Overview

A history of cinema's role in popularizing the politics of Palestinian liberation For decades, Arab American activists and allies have used film, video, and multimedia to mobilize support for the Palestinian cause in the United States. In this detailed history of cinema's role within the broader solidarity movement, Umayyah Cable analyzes the various strands of cinematic activism that have helped move Palestinian liberation politics from the periphery and into the mainstream. Cable charts the shifting discourse around Palestine as it has been shaped by grassroots film production and alternative media distribution networks as well as more conventional outlets. Ranging from the circulation of educational filmstrips by the Association of Arab American University Graduates in the 1970s to the treatment of Palestinian solidarity at contemporary Hollywood awards ceremonies and film festivals, Mainstreaming Palestine tells the story of how cinema has promoted Palestinian liberation and solidarity politics. While highlighting various public controversies and struggles against censorship, Cable also acknowledges the drawbacks of the Palestinian cause being subsumed by the mainstream, discussing how activism risks becoming fashionable, undermining the radical potential of the very tools that helped bring it there. Combining archival research, ethnographic observation and interviews, text analysis, and visual analysis of film, video, and multimedia, Mainstreaming Palestine encourages readers to critically assess the relationship between the politics of liberation and the all-consuming engine of contemporary capitalism. By underscoring the impact of visual media on the evolution of the Palestinian solidarity discourse, this book offers both a treatise on the practical power of cinema and a necessary historicization of an urgent issue in American politics. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.

Full Product Details

Author:   Umayyah Cable
Publisher:   University of Minnesota Press
Imprint:   University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781517919955

ISBN 10:   1517919959
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   14 October 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Contents Preface Abbreviations Introduction: Beware the Palestine Solidarity Culture Industry 1. Producing Education, Distributing Solidarity: The Association of Arab American University Graduates’ Educational Filmstrips of the 1970s 2. From Grassroots to Mass Media: Occupied Palestine and Solidarity Cinema in the 1980s 3. An Uprising at The Perfect Moment: Exhibiting Palestinian Cinema in the 1990s Culture Wars 4. It’s an Honor Just to Be Nominated: Palestinian Liberation and Solidarity Politics in Hollywood Award Shows, 1978–2024 5. Mainstreaming Palestine: Film Festivals and Visibility Politics in the 2010s Conclusion: Brand Palestine and the Exception to “the Palestine Exception” Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Umayyah Cable is assistant professor of American culture and film, television, and media at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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