The Assassination of Theo van Gogh

From Social Drama to Cultural Trauma

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Minority Studies, History, Western Europe
Cover of the book The Assassination of Theo van Gogh by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz ISBN: 9780822391449
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: August 28, 2008
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
ISBN: 9780822391449
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: August 28, 2008
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In November 2004, the controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed on a busy street in Amsterdam. A twenty-six-year-old Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent shot van Gogh, slit his throat, and pinned a five-page indictment of Western society to his body. The murder set off a series of reactions, including arson against Muslim schools and mosques. In The Assassination of Theo van Gogh, Ron Eyerman explores the multiple meanings of the murder and the different reactions it elicited: among the Amsterdam-based artistic and intellectual subculture, the wider Dutch public, the local and international Muslim communities, the radical Islamic movement, and the broader international community. After meticulously analyzing the actions and reputations of van Gogh and others in his milieu, the motives of the murderer, and the details of the assassination itself, Eyerman considers the various narrative frames the mass media used to characterize the killing.

Eyerman utilizes theories of social drama and cultural trauma to evaluate the reactions to and effects of the murder. A social drama is triggered by a public transgression of taken-for-granted norms; one that threatens the collective identity of a society may develop into a cultural trauma. Eyerman contends that the assassination of Theo van Gogh quickly became a cultural trauma because it resonated powerfully with the postwar psyche of the Netherlands. As part of his analysis of the murder and reactions to it, he discusses significant aspects of twentieth-century Dutch history, including the country’s treatment of Jews during the German occupation, the loss of its colonies in the wake of World War II, its recruitment of immigrant workers, and the failure of Dutch troops to protect Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In November 2004, the controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed on a busy street in Amsterdam. A twenty-six-year-old Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent shot van Gogh, slit his throat, and pinned a five-page indictment of Western society to his body. The murder set off a series of reactions, including arson against Muslim schools and mosques. In The Assassination of Theo van Gogh, Ron Eyerman explores the multiple meanings of the murder and the different reactions it elicited: among the Amsterdam-based artistic and intellectual subculture, the wider Dutch public, the local and international Muslim communities, the radical Islamic movement, and the broader international community. After meticulously analyzing the actions and reputations of van Gogh and others in his milieu, the motives of the murderer, and the details of the assassination itself, Eyerman considers the various narrative frames the mass media used to characterize the killing.

Eyerman utilizes theories of social drama and cultural trauma to evaluate the reactions to and effects of the murder. A social drama is triggered by a public transgression of taken-for-granted norms; one that threatens the collective identity of a society may develop into a cultural trauma. Eyerman contends that the assassination of Theo van Gogh quickly became a cultural trauma because it resonated powerfully with the postwar psyche of the Netherlands. As part of his analysis of the murder and reactions to it, he discusses significant aspects of twentieth-century Dutch history, including the country’s treatment of Jews during the German occupation, the loss of its colonies in the wake of World War II, its recruitment of immigrant workers, and the failure of Dutch troops to protect Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book The Work of Art in the World by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book The Right to Look by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Visual Pedagogy by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Negro Soy Yo by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Queer Phenomenology by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book The Brazilian Photographs of Genevieve Naylor, 1940-1942 by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Conscripts of Modernity by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Becoming Reinaldo Arenas by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Cycles of Conflict, Centuries of Change by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Extra/Ordinary by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book From Silver to Cocaine by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Managing Legal Uncertainty by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Talking to the Dead by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
Cover of the book Protecting American Health Care Consumers by Ron Eyerman, Julia Adams, George Steinmetz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy