When low-level officer 'Azzam refuses to allow pariah officer, Ra'oof, to enter the mukhabarat building, Ra'oof explodes at the insubordinate young man. He pushes him to his knees and shaves his head in front of the other men as 'Azzam pleads that he was following dictates from above. Undeterred, he forces 'Azzam to take off his shirt and pants, then commands him to do push-ups, jump up and down, and slide across the floor on his elbows. As another officer pounds on him with a bat, 'Azzam breaks down. He takes hold of a gun, crying out that he has had enough of this humiliation. He shoots into the air, then at Ra'oof's feet. The encounter between Ra'oof and 'Azzam explores the links between violence and masculine dignity. 'Azzam's humiliation - his forced stripping and shaving - is a form of emasculation. This visual portrayal of how a peaceful man turns violent when his dignity is assaulted is one of the many scenes in "Minbar al-Mawta" (Platform of Death) that traces how peaceful protests in Syria transformed into an armed uprising. Political opposition through the lens of gender is not new to Syrian drama, which has a rich history of protests from the 1960s, and since the uprising, television drama has continued along this critical trajectory. In 2011, the number of miniseries dropped to 23, amid increased violence, but rose slightly to 26 in 2012. As drama creators prepared for the 2013 season, however, much filming was now confined to fairly calm areas such as Tartus and Sweida, and outside Syria, in particular, Lebanon, which has given rise to the new phenomenon of the Syrian-Lebanese production. Despite concerns, due to artistic flexibility, innovation, and willingness of some cast and crew to relocate, 34 miniseries were broadcast in 2013. I contend that these miniseries fall into several categories ranging from total detachment to complete immersion in the trauma and instability of war and bloodshed. In this paper, I examine several miniseries in the latter category: "Minbar al-Mawta," "Sukkar Wasat," "Watan Haff," and "al-Ha'irat." Each story offers us a rare glimpse into the multifaceted ways in which intellectuals have employed the politics of gender and dignity to engage in artistic forms of protest during the uprising.