ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the phenomenon of contratextuality as a problem in translating cultural elements in the images the revolutionary masses displayed during the 2011 Syrian Revolution, mainly in the Syrian town of Zabadānī, some of which were created by the cartoonist Emād Hajjāj. These images offer a new mode of resistance to repressive authority and deconstruct the image of Assad as ‘the leader forever.’ Contratextuality adds new shades of meaning and more complex layers to a text by mimicking it, highlighting its opposite, or excluding parts of it. I examine this cultural, linguistic phenomenon at a number of levels: the difficulties translators encounter when translating images that include contratextual elements and the best strategies to produce a successful translation of the source text. I study forms of resistance that appear in these images through analyzing the rhetoric, images, and assimilation approach adopted by the mainstream revolutionaries in their efforts to change the authoritative regime. The study further investigates how the 2011 Syrian Revolution, through utilizing visual images, deconstructs the power structure of Syrian iconography. The chapter shows how art, exemplified by cartoons and political posters, is shaped by resistance and what role it plays in challenging authority and bringing change to its dynamics.
