The Ambiguity of Subversion: Resistance through Radio Broadcasting. Issue 165 (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vogler, Gisli
• Is Part Of: Theoria. Volume 67:Issue 165(2020)
• Page Start: 65
• Page End: 91
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: betrayal -- complicity -- everyday resistance -- Frantz Fanon -- radio -- South Africa; Arts -- Periodicals; Humanities -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; 082
• DOI: 10.3167/th.2020.6716504
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0040-5817

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores subversion as a practice of resistance and draws on the example of subversive radio for illustration. Radio became an important site of power struggles in the twentieth century, often placed in the service of both resistance and oppression. An examination of subversive acts in radio broadcasting, I argue, helps shift the focus away from the myths of heroic resistance, directing attention to the uncertainties encountered by the subversive actor. To make this argument, I build on Frantz Fanon's influential work on the resistant potential of radio and engage with literature on subversion and everyday resistance. The article illustrates the ambiguity of subversion on the case study of Radio Bantu, a broadcaster of ethnic-specific radio programmes established by the South African apartheid regime.