Towards the violated face: the Mugshot of Bophana and the Cambodian tragedy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v16i2p239-260

Keywords:

Rithy Pahn, Testemony, Khmer Rouge, Face, Trace

Abstract

Can a face in fact be totally annihilated? From this provocation, we aimed at the mugshot of Bophana, the guiding thread of this text. The essay tries to reflect on the vestigial testimony of her face based on philosophical concepts present in Lévinas and Butler, seeking a policy of images, especially those that expose faces and bodies victimized by violence. We also sought to understand the method of filmmaker Rithy Panh, who made an important documentary on the memory of the Cambodian genocide motivated by Bophana’s photograph. By making the archival images of the extermination a kind of gravestone for the dead, Panh’s method also approaches the epistolary gesture present in the elimination of Bophana and her husband, Ly Sitha.

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Author Biographies

  • Ricardo Lessa Filho, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

    Currently a Post-Doctorate intern (with a CNPq scholarship) in the Graduate Program in Communication at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). Ph.D. in Communication by the Universidade Federal Pernambuco (UFPE).

  • Frederico Vieira, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

    Ph.D. in Communication by UFMG. Member of the Lévinas and Alterity Research Group, associated with the Faculdade Jesuíta de Filosofia e Teologia, in Belo Horizonte; of the Mobilize Group, UFMG, and Public Opinion; and of the Margin Group, associated with the Graduate Program in Political Science at UFMG.

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Published

2022-09-02

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2022)

Section

Em Pauta/Agenda

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Copyright (c) 2022 Ricardo Lessa Filho, Frederico Vieira

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How to Cite

Lessa Filho, R., & Vieira, F. (2022). Towards the violated face: the Mugshot of Bophana and the Cambodian tragedy . MATRIZes, 16(2), 239-260. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v16i2p239-260

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