Waltz with Bashir!

I agree with many other people in class in saying that is was probably the best movie we have seen so far, and an awesome one to end on! I feel like even if the movie was terrible I would have still been amazed, because it is not only a true story about Ari Folman's experience during the 1982 Lebanon War, but he is also directed, produced, and starred in it! Most of the people in the movie were playing themselves as well.

After doing some research on the movie, I learned that it took four years to make, which shows how much dedication the film took to make. Also, I thought that the movie was made by drawing over the animation, such as in the movies Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, but actually it was made on a sound stage, then a storyboard was laid out and the animation was done using several different techniques.

I also learned that the perceptions of the film varied greatly person to person and country to country. What I found particularly interesting was that it was so well received in the US, but banned in Europe and at times not well received in Israel. One Israeli newspaper said that it was "stylish, sophisticated, gifted, and tasteful - but propaganda" because it didn't come right out and say that the Israeli Defense Forces were wrong in their actions. Conversely, others complained that it was anti-semitic because at one point a character compares the SS to the IDF's actions during the massacre.

Although I may not know as much about Israel and it's many issues as some of the people who have reviewed the movie, I thought that Folman's portrayal was very good. For one, it is through the eyes of a soldier. Soldiers are not supposed to form judgements about what they are doing, they are supposed to obey orders and do their job. Obviously what happened was very traumatic for him, or else he wouldn't have lost his memories of it. Also, I am sure the soldiers fighting beside him were his friends, why would they be betrayed as terrible people? Like him they were there because it was a requirement of them. I thought it took courage to make a movie about his own life, and to not portray anyone as perfect.

Iraq/n?

I noticed while reading everyone's blogs that a few people called it an Iraqi movie. I don't know if this is just a spelling mistake, or just a miscommunication, or if they confused the two, but I thought it was important to clear up the differences. Although Iraq and Iran are both located in the Middle East, share a border that is 900 miles long, and are often on the nightly news here in the US, they couldn't be more different. Some examples:

Iran is about four times as big as Iraq, about 636,372 square miles (18th in the world) vs 169,234 square miles (58th). Iran has about 74 million people, vs Iraq with 31 million. The GDP for Iran is also much higher, about $11,000 vs $2000 per capita.

Iran's population is very diverse, with Persians making up about half the population, Azeris about a quarter, and dozens of others comprising the rest. Only 3% of the population is Arabic. Iraq's population is over 75% Arabic, 20% Kurdish, and a small amount of other groups comprising the rest of the population.

Iran is officially a Muslim country, and Twelver Shi'a is the state religion, with 89% of the population. However, 9% are Sunni, and the rest of the minority population are Hindus, Jews, Christians, and other religions. However, the largest minority, Bahais, face persecution since the 1979 revolution, and have been denied access to jobs, education, and even executed. Iraq is about 60-65% Shi'a, 35% Sunni, and 3% Christian and other religions., which has dropped since the mid-20th century.

Perhaps the most important difference is in government. Iran is led by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is in charge of the military, police, state-run television, and judiciary system. Below him is the President, who is elected by the people, and is in charge of executive decisions not given to the Supreme Leader. The Iraqi government is supposed to be an "Islamic, democratic, federal parlimentary republic" according to it's constitution, with 18 regions, called governorates. But with the current war it is hard to know what is the actual status of Iraq and it's regions. Kurdistan is the only region with it's own government and militia.

So there you go! A few facts about Iraq and Iran, but there are many many more!! :D

Speakers

Tuesday Gulnar Hussain joined us to talk about women in Islam. I thought she did an excellent job, and her presentation was thorough and informative. I loved that she tied her own experiences into the general information, and thought she did a great job of balancing the two. I found it especially interesting that unlike many other people I have heard or read about that chose to immigrate to the United States, Ms. Hussain came here expecting that she would return soon to live with her and her husband's family. In some ways it is quite a romantic story: She came to the US to be with her husband who was attending graduate school, and also fell in love with Kalamazoo. It was cool to here that even someone with from somewhere as incredible as Pakistan found our little city the perfect place to settle.

