Iconoclasm, Conflicting Camps and Counter Images

This section is related to what the respondents said about the pictures under study. A dissection of the data collected from the respondents also revealed that there were acts of iconoclasm in relation to pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis. Mitchell (2015:27) defines iconoclasm as the effort to destroy images, particularly for political and religious expediency. Moreover, it is also worth highlighting that iconoclasm is not only limited to images but also to verbal and textual discourses, hence, Mitchell (2015:32) adds that iconoclasm is not just the destruction of graven images but also the purging of words and ideas to arrive at a purified language. The biblical narrative of the destruction of the Golden Calf in a bid to fight idolatry by the Israelites represents a classic example of iconoclasm. Cases of iconoclasm in Byzantium, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, USA, South Africa and Nigeria are highlighted in the third chapter of this thesis. Acts of iconoclasm are triggered by iconophobia which is defined by Larsson (2012) as the suspicion and anxiety towards the power exerted by images. Accordingly, this section discusses iconoclasm in Zimbabwe’s Crisis from the point of view of the respondents. Also, the state’s efforts to counteract pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis will also be discussed. Since the analysis of data reveals that pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis led to the emergence of two diametrically opposed camps: (1) journalists and (2) government officials; this chapter will also discuss about these two antagonistic camps, from the point of view of the respondents.

Although the respondent did not specifically mention the word “iconoclasm” in their responses, their responses and descriptions rhyme with iconoclasm in many respects. For instance, 20 out of 25 respondents acknowledged that since 2000 up to 2008, the state was hostile to foreign journalists and went to the extent of damaging their cameras and images in order to suppress the image of violence and economic collapse in Zimbabwe. Such anxiety and hostility towards images fit neatly into the iconoclasm grid. In the same vein, respondent 18 (2017) argued that the hostility of the Zimbabwean government towards journalists is an acknowledgement of the power of images as the government was afraid that foreign journalists were going to report (pictorially and verbally) what was happening in the country. The same respondent noted that

local and international journalists covering Zimbabwe during the land reform programme were in many cases forced to delete some “sensitive” pictures (still and moving) they had taken by state security agents.

The narrative of the persecution of journalists is also corroborated by Willem’s (2011) account which reveals that the government of Zimbabwe tried to suppress the images of political violence and economic collapse in the country through cancellation of media houses’ operating licenses, destruction of photographs and videos, expulsion and physical persecution of international journalists mainly from BBC, CNN, France 24, and AP, among other international media stations. Also, Willem’s (2011) account is in harmony with the dictates of iconophobia and iconoclasm by Zimbabwe’s government.

Local journalists and media houses were not spared from the state’s hostile attitude. A case in point is the bombing of the Daily News premises in Harare by suspected state security agents in 2001 (BBC News, 2001, January 28). Such a hostile attitude by the Zimbabwean government in a bid to suppress images, including through the destruction of journalists’ cameras, newspapers and their premises, dovetails with the concept of iconoclasm. In his presentation at the Haus der Kunst, Mitchell (2012) cites three phases related to iconoclasm: the first phase involves the existence of an image before its destruction (past), the second phase relates to the images during its destruction (present) whilst the third phase relates to the re-emergence or reincarnation of the same image after its destruction (future). However, the argument that protruded from the respondents is that the government of Zimbabwe was fully aware of the

“power” of images, hence, the attempt to suppress and destroy them, as well as the gagging, expelling and persecution of local and international journalists. For instance, respondent seven (2016) argued that it is most likely that some of the iconic pictures selected for this study triggered fury and hostility from the government of Zimbabwe. Therefore, it could be said that the iconic pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis triggered acts of iconoclasm from the state.

Acts of iconoclasm by the Zimbabwean government seem not to have been a well calculated move. For instance, respondent 25 (2017) noted that: “The government of Zimbabwe made a mistake by expelling and persecuting international journalists as this led to increased international media attention on the country and consequently, the emergence of numerous negative pictures and videos about the country. The government’s actions were tantamount to

“shooting the messenger.” In fact, seven respondents to this study also observed that

government’s actions in the context of the persecution of journalists and suppression of images depicting the (violent) land reform programme, political violence and economic collapse backfired as this led to more media attention on the country and the proliferation of images which the government sought to suppress.

