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Ethical dilemmas of minority creative workers in the cultural industries: Palestinian actors in Israeli films and dramas

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Abstract

This article explores the dilemmas and challenges of minority creative workers in the cultural industries in settler-colonial/postcolonial contexts. More specifically, it sheds light on how minority actors perceive their involvement at such a sensitive and precarious juncture. To that end, it examines the impact of the roles these actors play and the genres in which they are typecast, experiencing the intersection between their national identity, professional interests and the hegemonic narratives in films and TV series. The settler-colonial/postcolonial context allows us to ascertain to what extent and how this context manifests itself in the cultural industries and impacts the challenges and burdens that creative workers endure. We utilize the unique Israeli-Palestinian reality in which cultural products, such as films and series, are important tools of symbolic domination and legitimacy, in order to uncover important but hidden aspects of the complex systemic violence prevalent in the cultural industries. Thus, we provide a unique prism into the human ramifications of the audiovisual industries in conflict zones and allow a glimpse into the symbolic construction and dissemination of hegemonic narratives and their use for global branding.

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Notes

  1. Good examples of series and films are Fauda, ‘The Kidnapped’ (Homeland), Beaufort, Lebanon, Waltz with Bashir, and Foxtrot.

  2. Fauda is about commando fighters who pretend to be Arabs and intermingle in Palestinian society in order to arrest Palestinians fighting against Israeli occupation.

  3. It is important to note that a limited number of Palestinian actors work in productions in the Palestinian Authority and in Jordan.

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Acknowledgement

This research was funded by Israel Science Foundation, Grant No. 845/17.

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  1. School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

    Amal Jamal & Noa Lavie

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  1. Amal Jamal
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Jamal, A., Lavie, N. Ethical dilemmas of minority creative workers in the cultural industries: Palestinian actors in Israeli films and dramas. Am J Cult Sociol 11, 459–479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-022-00166-1

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