Shakhsari in her
article discusses about how some Iranian diasporic bloggers use their weblogs
as entrepreneurs during the ‘‘war of terror”. In further doing so, it creates a
sharp distinction on repression on freedom (Iran) and ideals of freedom (West).
Also, implies that the analysis of transnational politics of blogging and
politics of representation during the “war of terror”. Persian language
blogging is implicated in discourses of militarism, neoliberalism, She further
argues that the neoliberal blogger acts as an enterprenuer, who is responsible
for her/his own economic well-being and markers her/himself as the source of
valuable information. She also shows that despite Iranian women’s active
political participation before and after revolution, it is only through
breaking sex taboo and blogging about “freedom” that women become representable
subjects in mainstream narratives about weblogistan. If the masculine diasporic
‘soldier’ takes ‘freedom’ to Iran through his active participation in proper
politics through web blogs, the woman blogger finds her ‘freedom’ of expression
in writing about sex life and sexuality. “Agents of politics” is represented by
diasporic men where as “sexual liberation” is subjected to disaporic women in
these form of representation.
Cyber space and internet technology
gives a huge amount of freedom of expression and individuality. Not denying the
fact that it also creates over representation of knowledge production during
specific war time.
I think you do well focusing on the context in which these events happen. The phenomenon of Weblogistan coincides with the American War on Terror. Since many of the authors live in diaspora, their economic opportunities often come from the "West". Though they are bloggers, many of the authors interviewed have found employment outside of their blog with Canadian, Dutch, or American organizations. In a sense, even though their blogs are Persian language, it seems their audience is equally readers from their resident countries.
ReplyDeleteHi Sujata,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your summation of the text all together, and how you managed to concisely synthesize everything. I have always found it so interesting to recognize the dichotomies that are at play when we start the discussion from the West and non-West, and how non-West nations feel the pressure to conform to Western ideals of liberation. The "over-representation of knowledge production" as you put it in a time of war really provides a different lense here on top of everything else--tracking down the influence to their blogging spheres and which audience they're representing, trying to represent, and fail to represent through an all-dynamical way.