|
|
 |
|
27.9%ANMag Issue 27 Entertainment
Look, Listen and Shout
By Hanin Ababneh, Staff Writer
Beirut, Lebanon – As postmodernism takes its residence in the era and abstract ideology becomes simply an attitude rather than a theory, individuality becomes a ray of light in a region of darkness. Sharif Abdunnur’s ‘Handala’s Journey’ is an artistic masterpiece describing the current Arab situation in the form of our present independent lifestyles. As the Arab world clenches its fingers further into development, modernization and globalization, it also has opened up to the sense of individualism. With the new fetish that the Western world has for democracy and its movement for uniqueness, individuals are bound to stand up and stand out. As individuality is encouraged to reach to the ultimate goal of democracy and the voice of the people to finally be heard, ‘Handala’s Journey’ becomes a painting of a blend of the colours of the past, present and future. Art has been traditionally defined to be a single piece of work whether it be a play, poem or painting. Sharif Abdunnur has broken the boundaries of traditionalism through his work, merging both painting with play to give his audiences the feel of defiance to the traditions that have kept them shackled into their misfortunes.
With the narrator and main character already seated in position on stage, eyes closed and heads gently bowed, the audience walks into a slice of life that was, is and will be there. As the play commences the actors simply open their eyes and begin to speak, leaving the audience to feel that they have merely walked into the continuation of what they had left at the door; war and blood spill. The traditional Arabic music plays in the background and as the entirety of the play is carried out in classical Arabic, Abdunnur bestows on his audience a sense of origin in a time of modernity and development. Even though the play is carried out in an individualistic abstract style, the classical Arabic style of speech and traditional music at the start is a reminder for the audience of who they are and where they come from. Generations in the region are now being awakened and bred into a culture that has forgotten classical Arabic or even Arabic as a whole. As the youth are now oblivious to their own histories, cultures, traditions and sadly even language, the pull back to folklore is a desperately needed cry for awareness. Generally, the play as a whole centers on this issue of awareness. As a national and international sign for Palestine, Handala himself represents the land of Palestine and his struggle symbolizes that of the Palestinean people. As the audience witnesses the emotional, financial and physical challenging and shooting down of Handala they are capable of juxtaposing these events alongside the region's general attitude towards Palestine, monotonous indifference. In this sense Abdunnur has called for become aware of what they have allowed to transpire; the unaccepatable has become acceptable.
With democracy and individualism becoming a trend nowadays the play in itself is a colorful and rich depiction of these topics. In its fantastic ‘Alice in Wonderland’ feel and striking colours Abdunnur promotes a sense of postmodernism that endorses the movement of the individual. The play appeals to most individual levels, allowing each member of the audience to weave the happenings into their own versions as it denotes the twenty first century’s push for democracy yet consequently proving the hypocrisy of the circumstances.
In the employment of obvious pink, red, yellow, blue and many other colours Abdunnur invokes the sense of alerting the audience to the play’s message and the external state. Moreover, the vivid colouring and the employment of fantasy and imagination adds to the artistic feel of a painting being fashioned. Abdunnur has created a masterpiece with the actors as paintbrushes, the stage as the canvas and each member of the audience as the artist. The clash of traditionalism in the spoken classical Arabic with the caprice of individualistic democracies leaves the audience bedazzled by a collision between past and present. The play encourages the movement and the activation of youth to look at their history and embrace it in order to shape their present and their future. The abandonment of the land of Palestine can not continue and a more vigorous approach must be taken towards the aiding of its blood sick and tired people. The picture Abdunnur has created is one that encourages an operational and functional move into the revival of the lands of Palestine and the salvaging of its people.
The pamphlet showing Handala standing between train tracks that end on the sea shore as he looks onto the horizon sums up the play. As the play unfolds the horizon becomes ours and the train track is extended. The fantasy feel and bright colouring subside to reveal the reality of a cold and harsh situation. As the world around the region grows into democracy and individualism the Arab region is left lagging, whereby our present turns into a bitter past as we move into the future. The abstract feel of the play encourages the individualism of the era but soon enough the loud colours of democracy, individualism and imagination drift away to reveal the black and white of the koffieh, the black and white of the circumstances right on the horizon.