Middle East

The Middle East's “Che shirt”

The West’s obsession with the East has never failed to amaze as it now takes another turn down the ironic world of creating pop icons out of cultural figures. Like I’ve said before, it’s the Che Shirt effect but with Mid East twist. The greater capitalist power takes a long-standing cultural icon, mass produces it, and sells it to a target crowd of 12 to 27 years old. The origin of the work is forgotten, the meaning of the icon is lost, and all that’s left is a few Technicolor relics from an overly consumed marketing ploy aimed at the impressionable and sheltered youth. Yes, folks its true Palestine, and for that fact the Middle East is en Vogue.

How did this happen you wonder? It all goes back to 1990s when it was cool to be politically active and every other teenage know-it-all attended their first protest about an issue they could careless about or didn’t know anything about. Raise your fist for equality, liberty, and the ever-popular Darfur issue. But Palestine was excluded; it was unable to coexist with our foreign interests and deemed un-cool by most “globally aware” hipster cliques (if they could be called that). Now it’s a different story.

Its understandable that the post 9/11 world is a much different place. At one point people didn’t even know where Afghanistan was or that Saddam Hussain was the leader Iraq let alone what the infamous acronym WMD stood for.

Somehow the Middle East has morphed into what Trotsky was to the Stalin Era. (For those who don’t know this is an allusion to a scapegoat) Yes, there is enough ignorance to go around for seconds. It was hard enough for an Afghan describe to their Anglo-Saxon comrades that they are not guerilla warriors, radicals, or have a special urge to fight the soviet specter of atheism and yes Afghanistan is indeed a country and no, its not in the south of France. But now, since the Iraq War became the new muse, the Arabic community must deal with repercussions.

Case in point, the Keffiyah. As has been reported on earlier this symbol of solidarity of the Palestinian cause and Arab nationalism has turned into a water-down mass-produced consumer good quickly dawned by the idealistic or more likely unaware youth. But if this wasn’t enough, Palestine in general is now “couture”. Marketing the Keffiyah became too safe, the fashion industry demands “more shock value and controversy”. Enter the T-shirts by local Fresh Jive clothing company based in Los Angeles, California. First of all is the “Victimized” shirt depicting a freedom fighter and a small stamp of the Palestinian flag. Okay, they are in support of a free and peaceful Palestine. Wrong. They want to “market” the sad struggle of a disenfranchised people for Americans consumerist pleasure.

Secondly, Yasser Arafat, its just that, an Arafat shirt. Most intellectuals would agree Arafat’s role in the PLO and in Palestinian politics in general were a key part in raising the voices of the Palestinian’s to the ears of most first world countries. Many conclude the man is an icon, a freedom fighter, and a nationalist. To haphazardly stamp his face on a shirt to sell at a convenient $19.00 takes away from almost everything he had fought for as the population who would be most inclined to by this shirt often couldn’t point to Palestine on a map let alone know who Arafat was. 

Yes folks, corporate American has done it again. They have successfully conquered the youth’s newfound obsession with International Affairs (a popular major in most universities) by exploiting Middle Eastern icons and leaders. Who knows what’s next? Soon every 16 through 29 year old will be sporting (the Great) Ahmed Shah Massoud’s pakol. This new kind of nostalgia for the east, is now with the Middle East. Coming soon to a store near you.

Check out the shirts on Karma Loop: www.karmaloop.com

© 2008 Metropolis Lights.