Aerial Imperialism: Syrian Ruinscapes and Vertical Media
▻https://www.failedarchitecture.com/aerial-imperialism-syrian-ruinscapes-and-vertical-media
“Drone videos of the heavily bombed Syrian cities of Homs, Aleppo and Jobar were first recorded and broadcasted online by Russian state media outlets like Russia Today news and Ruptly. ‘Invited’ by the Assad regime (and in violation of popular Syrian sovereignty), Russia’s infinite access to Syrian ground and air space has enabled the Russian state media to capture the least obstructed and most controlled visual documentation of the war space. The drone videos were the first high-quality aerial representation of the large-scale destruction in these Syrian cities. Millions of internet users together with news platforms from all corners of the political spectrum shared these videos, but very few people paused to evaluate the footage or point at its inherent banality and irony: Why would the very military power that has taken part in the mass bombardment, destruction, killing and displacement of Aleppo, Homs and Jobar fly drones over these cities and document its very own footprints of militarised violence? What purpose would such images serve for an imperial power like Russia?”