Ms. Hussain also talked about how she came to wear the hijab, and that it wasn't something she had always done, but found herself wanting to do after her studies of the Qur'an. In Arabic, the hijab is not just a head covering, but the entire modest dress of Islamic women, covering everything but the hands and face. When Ms. Hussain told us that her daughter had begun to wear the veil, I missed whether or not she said hijab. I wonder if she has begun wearing the hijab or just the veil. I also wanted to know what her reasons were when she said that if it were her choice, her daughter would have waited to start wearing the hijab/veil. Did she think she was just too young, or perhaps she should study Islam more before she does? I wish we would have had more time at the end of class to discuss this, as well as all the other questions I am sure many people would have asked.

I thought that this class session was quite informative and enjoyable. I only wish we would have had more time! The fact that we didn't even have time to really hear from both of our speakers or ask many questions was a bit frustrating. All-in-all, however, I think everyone learned a lot, and I am looking forward to our discussions tomorrow!

Oh! And don't forget to reserve your seats!!

http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm

Professor Mustafa Mirzeler

I thought that Prof. Mirzeler did an amazing job on Tuesday of explaining Turkey, honor killings, and the head scarf dilemma there. I loved seeing all of the images of Turkey that he put into the power point, and I was impressed that he put so much effort into it at the last minute to give us a great presentation. His passion for his country was impressive, and it was heartbreaking when he spoke about not wanting to go back because of the changes that have occurred there.

The part of his talk that I found most compelling- as did the rest of the class- was his discussion of the honor killings in Turkey. I found myself completely absorbed in his story of his family and the decision they had to make about his sister. It was terrible to listen to the pain he went through as the family tried to decide what to do. I kept wondering, how would his life be different if he would have had to go through with it? Would he have had to remain in Turkey? Faced punishment despite being ten years old? I can't imagine he would have achieved everything he has if he would have had to participate in the killing of his sister. It really made me think about the pressures a community can put on its members.

The thing that astounds me about honor killings is not that a family could kill one of its members- although it is heinous and incredible to think about-  but that the community could want such a thing to happen. Families will go to extreme measures to protect the ones they love, and if that means sacrificing a member to protect all the rest, maybe that is what has to happen. It is easy for us to say that they could just ignore it or leave, but for a family that has nothing but a few possessions and maybe a little bit of land, leaving may be impossible. That leaves the community to blame. If any family can be dishonored, can become a victim of a rape or divorce or anything, then why not stand up as a community and say we don't want this to happen anymore? That you don't want to kill your neighbor? Would other people in the community come after you and your family? Everything about this blows my mind!

Gold Dust

When I first started reading this novel, I thought, "I cannot sit through 160 pages of a dude talking about how great this camel is." So I was a bit surprised when, probably around 75 to 100 pages in, I found myself wondering what was going to happen next. A novel about a man losing everything for a camel might seem a little extreme, but I found it to be an interesting look into the hearts of men and how that is shaped by so many things; climate, weather, animals, superstition and religion, play as important a role as the other human characters.

I also found that I had to keep adjusting my image of the characters and setting throughout the novel. When someone says "desert" I tend to picture a vast wasteland, with maybe a cactus or a dead tree, a camel or perhaps a scorpion the only signs of life. But in Gold Dust, the desert is both death and life. It hides oases, mountains, and valleys. There is life to be found for those that know what they are looking for. Also, I had to adjust my idea of what the people living in this region look like. Until I understood that these were Bedouin people, I had trouble picturing the men in "veils". Eventually I looked up a picture, and I thought, "Oh yeah! I get it now!" I liked that the translator took time in the afterward to address the veil, saying that it was not a religious or practical item, but rather a social one, used to manipulate emotion or intimacy. The author makes use of this in the novel; Ukhayyad often will cover his face more when he is confused or hiding something, or when he is unsure of himself. Dudu uses the veil to hide his true nature, even wearing two so that Ukhayyad struggles to understand the meaning of his actions and words.