Some respondents noted that even after the expulsion of foreign journalists by the government, some foreign journalists working in cahoots with civic society members and local journalists in Zimbabwe managed to take more pictures and make documentaries in relation to the country’s political and economic crisis. Willems (2011:94) concurs with this perspective and notes that:

Despite the government’s refusal to accredit BBC correspondents, the broadcaster still managed to produce at least seven documentaries on the country, apart from regular feature stories on the news. According to a report published by a BBC watchdog, out of 48 documentaries shown on the BBC from November 2000 to January 2004, Zimbabwe received most attention with seven documentaries. Zimbabwe came after the Israel/Palestine conflict which was covered in 16 documentaries. Apart from regular news features, programmes like Correspondent, Panorama, Hard Talk and Breakfast with Frost carried several editions on Zimbabwe. Most documentaries were made by reporters not officially accredited by the Zimbabwean authorities.

Both John Sweeney and Fergal Keane came to Zimbabwe on tourist visas which further seemed to dramatize the content of programmes.

From Willem’s (2011) observation above, it can be deduced that the more the Zimbabwean government tried to suppress the news (including images); more documentaries (images) were actually made about the country. This scenario dovetails with the thesis by Michael Taussig that the destruction or suppression of images, is a sure way of guaranteeing them an even more potent presence in memory, or as reincarnated in new forms, hence, the fundamental law of the physics of the image is that images cannot be destroyed (Mitchell, 2015:32). More than half of the respondents cited attempts by the government to suppress the images pertaining to the political and economic crisis in the country as straightforward evidence that they knew the negative effect of these images, especially on the national image of Zimbabwe, hence, their desperate attempt to suppress them.

From the above discussion, it can be deduced that the pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis, including the iconic pictures selected for this study, created two diametrically opposed and ideologically conflicting groups: (1) government officials who suppressed and destroyed images and; (2) journalists who wanted to expose the images in question in order for the international community to be aware of Zimbabwe’s Crisis. The former group can be best described as the iconophobes and iconoclasts whereas the latter could be associated with the

iconodules and iconophiles. As indicated in the theoretical and conceptual framework chapter, an iconodule is the one who reveres images whereas an iconophile according to the Thesaurus Dictionary is the: “one who loves icons, illustrations, pictures.” Although the pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis were not “revered” or loved by journalists due to their graphic nature, the same journalists did not want them suppressed and destroyed. Such journalists are arguably closer to iconodules and iconophiles, as opposed to iconophobes and iconoclasts. Citing the case of Byzantium, the discussion in chapter three also showed that iconodules were willing to take extreme measures to promote the preservation of images and to avert their destruction. In Zimbabwe’s scenario, Willem (2011:94) mentions that international journalists took extreme measures including disguising themselves as tourists in order to make documentaries related to Zimbabwe’s Crisis.

More than half of the respondents to the study highlighted the hostility between the government and international journalists. Therefore, it could be said that, pictures depicting Zimbabwe’s Crisis led to the emergence of two conflicting groups: (1) iconophobes and iconoclasts and (2) iconophiles and iconodules. It is also important to highlight that both iconology and image science are associated with the above-mentioned groups. Accordingly, Mitchell (1986:3) observes that: “Iconology turned out to be, not just the science of icons, but the political psychology of icons, the study of iconophobia, iconophilia, and the struggle between iconoclasm and idolatry.” In relation to image science, Mitchell (2015:26) also points out that image science should address the divisions between iconoclastic and iconophilic camps, hence, the discussion of these camps in this chapter.

Importantly, it was also observed by some respondents that apart from attempts to suppress and destroy images related to Zimbabwe’s Crisis, the state also tried to counteract negative international media publicity and images through propaganda and other counter images. For instance, all the respondents cited state propaganda and the accompanying pictures especially on national broadcaster (ZBC) as an effort to counteract pictures from the international media and negative publicity in general. State propaganda during that time is associated with the then Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo. For instance, Gatsheni (2009:1150) describes Moyo as

“an able articulator and promoter” of such a propaganda campaign between 2000 and 2004. In the same breath, Gatsheni (2009:1150) cites an example of one propaganda jingle related to the land reform programme, engineered by Moyo and crafted along theological lines: “In the beginning was the land. The people were on the land. The people owned the land. As it was in

the beginning, so shall it always be. Welcome to Zimbabwe. We are down to earth!” In fact, Chitando cited in Gatsheni (2009:1150) argues that Jonathan Moyo “masterminded one of the most sustained propaganda campaigns in postcolonial Africa.” A closer look at the above jingle shows that it is also linked to verbal imagery.

An observation by the researcher also reveals that state propaganda during that time heavily relied on songs, speeches and pictures which qualify as verbal and pictorial images respectively. The purpose of such propaganda was to create a “counter image” in reaction to the international media’s image about Zimbabwe. This is in line with Mitchell’s (2012) thesis that “every image creates a counter-image.” Thus, the international media publicity which was characterised by pictures in relation to Zimbabwe, led to the intensification of state propaganda which could be described as an effort to create a counter image by the state.