The Relation between the Resistance Identity and Soft Power:A case Study on the Cinema of Palestine

In humanities, the concept known as "soft power" is used to describe the ability to indirectly influence the behavior of others through the means that contrast with the so-called "hard power". On the national level, soft power is defined as the capabilities of a state to influence the prevailing behavior patterns by employing certain tools. Culture is a potential source from which these tools originate. Cinema as a popular medium of mass communication is a significant cultural tool of exercising soft power. "Resistance Identity", on the other hand, is a concept that explains a certain type of relationship between identity and power. Resistance identity is promoted by the actors who find themselves in a situation of being devalued by the dominant norms. Promotion of resistance identity is mainly aimed at constructing a defensive identity against the dominant social institutions and at emphasizing the lines of distinction. This research begins with explaining the concept of soft war as viewed by Joseph Nye and the concept of resistance identity as viewed by Manuel Castells. It then proceeds with studying the historical development of the cinema of Palestine in order to analyze the process through which cinema evolved into a resistance identity and a tool of soft power for the state of Palestine. A study of the various periods of the Palestinian cinema shows how Palestinian filmmakers have employed cinema as a tool to resist the hard power which thereafter turns into a tool of soft power thanks to the success of the Palestinian filmmakers on the international arena.