Review: The Palestinian Idea: Film, Media, and the Radical Imagination, by Greg Burris

Recently published in the Insubordinate Spaces series of Temple University Press, Greg Burris's latest book builds on his past scholarship on race, film, and cultural theory, with a focus on theorizing “the Palestinian idea” in relation to Palestine (solidarity) film and media. The first chapter presents a chain of bold questions that establish the book's philosophical aspirations: to recognize that the future is already here, equality for Palestinians is already present, and multifaith coexistence between Jews, Muslims, and Christians, (both Arab and non-Arab) in Israel already exists—although none of these conditions are the predominant order.

Informed by the writings of Edward Said, who saw the emancipatory possibilities for all...