Divine Intervention: A Decolonial Psychoanalytic Reading

Abstract

This paper offers a decolonial psychoanalytic reading of Elia Suleiman's 2002 film, Divine Intervention. It begins by critiquing the Eurocentric gatekeeping within film studies that often marginalizes Palestinian cinema, arguing that publishing on Divine Intervention is a political act against the "prohibition of Palestine" in the Global North. Lacanian psychoanalytic theory is extended to propose that the decolonial subject is "doubly divided due to colonial difference," leading to a "double-unconsciousness." The analysis delves into the film's portrayal of jouissance (enjoyment), distinguishing between "mythic jouissance" (colonial oppression) and "divine jouissance" (decolonial liberation). The paper interprets the film's "absurdist" style and the main character's (E.S.) silence as an active, agentic force. Further, the film's political commentary is examined, particularly through the symbolism of a red balloon representing Yasser Arafat's "ego-politics" and vacuous authority. The study also explores the film's unconventional theological undertones, portraying colonialism as the Antichrist and interpreting the Woman character as a fida'iya (one who sacrifices for a cause), embodying a "feminine aesthetic violence" that challenges colonial structures. Ultimately, the paper argues that Suleiman's cinema presents a theory of decolonial power through its representation of decolonial subjectivity.