Mit erhobener Faust

Political resistance and protest are linked not only to content but also to symbols and images. The demonstrations, protests, and political upheavals of recent years can often be understood as large-scale productions in which individual artifacts or a collage of iconographic images, symbols, speeches, and demands shape the lasting image of the events. As if, in a society of spectacle—in an overly staged world where protest must hold its own between pop culture and brand capitalism—protest itself must also be spectacular and carefully staged; thus, the visual codes of protest are often embedded in a complex overall aesthetic.
Based on the Serbian Revolution of 2000, this thesis defines, documents, and evaluates the aesthetics of political protest and the staging of resistance as integral components of protest. In doing so, the staging is not reduced to individual symbols, artifacts, or actions, but is examined within the complex interplay of spatial and situational context, as well as action and reaction.