While I will admit that Ukhayyad's love of his camel is baffling, I enjoyed the anthropo- morphic nature of the novel. If the author had chose to just say, "The camel ran away," "The camel was bleeding," or, "The camel cried out in pain." It would not have had the same effect as, "The camel's heart was not soothed. Distress flickered from his fear-stricken eye sockets(117)." In fact, my heart went out much more to the camel, who was the truest victim of the novel. He was just being a loyal animal, and despite what Ukhayyad felt, could not possibly have understood his circumstances! I wanted to hug him as much as Ukhayyad, despite the fact that most camels are vile creatures. The author is at his most poetic when discussing the camel and his emotions, and gave it feeling of being whimsical while at the same time so tragic. How Shakespearean.

Children's Books!

I was so surprised to hear that so many of the people in our class had not read a children's book in a long time, or that they were not exposed to books like these two when they were growing up. Maybe I am a bit of a dork, but I love children's books and still like to read them, although it is usually for a family member or because I have picked it up in a doctor's office or a friend's house from it's place on the coffee table. When I was a kid, I wanted to write and illustrate children's books, even long after I had moved on to Boxcar Children, Babysitter's Club, and Judy Blume.

I try not to judge children's books to harshly, for the most part. Whenever you are writing about something in a way that is supposed to be simplistic but also will grab the attention of a child, it can be hard to avoid images or texts that some may see as stereotypical or even racist. I think both the stories that we read were wonderful, especially the first one, but it is still important to take the discussion further. Perhaps you could ask the child afterward, "Where do you think this story took place? What is it like there? What are the people like?" And then help them to understand not only how they are different from the child, but also how they are alike. For example, in the first story, you could ask, "Why do you think Ahmed writes his name so differently from how we would write it?" or, "Do you think that everyone in Cairo dresses this way?" Reading to children is important, but it is only a small step in their development. If there is no discussion about the issues, the story may be remembered for it's bright colors, and nothing more.

I thought I would include some books on here that are different than what most of us think of when we are talking about children's literature:

I remember reading this book in elementary school. It's about a boy learning about his grandfather and the Vietnam War. I don't remember much about it, except it made me kind of sad and I wanted to go look at the wall.










This book tells the story of a family going through a divorce, and how although it is difficult, Dinah's parents still love her, and although things are changing, many things will be the same. My cousin's had a book very similar to this one when we were growing up. I remember it scared me but also helped me understand what they were going through.




This is a story about four animals that live together, but then the fox dies. The book talks about remembering all the wonderful things about Fox, and about how that keeps him with the other animals in their hearts. I also had a book similar to this one growing up. I don't remember when it was originally bought for me, but I do remember reading it and being just... mad. So I guess it moved me on to that second stage of grief! Oh well...

And there are books that deal with even heavier subjects...

Some of the best new books deal with different families...

War in the Land of Egypt

I just got War in the Land of Egypt in the mail Saturday (thank God, no mail on Columbus Day!), and finished reading it this morning. It was an easy read, and pretty interesting. I liked the idea of each progressive character tell a part of the story, it was a neat way get all the perspectives without being in third person. Sometimes at the beginning of new chapters I would have to remind myself who was speaking, but after a page or two it wasn't a big deal. I also liked how the characters talked to the reader, but not that they were aware of being in a chapter in a book. It kind of reminded me of 9 Parts of Desire, but the play made it seem like you were a witness to the events, the characters didn't know that they were actually in a play. Whenever they would say something like, "As the author of this chapter..." I would become annoyed that they were taking me out of the story. For something so emotional, I don't want to be constantly reminded I am reading a book, I want to use my imagination! Isn't that what we learned on Reading Rainbow?

The story itself was quite good; original and heartbreaking, while still being relatable and at times even ironic or comical. I found myself at first understanding the umda, but then later hating him. I was astonished at the watchman for allowing his son to go in place of the umda's son, then heartbroken when I saw him struggling with his son's death and with a force larger than himself. The Friend makes us see Masri as a human being, struggling with his ideas about family, country, duty, and self. One can feel the Officer and the Investigator's stories make us feel their frustration as the powers that be rule over everyone and make the final decisions.

The government and the bureaucracy surrounding it are so ridiculous it is hard not to find comedy in it's dark topics. The satire at times drips from the pages, as we see the auther, Yusuf Al-Qa'id writing a dark critique of the Egyptian government around the time of the 1973 October War between the lines of the novel. In fact, it is mentioned on the back of book that it was banned in Egypt.


More to come.. break time!