Olivia Thayer
In the Echoes of Resistance
2024, Bard College Berlin
An echo is created when a sound hits a hard surface. Whether a cry or joyful shout, a musical note, clapping, stomping, a whisper… these sounds are lost to the ether when they’re made in open air, free to travel for as long as their breath allows them, and eventually they die out. When sonic expressions of life are not free to escape into the open sky, however, they must still go somewhere. The echo makes itself heard again and again, despite being the result of entrapment and containment, or because of it.
The reverberations of Argentina’s rock nacional movement were felt throughout the youth population and posed a threat to the country’s military dictatorship (1976-83). The lyrics and rhythm of the rock music that emerged from this movement are powerful and moving in themselves — many were subjected to censorship and were also forced to move underground, as the youth generation was largely targeted and “disappeared” by the regime. The most important aspect of rock nacional though, was its function as a literal space for counterculture: live music created a venue for youth gatherings, which allowed a channel for collective expression and subversion. As an echo chamber for resistance, rock music venues provided the space for friendship in a dark time of Argentina’s history.
Today, the military dictatorship is over. But many countries, Germany in the first place, are plagued by censorship over the issue of Palestinian human rights. Once again, people desperate to have their voices heard are forced to find spaces that allow for, this time, anti-genocidal resistance. In 2024, the streets of Berlin are being claimed by the Palestinian movement. The street is transformed into a space that echoes with protest, clamor, and counterculture.
