AUB Libraries Online Exhibits

Charisma, Authority and Resistance

Deeply entrenched governments as well as precarious oppositional groups have both used, written, established, published, or fostered posters to different ends, whether to mock, mobilize, represent, glorify, affirm, anchor and solidify, or change social, political and cultural realities. Posters have been put at the service of a national discourse,  by official governing bodies throughout the Arab world in order to market state policies and agendas, used as a tool in building the political imaginary of the State, as well as a tool to express, modify and challenge the status quo. We display here, besides posters glorifying a political leader, explicitly drawing attention to the agenda of a political party, but subtly drawing through the poster’s design, attention to the hierarchical structure in which the specific political discourse is embedded, or subtly raising awareness regarding a gender issue while the covert message is purely political, two comics covers from Iraq in the 80s. They, as well as the accompanying posters speak tons, beyond words.