many enemies.  He left an indelible legacy. 

 

References and Resources:

Al-Asadi, Abdu and Tadmuri, Kholud. A Study in the Creativity of Naji al-Ali [in Arabic]. Dar il-Kunuuz al-Adabiyya, Beirut, Lebanon: 1994

Al-Ali, Naji. The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali [in Arabic] Forwarded by Mahmoud Darwish. Beirut, Lebanon: 1976.

Ibrahim, Daoud. Encyclopedia of Naji al-Ali Cartoons, Vol. 1: The Man and the Revolutionary [in Arabic]. Palestinian Publishing Institute, Ramallah, Palestine: 2003

Ibrahim, Daoud. Naji al-Ali, the Life and Death of a Palestinian Artist [in Arabic]. Yarmouk Publishing Institute, Ramallah, Palestine: 1988.

Idris Samah (Ed.). Sihr ilKkaraama [The Magic of Dignity – in Arabic], Al-Adab Magazine. Vol. 50 # 9-10. Beirut, Lebanon: 2002

Kallam, Mahmoud Abdallah. Naji al-Ali, The Whole of Palestine: That is why they killed me [in Arabic] Bisan Publishing, Beirut, Lebanon: 2001

Web sites:

http://knol.google.com/k/handala-and-the-cartoons-of-naji-al-ali# http://www.oweis.com/handala.html

http://www.newjerseysolidarity.org/alawda/sept2005/najialali.shtml

About the Author

Professor, Dr. Hasan A. Yahya is an Arab American writer, scholar, and professor of Sociology lives in the United States of America,  originally from Palestine. He graduated from Michigan State University with  2 Ph.d degrees. He published 65 books plus and 320 plus articles on sociology, religion, psychology, politics, poetry, and short stories. Philosophically, his writings concern logic, justice and human rights worldwide. Dr. Yahya is the author of Crescentologism: The Moon Theory,  and  Islam Finds its Way, on Amazon. He's an expert on Race Relations, Arab and Islamic cultures, he is also, interested in religion, world affairs and  global strategic planning for justice and human rights. www.dryahyatv.com

World War 2 magazine mint condition worth anything?

My half brother's aunt has a Stars and STripes magazine - Paris Edition. Vol. 2 No. 89. dated October 7, 1945 from WWII in MINT CONDITION. She was looking to see how much it was worth but can't really find anything. Anyone know?

That should be really valuable like a few hundred at best maybe haigher, possibly lower, but it should be worth more than just 20 or so dollars like a magazine today since it's from an older era, take it to be evaluated by a professional(such as a WWII expert, someone at a museum that deals with that era, etc.), to get an auction price if you want to sell it and auction it off at a professional auctioning event (not pawning it or selling it at a pawn shop, because they pay less than auction price because they have to make a profit by reselling it and can't buy it at auction price, for that cuts into profit)

In short it's worth more than a magazine today so get an expert to look into it and give you an auction price and aunction it to collectors, get the full value if you sell it, because it would be a shame to sale it for less, or keep it because that's really cool to have, you could always give it to a museum and they give you like a monthly fee or whatnot and put it on display and pay you (just check a contract before you do that)

Shibata Ayumi - Hello! Project DVD Magazine Vol.9