As If We Were Catching a Cobra

Hala Al-Abdallah  |  Arab Documentary Film Program  |  2011  |  Syria
In newspapers around the world, comic strips may cause laughter, tears, and provoke thoughts...they may even lead to a lawsuit or insite to murder. Caricature is the best thermometer to measure freedom of expression in any country, offering a singular opportunity for self-expression and the possibility to resist auto-censorship and defy state censors. Arab caricature encapsulates the history of the relationships between people and their occupiers, governments and tyrannies. Against the backdrop of the current revolutions and through the works of artists in Egypt and Syria, the film explores the evolution of freedom of expression in the Orient through caricature.