Hurtful Augenblick: Affect’s Doing in a Series of Instagram Stories of Resistance

Abstract: This thesis explores the affective qualities in a set of Instagram stories juxtaposing photos of the pre- and after 1979 Iranian revolution protests. It poses the central question: ‘How can the power of photographic images in an era of social media be elucidated based on theories of affect?’ By asking this, another subsequent question arises: ‘How is an affective reading of a type of material of mixed and complex nature formulated?’ These two questions shape the structure of this thesis. To answer the subsequent question, the first chapter of the thesis looks at the complexities of affect theories in different humanities disciplines while taking the empirical material as the constant point of departure in formulating an analysis structure and a theoretical framework. The theoretical framework aids in both formulating the analysis structure, and the detailed discussions needed to answer the main research question. The thesis brings in various vectors of theory but mainly dwells on performativity, phenomenology, and semiotics the way it is employed by Roland Barthes and Margaret Olin’s reading of Barthes. Vittorio Gallese’s Embodied Simulation theory is also of importance in the discussions throughout the thesis. In chapter two, this thesis employs the outlined analysis structure to summon different theoretical discussions to investigate the affective qualities of the empirical material. Through this investigation, the thesis elaborates on the power of the photographic image to provoke affect in the beholder and its potential when represented through newer forms of media representations to answer the central research question. Furthermore, it proposes reconsiderations of the usual manner of theorizing the visual material more generally.