Selim Bakri's quest for a Palestinian identity: Hanna K. (1983) and the Palestinian 'permission to narrate'

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Costa-Gavras's Hanna K. explores the political predicament of Selim Bakri, a Palestinian accused of being a 'terrorist infiltrator' by the Israeli government. Selim demonstrates the burdens of what Edward Said called the Palestinian 'permission to narrate' - the difficulties of humanizing the Palestinian experience for Western audiences often enthralled by Israeli heroism in the wake of the Holocaust. From the opening scene of the film, Costa-Gavras focuses upon the existential condition under which Palestinians live within a Jewish state. Costa-Gavras deploys editing and dialogue techniques to emphasize the difficulties attending the Palestinian's quest to gain the 'permission to narrate'. Costa-Gavras captures the predicament of the Palestinian seeking to stop asking for the permission to narrate.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationThe films of Costa-Gavras
Subtitle of host publicationNew perspectives
PublisherManchester University Press
Pages109-122
Number of pages14
ISBN (Electronic)9781526146939
ISBN (Print)9781526146922
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 11 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities

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