La Siria de Ali Farzat: la caricatura en el mundo árabe.

Abstract

The aim of this research is an analysis and commentary on cartoons as a form of socio-political communication in the Middle East and the Arab world, in particular. Drawing on ʿAlī Farzāt‘s work, who is regarded as one of the most important cartoonists in the region, it examines the power of cartoons to incite political revolt. The main objectives of this research are: (1) to discuss political humor and political cartoons in the Middle East and the Arab world; (2) to study the new tools of communication; (3) to analyze art as a tool to fight the repression of regimes; (4) to contextualize the work of ʿAlī Farzāt, taking into consideration his life and the different historical events that shaped it; and (5) to analyze and study his cartoons, taking into account their symbols and how they evolved. In order to research this subject, I have used theoretical material dealing with humor and political cartoons in the Middle East and in the Arab world. Furthermore, I have drawn on a visual ethnography collecting a wide variety of data about media and political cartoons and ʿAlī Farzāt, in particular, to develop a grounded theory in relation to this topic. Thus, taking into account ʿAlī Farzāt‘s cartoons and Syria for reference, the results of this research will show the emergence of a specific kind of political cartoon that has become a reference for the Middle East and the Arab world, in particular. The main conclusions for this research are: (1) political cartoons in the Middle East and the Arab world are influenced by those from Europe, even though genres have been developed by Middle Eastern and Arab cartoonists as they are a product of every culture; (2) for this reason, they are a form of pan-Arabism since they reveal the needs of Arab societies, in general; (3) in a sense, political cartoons are an important form of communication because they are capable of circumventing ensorship by using symbols; (4) political cartoons are historical references because they deal with events that do not appear in other media or history books. In addition, there are specific conclusions regarding ʿAlī Farzāt‘s cartoons: (1) they have become a non-verbal language that is understood by everyone; (2) the evolution of his cartoons has firmly established this genre; (3) ʿAlī Farzāt‘s cartoons have become a form of artistic resistance; (4) his cartoons have developed a feeling of identity and unity which would scarcely have been known before the advent of new social media.