Joker in the flames of Beirut

In Lebanon, the challenge has a face: that of the "Joker" played by Joaquin Phoenix. The Lebanese population is protesting for the fifth consecutive day against the regime, throughout the country. Some young people have used the villain's makeup to hide their faces and impress.

With the face stained with the colors of the Lebanese flag – red, green and white – and the shape of the eyes reminiscent of the cedar of Lebanon, a symbol of the country. The imagery produced by the film Todd Philipps has permeated the Lebanese protest movement.

The film's finale shows a demonstration in which the crowd protests against the wealth, the elite and the system that crush the inhabitants of Gotham.

Sociologist Sari Hanafi (American University of Beirut) was asked why the Lebanese chose this type of protest. "The main objective is to hide one's face when insulting politicians like Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader)," the professor explained. But why really Joker? It is an artistic way of demonstrating. A protest carried out in a creative way: "It also underlines the need to give a" distinctive "to the movement, as for the yellow vests in France".

Among the crowd there are also the masks of "V for Vendetta", as in other events in the world.

Faced with this unprecedented popular mobilization, on Monday 21 the Lebanese government adopted a series of reforms so far blocked, but the protesters continued to shout their anger against a political class accused of having abandoned Lebanon to itself.