a presentation by Yannis Skarpelos and Vicky Skyftou, at the International Visual Sociology Association 2012 Conference at St Francis College, Brooklyn NY, USA, delivered on July 11th

1. (c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

2. Pretty city, pretty flame
Violence and the city in the Age of Crisis
(c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
Yannis Skarpelos & Vicky Skyftou

3. in the age of crisis, when the city
is transformed into an arena or a battlefield
(c) Yannis Biliris, www.greekriots.com

4. violence is not a physical quality
nor by-product of crisis
(c) John Kolesidis/Reuters

5. crisis is a multi-dimensional phenomenon:
economic, political, moral
(c) Yannis Biliris, www.greekriots.com

6. media hold an important role, either as part
of the system or as counter-cultural agents
(c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

7. the same holds regarding international media
(c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

8. in February 12th people of all social
backgrounds went into streets

9. in the British news Greece was
the central point of discussion

10. the key-words engraved in memory about
Greece were ‘vandalism’, ‘democracy’,
‘destruction’, ‘violence’ and ‘shame’
(c) Yannis Biliris, www.greekriots.com

11. ‘something becomes real - to those are
elsewhere, following it as “news” - by being
photographed. But a catastrophe that is
experienced, will often seem eerily like its
representation’
Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others

12. the dramatic images of Greek riots characterized
Greece as a country that democracy is falling apart
(c) John Kolesidis/Reuters

13. ‘if modern Greeks have a heritage
of democracy, they can also lay claim
to tyranny, oligarchy, aristocracy,
plutocracy and monarchy -
Greek words all’
Jonathan Jones, The Guardian

14. the protestors personify democracy. They are
fighting for their own rights
(c) Yannis Biliris, www.greekriots.com

15. the death and the rebirth of a new Greece, of a
‘new’ democratic country as seen through the eyes
of the economic guardians of eurozone
(c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

16. what about greek media?
(c) Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

17. systemic media present crisis as ‘natural’,
as an a-historic situation
they support the existence of collective guilt
and -therefore- collective punishment

18. they oppose to grassroots violence
as un-necessary and unjustifiable
urging ‘everyone’ to denounce
‘violence, wherever it comes from’
thus putting in equal terms
the protesters and the repression forces.

19. on the other hand, counter-systemic media
represent crisis as a historical product,
looking to locate its raisons-d’ etre
they focus on the violence excersised by
repression mechanisms, the violence
excercised by power, the corruption of
political elites, the violence that the citizens
suffer due to unemployment, insecurity,
impoverisation, the violence suffered by
immigrants

20. the most influential newspaper of this
category, Eleftherotypia, ceased to exist last
December, due to financial shortcomings
no television channel falls into this category
of media
an aggessive radio station supporting these
ideas climbed to the top of the chart since
April

21. a few important dates
(c) John Kolesidis/Reuters

22. June 28th, 2011 - The 1st Memorandum

23. June 28th, 2011 - The 1st Memorandum

24. February 12th, 2012 - The 2nd Memorandum

25. April 4th, 2012 - A public suicide

26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=UXpcyt_66sQ&feature=related