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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

Search Brown

 

 

Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]

A voodoo doll of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has recently been commercialized, and the president is not amused. It was commercialized in October, and comes with 12 pins and a manual on how to curse him. Sarkozy actually went to court asking that the doll be removed, and his motion was rejected. His lawyer argued that the president "has exclusive and absolute rights over his own image."

What does it mean that one of the most powerful presidents in the world is scared of a voodoo doll depicting him? From his lawyer's statement, Sarkozy seems to think that the doll actually is his image-- which means he is playing into the whole conception of voodoo. Does this show that the power of the supernatural still frightens?

The Sarkozy doll is rough, undetailed and poorly representative of the man. An outline of a person was made into a doll, and then a rough contour of a body was printed on the doll. A detailed and intricate face was also printed on the top blob, rendering him human and identifiable. While the contour of his entire body is sketched, he does not have hands, feet or a neck. His legs are printed as separate, but the legs of the doll are not physically separate. There are no curves, all the lines are straight.

Throughout his entire body, words connoting Sarkozy's negative incidents have been printed. The 26 different incidents seem to have been placed arbitrarily across his body, with the exception of 'pouvoir d'achat' which has been stamped on the back of his head. 'Pouvoir d'achat' means purchasing power and its' increase was a crucial campaign argument for Sarkozy. It has since left people extremely disappointed, and thus is situated on the most sensitive part of his body- the brain. The fact that the doll is pre-labeled gives less freedom and power to its user, since Sarkozy's wrongs are pre-emptively listed. It also takes the doll away from the strictly physical evil of a voodoo, and into the symbolic.

There seems to be a dichotomy between the way Sarkozy's head and Sarkozy's body are depicted. This is first evident by the disconnect in print between his sketched body and his sketched head-- the lines do not cross each other. His face is also personalized, whereas his body could be anonymous. No body organs are included, the print almost looks like a badly drawn shadow. In contrast, the face is unmistakably that of the French President. The pins are short but can pierce through his entire body.

Uploaded Image

How people have interacted with the doll:

Part I: My roommate gets carried away:

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Part II: The doll, Harrison, and Harrison and the doll:

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Sarkozy voodoo dolls become bestsellers:

[YouTube video]

Other modern references:

"You're like Voodoo honey, My pictures you stole? You play me like a puppet. Sticking pins in a doll! " - 'Voodoo Child' song by Rogue Traders

Back to The Voodoo doll