The Abu Ghraib Effect

by Stephen F. Eisenman

The line between punishment and torture can be razor-thin—yet the entire world agreed that it was definitively crossed at Abu Ghraib. Or perhaps not. George W. Bush won a second term in office only months after the Abu Ghraib scandal was uncovered, and only the lowest-ranking U.S. soldiers involved in the scandal have been prosecuted. Where was the public outcry? Stephen Eisenman offers here an unsettling explanation that exposes our darkest inclinations in the face of all-too-human brutality.             Eisenman characterizes Americans’ willful dismissal of the images as “the Abu Ghraib effect,” rooted in the ways that the images of tortured Abu Ghraib prisoners tapped into a reactionary sentiment of imperialist self-justification and power. The complex elements in the images fit the “pathos formula,” he argues, an enduring artistic motif in which victims are depicted as taking pleasure in their own extreme pain. Meanwhile, the explicitly sexual nature of the Abu Ghraib tortures allowed Americans to rationalize the deeds away as voluntary pleasure acts by the prisoners—a delusional reaction, but, The Abu Ghraib Effect reveals, one with historical precedence. From Greek sculptures to Goya paintings, Eisenman deftly connects such works and their disturbing pathos motif to the Abu Ghraib images. Skillfully weaving together visual theory, history, philosophy, and current events, Eisenman peels back the political obfuscation to probe the Abu Ghraib images themselves, contending that Americans can only begin to grapple with the ramifications of torture when the moral detachment of the “Abu Ghraib effect” breaks down and the familiar is revealed to be horribly unfamiliar.

Genres: Art, History, Academic

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2007

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant examination of the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs within the context of art history, “The Abu Ghraib Effect” has already entered into popular jargon – a testament to its power as a popular political meme. The value of this brief study, however, is that it provides a germane and enlightening perspective on the Abu Ghraib photos that is more refined than that stemming from traditional political analysis.

The upshot of Stephen Eisenman’s thesis is that the discernable traditions of Greco-Roman art point to a way of seeing and understanding images of pain, torture, and suffering that, contrary to bolstering the repugnance of the Abu Ghraib photos, make them strangely palatable – even soothing – in their familiarity. This isn’t a book about how awful (either politically or personally) the incidents at Abu Ghraib were; it’s a book about how we psychologically process such images within their historical, political and aesthetic contexts.

[Gianluca Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goes a little far when it seems to demonise art playing with pleasure born from being the recipient of violence in the James Bond example. We're invited to empathise with Bond, so while it is not a repudiation of the pathos formula by any means, I don't think it's a straight example at all. While certainly, we are invited to admire things for their intricacy regardless of morality at times, I don't think this is a wholly bad impulse when it comes to fiction. It is, however, when it comes to real life espionage operations where people tend to talk about the brilliance of an operation so as to erase the victims. Also, the body being subordinate to a wider element such as the country is not necessarily a bad thing. One example would be the men who spent years underground in the Vietnam War. This undoubtedly had an impact on their bodies but it was in service of fighting American imperialism. So, in that sense, the book seems a little individualist. The pathos element used to demonstrate nobility can be used for good and bad (but it is interesting to think - when we say a prisoner is admirable in their resemblance of Christ, we are writing them off as dead already). Hell, even the pathos formula used to depict an enemy as evil can make for provocative art. That's the thing, there's connections to be made but is this entire mode of communication unequivocally bad? I wouldn't say so.

[Sarah C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watched Stephen put this project together over a series of lectures and conferences. Very thoughtful unpacking of layered, nuanced conversation around artifice, digital imagery, documentary photography as a whole, etc.

[Tamanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly detailed and in-depth analysis of "the Abu Ghraib effect" in the context of art history, and how the demonisation of islam was a driving factor