Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers

The Israeli film Strangers (Erez Tadmor/ Guy Nattiv, 2007) loosely integrates elements from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet and uses the archetype of the star-crossed lovers to approach the Middle East conflict. This paper questions how the original structure, which relies on a rivalry between t...

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Main Author: Júlia Garraio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra 2014-12-01
Series:e-cadernos ces
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/eces/1872
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author Júlia Garraio
author_facet Júlia Garraio
author_sort Júlia Garraio
collection DOAJ
description The Israeli film Strangers (Erez Tadmor/ Guy Nattiv, 2007) loosely integrates elements from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet and uses the archetype of the star-crossed lovers to approach the Middle East conflict. This paper questions how the original structure, which relies on a rivalry between two identical parties, is transposed to a setting where the power relations are marked by inequality. By examining the political meanings and the Orientalist overtones that are embedded in the process of gendering Israel and Palestine through the protagonists, this paper argues that Strangers affirms Israel’s cultural and moral superiority and silences the structural violence of both the occupation and the dispossession of the Palestinians. Granted that a key element in Shakespeare is the final reconciliation between the families, this paper finally questions the pertinence of Shakespeare’s play as a hypotext to address the realities of the Middle East.
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spelling doaj-art-28bc6bbca3da4d58ad66015502e069d72025-08-20T02:37:51ZengCentro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbrae-cadernos ces1647-07372014-12-012210.4000/eces.1872Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in StrangersJúlia GarraioThe Israeli film Strangers (Erez Tadmor/ Guy Nattiv, 2007) loosely integrates elements from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet and uses the archetype of the star-crossed lovers to approach the Middle East conflict. This paper questions how the original structure, which relies on a rivalry between two identical parties, is transposed to a setting where the power relations are marked by inequality. By examining the political meanings and the Orientalist overtones that are embedded in the process of gendering Israel and Palestine through the protagonists, this paper argues that Strangers affirms Israel’s cultural and moral superiority and silences the structural violence of both the occupation and the dispossession of the Palestinians. Granted that a key element in Shakespeare is the final reconciliation between the families, this paper finally questions the pertinence of Shakespeare’s play as a hypotext to address the realities of the Middle East.https://journals.openedition.org/eces/1872StrangersRomeo and Julietgendered orientalism
spellingShingle Júlia Garraio
Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
e-cadernos ces
Strangers
Romeo and Juliet
gendered orientalism
title Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
title_full Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
title_fullStr Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
title_full_unstemmed Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
title_short Love Juliet... and Keep Her away from Palestine. Gendered and Orientalist Representations in Strangers
title_sort love juliet and keep her away from palestine gendered and orientalist representations in strangers
topic Strangers
Romeo and Juliet
gendered orientalism
url https://journals.openedition.org/eces/1872
work_keys_str_mv AT juliagarraio lovejulietandkeepherawayfrompalestinegenderedandorientalistrepresentationsinstrangers