Gaza-London: A short by Dima Hamdan

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

'Gaza-London' is a Palestinian film about Palestinians. Dima, whom I am privileged to know personally delivers, in 15 minutes, a promising directorial debut that is no doubt close to her heart. The Israeli war on Gaza provides the background to the emotional journey of a young Palestinian, Mahmoud, played very convincigly by Sami Metwasi. The interplay between the running TV commentary in Arabic and the dark surrounding of a London winter is for me a stark reminder of another war: July 2006 in Lebanon (English summers being what they are I can be excused for the seasonal discrepancy).

It is difficult not to feel tired of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the Israeli-Arab conflict in general. Since before 1948 and the theme is one of two people pitted against each other in a spiral of violence with parallel claims to the status of suffering victim. Depending on your perspective, Israel is either a ruthless colonialist aggressor or a small country surrounded by hostile neighbours. What is less debatable is that it has succeeded in 'defending' itself for over 60 years, leaving in the process a trail of human tragedies.

'Gaza-London' covers this individual human aspect that is frequently overshadowed by the communal tragedy; the objective one that the international media tries to handle through accurate(?)bodycounts and camera shots of White phosphorus over the Gaza landscape. Anyone who has lived or fought through a war will tell you that the enduring tragedy is that of those left behind once the dead are buried. The rollercoaster of anxiety, sadness and relief experienced by Mahmoud might well turn into psychological scars. In her final scene, Dima does not answer that question for us but signals a noteworthy transformation that is very much open to interpretation.

Suzanne Tamim part 2: The Retrial.

In September 2008 I wrote about the trial of Hisham Talaat Mostafa charged with the murder by proxy of the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, questioning whether he had seen the end of the affair.

http://www.arabdemocracy.com/2008/09/suzanne-talaat-and-mohsen.html

At the time the conviction of a wealthy and influential man was seen as heralding an age of transparency and accountability for the Egyptian regime and judiciary. 18 months later his conviction is quashed for mistrial based apparently on a flawed investigation carried out by the Dubai police. While every man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, a healthy dose of cynicism goes far in the land of the pharaohs.

For the latest http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8549214.stm

To be continued...unfortunately!

'Avatar': An Anti-Imperialist Epic?

By Joseph El-Khoury

The bad habit of carpet bombing: Apocalypse Now 1979

Avatar starts on a depressing note. In 2154, humans are still invading foreign lands, digging for underground resources and serving their interests with complete disregard to universal values and life in its various shapes (in this case , the shape of oversized cat-like figures with an unhealthy blue tinge). Not one lesson learned from the Iraq inquiry or the Goldstone report. Not one dent to the might of the military-industrial complex!

Things do improve as we realise that a small eccentric group of idealist geeks refuse to abide by the rules and go out of their way to fraternise with the indigenous population. They, well-meaning as ever, end up causing the most damage, although only in the medium term (This is Hollywood after all and a happy ending beckons). I thought here to draw parallels with the kind-hearted American missionaries caught ‘rescuing’ a few dozen Haitian children from their fate as...Haitian children. These, just like Corporal Jake Sully, find themselves misunderstood and vilified from San Domingo to Salt Lake City. A Far-fetched analogy, you might think. Not as ludicrous as the parallels drawn by some with the Iraq invasion. Everything in Hollywood these days seems to refer to Iraq, as if this one tragedy was out of character for Uncle Sam and deserved ad nauseaum analysis. But why look hard when the birth story of the United States is also that of the uprooting of a native people with animist beliefs and a dress sense suspiciously similar to the ‘Na’vis’. While the jungle on Pandora coupled with the heavy reliance on airborne combat tactics and carpet bombing is reminiscent of the Vietnamese conflict. Nothing new there. As the story unfolds, we are quickly back to old clichés of the all-American hero who gets the girl, dodges bullets and defeats evil. The heartbroken local chief has no choice but to swear allegiance to the well-bred natural leader of men and humanoids alike. Perversely, I can’t think of another occasion where an American audience will be asked to revel in watching Americans troops die in droves while justice prevails. If you are still convinced of an Iraqi reference, then James Cameron must be suspected of links with Al-Qaeda. Unlikely, judging from his lifestyle.

I have to conclude that Avatar is pleasant enough to watch and the technology behind it is to be admired. Unfortunately, I am none the wiser about Mr Cameron’s views on imperialism but certainly aware of his taste in music...and on that front not much progress since ‘Titanic’.