‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>

In his novel about the Egyptian Revolution, <i>The City Always Wins</i> (2017), Omar Robert Hamilton shows that the alternative media possess mass engagement and global reach, while threatening power. However, over the course of his novel Hamilton traces the crushing of the ‘Tw...

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Main Author:	Claire Chambers
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-04-01
Series:	Humanities
Subjects:	Omar Robert Hamilton Arab Spring Egyptian Revolution media social media art
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/8/2/86

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spelling	doaj-18099b0092e6412c8e3634b9efe77cac2020-11-25T01:36:39ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872019-04-01828610.3390/h8020086h8020086‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>Claire Chambers0English and Related Literature, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UKIn his novel about the Egyptian Revolution, <i>The City Always Wins</i> (2017), Omar Robert Hamilton shows that the alternative media possess mass engagement and global reach, while threatening power. However, over the course of his novel Hamilton traces the crushing of the ‘Twitter revolution’ and the rise of a disillusionment and despair among the revolutionaries. This downward trajectory is typified both in the appellative journey from Hamilton’s non-profit media collective Mosireen—‘those who insist’—to the novel’s similar group, portentously named Chaos; and in the text’s reverse-chronological structure of ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Today’, and ‘Yesterday’. The author uses Twitter as an archive of an alternative, resistant history of revolutionary struggle; he embeds Tweets in the fabric of this experimental novel; and social media posts interrupt and punctuate the narrative as in the real life of his millennial characters. In this article I explore the novel’s representations of (social) media and the impact these have both on everyday lives and modes of protest. Despite promising beginnings, the internet ultimately turns ‘toxic’ and is depicted as a Pandora’s box of dis- and misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news, and the manipulations of state media lackeys. A more lasting alternative to media may be ‘creative insurgency’. As such, I conclude this article by discussing what art can achieve that (citizen) journalism cannot, and how this applies to the novel’s portrayals of art, particularly music.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/8/2/86Omar Robert HamiltonArab SpringEgyptian Revolutionmediasocial mediaart
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Claire Chambers
spellingShingle	Claire Chambers ‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i> Humanities Omar Robert Hamilton Arab Spring Egyptian Revolution media social media art
author_facet	Claire Chambers
author_sort	Claire Chambers
title	‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>
title_short	‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>
title_full	‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>
title_fullStr	‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>
title_full_unstemmed	‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>
title_sort	‘mobile phones and the internet, mate’: (social) media, art, and revolution in omar robert hamilton’s <i>the city always wins</i>
publisher	MDPI AG
series	Humanities
issn	2076-0787
publishDate	2019-04-01
description	In his novel about the Egyptian Revolution, <i>The City Always Wins</i> (2017), Omar Robert Hamilton shows that the alternative media possess mass engagement and global reach, while threatening power. However, over the course of his novel Hamilton traces the crushing of the ‘Twitter revolution’ and the rise of a disillusionment and despair among the revolutionaries. This downward trajectory is typified both in the appellative journey from Hamilton’s non-profit media collective Mosireen—‘those who insist’—to the novel’s similar group, portentously named Chaos; and in the text’s reverse-chronological structure of ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Today’, and ‘Yesterday’. The author uses Twitter as an archive of an alternative, resistant history of revolutionary struggle; he embeds Tweets in the fabric of this experimental novel; and social media posts interrupt and punctuate the narrative as in the real life of his millennial characters. In this article I explore the novel’s representations of (social) media and the impact these have both on everyday lives and modes of protest. Despite promising beginnings, the internet ultimately turns ‘toxic’ and is depicted as a Pandora’s box of dis- and misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news, and the manipulations of state media lackeys. A more lasting alternative to media may be ‘creative insurgency’. As such, I conclude this article by discussing what art can achieve that (citizen) journalism cannot, and how this applies to the novel’s portrayals of art, particularly music.
topic	Omar Robert Hamilton Arab Spring Egyptian Revolution media social media art
url	https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/8/2/86
work_keys_str_mv	AT clairechambers mobilephonesandtheinternetmatesocialmediaartandrevolutioninomarroberthamiltonsithecityalwayswinsi
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‘Mobile Phones and the Internet, Mate’: (Social) Media, Art, and Revolution in Omar Robert Hamilton’s <i>The City Always Wins</i>

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