Cultural Studies Speaker Series:Andrew Davison

PRESENTS

This presentation examines the intermingling character of the hard powers of Washington, D.C., and the soft powers of Hollywood militainment during the “war on terrorism” in the case of a fictitious terror attack in the city of Antalya. This case remains unnoticed by observers, perhaps because the scene occurred very quickly. Through an analysis of the political circumstances of the drama, its script, and the real-world scene of the said attack, this essay elaborates the content and harmful dimensions of the DC-LA connection. Further, to counter Antalya’s instrumentalization as a site of death and destruction and as ‘casus belli’ for the invasion of another country in the region, a researched counter-narrative of the city’s historical identity is offered, one that demonstrates the flaws of the militainer’s gaze by, in Walter Mignolo’s terms, denying the denial of Antalya’s coevality. The analysis here, therefore, illuminates and challenges the patterned American usage of “Muslim” spaces, fictitious and real, for the coercive purposes of American power.