This article explores music video as a catalyst of public discourse in the digital age through an analysis of heated online controversies fueled by Wa‘d ‘Arqoub (WA), a video featuring a romantic relationship against the backdrop of the plight of Iraq under U.S. occupation. It puts forth the argument that music videos stimulate public discourse because of their capacity to (1) promote ideas and make them visible, (2) conjure up several meanings and interpretations, and (3) circulate through “hypermedia space,” a communicative space created by networked broadcast, mobile, and online platforms. The analysis of the circulation of contentious public discourse around WA leads to the conclusion that music videos are best understood as instruments of visibility in a symbolic economy that suffers from attention scarcity.
Al-DsouqiHala. 2010. “A ‘Very’ Patriotic Music Video by Shadha Hassoun . . . She Sings on the Bed, Nudity, Deviance, and Love for the Enemy.” Watan, January11. http://www.watan.com [Arabic].
2.
Al-MahadinSalam. 2008. “From Religious Fundamentalism to Pornography? The Female Body As Text in Arabic Song Videos.” In Feminist Interventions in International Communication: Minding the Gap, edited by SarikakisK.ShadeL. R., 146–60. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
3.
Al-SalehNasser. 2010. “Shadha Hassoun Exploits Iraq and Distorts the Image of Iraqi Women.” Shams Al-Iraq, January2. http://www.iraqsunnews.com [Arabic].
4.
Al-ShamryIssam. 2010. “Shadha Hassoun Mocks the Enemy and Says ‘Thank You Very Much’.” Al-Ray, January6.
5.
Al-SkafHussein. 2010. “Shadha Hassoun Glorifies the Occupation of Iraq.” Al-Akhbar, March10. http://www.al-akhbar.com [Arabic].
6.
Antti-VilleK.2007. “Vision of a Sound Nation: Finnish Music Videos and Secured Otherness.” In Medium Cool: Music Videos from Soundies to Cellphones, edited by BeebeR.MiddletonJ., 174–99. Durham: Duke University Press.
7.
ArmbrustWalter. 2005. “What Would Sayyid Qutb Say? Some Reflections on Video Clips.” Transnational Broadcasting Studies14. http://www.tbsjournal.com.
8.
AufderheidePatricia. 1986. “Music Videos: The Look of the Sound.” Journal of Communication36 (1): 57–78.
9.
‘AwadRabih. 2010. “Wa‘d ‘Arqoub by Shadha Hassoun Provokes a Storm in a Teacup: The Rebellious Iraqi Shuts Door to Her Heart to Occupier.” Al-Jarida, January17. http://www.aljarida.com [Arabic].
10.
BeebeRogerMiddletonJason, eds. 2007. Medium Cool: Music Videos from Soundies to Cellphones. Durham: Duke University Press.
11.
BrighentiAndrea. 2007. “Visibility: A Category for the Social Sciences.” Current Sociology55 (3): 323–42.
12.
BrulliardKarin. 2007. “Iraqis United Behind Their Heroine on Arab ‘Idol’: Singer Transcends Sectarian Tensions.” The Washington Post, March31, A01.
13.
CepedaMaria Elena. 2010. Musical ImagiNation: U.S.-Colombian Identity and the Latin Music Boom. New York: New York University Press.
14.
EliasMay. 2009. “Wa’d ‘Arqoub: A Romantic or Political Message?”Elaph.com, December26. http://www.elaph.com [Arabic].
KraidyMarwan M.KhalilJoe. 2009. Arab Television Industries. London: British Film Institute.
25.
KumarShantiCurtinMichael. 2002. “‘Made in India’: In between Music Television and Patriarchy.” Television & New Media3 (4): 345–66.
26.
“Shadha Hassoun: I did not betray my country and I fear marriage because most men are cheaters.” 2010. Alarabiya.com, March8. http://www.alarabiya-news.com [Arabic].
27.
“Shadha Hassoun is focus of production companies.” 2010. Tayyar.org, February17. http://www.tayyar.org [Arabic].
28.
Shadha Hassoun Official Website and Blog. 2010. “A Response to the Article ‘The Scandal of a Patriotic Music Video by Shadha Hassoun’,” January11. www.facebook.com/ShathaHassoun [Arabic].
29.
“Shadha Hassoun Unites Iraqis: She succeeded where politicians failed.” 2007. Al-Riyadh, April1. http://www.alriyadh.com [Arabic].
30.
StrawWill. 1988. “Music Video in Its Contexts: Popular Music and Post-Modernism in the 1980s.” Popular Music7 (3): 247–66.
31.
Tu‘aymaMuhammad Ibrahim. 2010. “Shadha Hassoun: The American Soldier Did Not Visit Me in My Bedroom,” January12. http://www.mbc.net [Arabic].
32.
VernallisCarol. 2004. Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context. New York: Columbia University Press.
33.
Wa‘d ‘Arqoub is Shadha Hassoun’s weapon against the American occupation in Iraq. 2009. December27. http://www.mbc.net [Arabic].
34.
WarnerMichael. 2002. “Publics and Counterpublics.” Public Culture14 (1): 49–90.
35.
ZeidanMohammad. 2010. “Shadha Hassoun to Al-Ray News: WA Video Is a Humanitarian Message with Different Contents,” January11. http://www.alraynews.com [Arabic].
