@article{ART003306545},
author={Junhee Yoon and KOO Gi Yeon},
title={The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero},
journal={Cross-Cultural Studies},
issn={1598-0685},
year={2026},
volume={77},
pages={313-356}
TY - JOUR
AU - Junhee Yoon
AU - KOO Gi Yeon
TI - The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero
JO - Cross-Cultural Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 77
IS - null
PB - Center for Cross Culture Studies
SP - 313
EP - 356
SN - 1598-0685
AB - This article examines From Ground Zero (2024), an omnibus film created by twenty-two filmmakers from the Gaza Strip. It analyzes the extreme violence inflicted upon Palestinians by Israeli colonial power, as well as the ethical and political practices adopted by Palestinian filmmakers in response. Utilizing Achille Mbembe's concept of 'necropolitics' and Jasbir Puar's idea of 'the right to maim,' this study explores how death, injury, and precarity are systematically woven into everyday life in Gaza.
Unlike mainstream media representations of Palestine that often depict inevitable tragedy, this film highlights the ordinary lives of individuals across various genders, ages, and occupations, portraying violence as a persistent structural condition rather than an exceptional event. Building on Judith Butler's theory of self-accountability, this paper further investigates how the filmmakers engage in ethical self-construction by narrating their experiences under conditions of subjugation.
The article emphasizes how opacity, vulnerability, and relationality with others—who can both sustain or endanger lives—serve as ethical resources that resist the logic of mutual assured destruction. The film's ethical narratives extend into political performativity within Butler's theoretical framework, utilizing the re-signification and misappropriation of the commands imposed by oppressive power. Ultimately, this study argues that From Ground Zero functions not just as a depiction of extreme violence but as a cinematic performance that articulates possibilities for resistance and emancipation within the very conditions of colonial domination, thus providing a critical intervention in contemporary discussions on colonial violence, visuality, and politics.
KW - Palestinian Movie;From Ground Zero;Necropolitics;Maiming;Self-Construction;Misappropriation;Palestinian Liberation
DO -
UR -
ER -
Junhee Yoon and KOO Gi Yeon. (2026). The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero. Cross-Cultural Studies, 77, 313-356.
Junhee Yoon and KOO Gi Yeon. 2026, "The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero", Cross-Cultural Studies, vol.77, pp.313-356.
Junhee Yoon, KOO Gi Yeon "The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero" Cross-Cultural Studies 77 pp.313-356 (2026) : 313.
Junhee Yoon, KOO Gi Yeon. The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero. 2026; 77 313-356.
Junhee Yoon and KOO Gi Yeon. "The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero" Cross-Cultural Studies 77(2026) : 313-356.
Junhee Yoon; KOO Gi Yeon. The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero. Cross-Cultural Studies, 77, 313-356.
Junhee Yoon; KOO Gi Yeon. The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero. Cross-Cultural Studies. 2026; 77 313-356.
Junhee Yoon, KOO Gi Yeon. The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero. 2026; 77 313-356.
Junhee Yoon and KOO Gi Yeon. "The Possibility of Palestinian Liberation and Performative Self-Construction: Focusing on the Movie From Ground Zero" Cross-Cultural Studies 77(2026) : 313-356.
