Prison, Nuisance, or Spectacle? The 2009 “Cell” Protests in Tbilisi, Georgia

Abstract

For over three months in 2009 demonstrations took place in front of the Georgian Parliament on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia. The protest involved a unique production of urban space as makeshift prison “cells” were placed in the landscape. The cells emerged following calls by the host of a popular reality television show, Cell #5. In order to illustrate the multiple meanings that people have of terrains of resistance, I highlight three dominant associations that people attributed to the cells: the prison metaphor; a public nuisance; and a spectacle. This case clearly exemplifies how popular culture will not only impact people's geopolitical understandings of the world but can directly alter the landscape and transform and encourage oppositional politics in a direct and immediate manner.