Sufi Aesthetics and Cinematic Journeys: A Close Reading of Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul
Visual Anthropology October 19, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/08949468.2024.2410111 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul functions as a resistant response to post-9/11 Islamophobia, reading the characters' desert journey through Sufi aesthetics as a search for wisdom and spiritual transformation. Contends that the film's cinematic choices evoke Sufi consciousness and challenge both Islamic fundamentalism and Islamophobia, offering a humanist, cross-cultural counter to the destruction of war. |
Abstract
Following the 9/11 attacks in the USA, Islamophobia became the popular justification for the U.S.-led global "war on terror." In this paper I read the film Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul as a resistant response to this assault. The film follows the journey of two central characters, Ishtar and her grandfather, Baba Aziz, who embark on a journey searching for a Sufi meeting. I read this journey through the lens of Sufi aesthetics as a search for wisdom and spiritual transformation. The film evokes Sufi consciousness through cinematic choices of mise en scène, cinematography, music and editing to create a transcendental experience, a meditation on the relationship between the cosmos and the human. The film poses a challenge both to Islamic fundamentalism and to Islamophobia; the portrayed journey through the desert acts as a symbolic meeting-ground for people displaced from their homes. The film stands at the intersection of Sufism and cinema, fostering a humanist cross-cultural engagement that challenges the meaningless destruction of war.