The Dreams of Sparrows

The documentary The Dreams of Sparrows (2005), by Hayder Mousa Daffar, provides insight on what some Iraqi people believe and feel about the war, which they are experiencing and the occupation under which they live. I was rather surprised when some of the people that were interviewed in the film supported President Bush and his invasion. Some even said they loved him! Although, I figured that some people must be glad to have a change in regime, I did not think that anyone could love Bush the way that some people described in the documentary.
The documentary showed a real Iraq different from the way one might imagine through reading a story or seeing brief scenes, selected by news editors, on the screen.
I was also surprised when the Iraqis refer to the war as "Iraqi Freedom." I thought that was just a name used by U.S. Americans. Although, I didn't know the war was called that until last Summer - and I thought that I was rather well informed... At any rate, when I first heard that expression, I guess one could call it, I thought it was a bad joke. I find it awful that the people that are being bombed and humiliated daily by the American system and its military is referring to "their situation" (that sounds horrible too) as "freedom." By calling a war "freedom," the horrid pictures of war are neglected or their power are minimized. By referring to a war as "freedom," war is made acceptable. There is a big problem with that.
Something else I find interesting in relation to this film and the book I am reading about the Iraq/America war/occupation (I find this description more accurate), is that neither sources mention (so far anyway) the issue of "sectarian violence," a concept we in the United States hear about all the time. I wonder if the people in Iraq see the violence as specifically related to the sects or if this is a concept given to "the west" to make occupation seem more "acceptable?"

I think it would be useful to create a list of resources which include texts like this documentary and Baghdad Diaries to send to the current Administration. Maybe this will provide some insight to the leaders of today's world.

(The following clip is a brief section of The Dreams of Sparrows:)

A book that the WMU library just requested: People like us: misrepresenting the Middle East
by Joris Luyendijk; translated by Michele Hutchison
ISBN: 9781593762568

Magda M. Al-Nowaihi's essay(chapter 14) "'Middle East" Or.../Arabic Literature and the Postcolonial Predicament" describes different pieces of Arabic Literature - that Al-Nowaihi says she "feel[s] more comfortable with [her] abilities to overcome externally imposed, and internalized, limitations," rather than the description "middle east," which is a term created by the Occident (p.285). The idea to "overcome externally imposed, and internalized, limitations" is intriguing. Since, the oppressive colonizers of the Arab countries have externally imposed values/ideals/expectations etc., internalized limitations (limiting oneself) occur within those either oppressed or formerly oppressed. This internalized limitations causes an unending oppression which the oppressor caused even after having left centuries ago. This continues because "with Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt, the Arab world could not let Europe be, because Europe could not let the Arab world be." The same for the United States (militarily, economically, and culturally) (p.286). In an attempt to overcome and gain control over the situation, the national Egyptian Literature demonizes Europeans and anything European (287/288). Although, the "neoclassical" literature of Egypt is composed of the -neo: European (French) influence on Egyptian writing; -classical: Arabic influence.

The essay is filled with historical snippets that are significant in Arabic literature, and provides details on some Arabic writings. Two in particular, that I would be interested in reading, are The Pessoptimist and Men in the Sun, both of Palestinian authors. The essay provides valuable information to Arabic literature.

Brief Response to YouTube Documentary

-In the start of the documentary The History of Palestine Douglas Dicks, a speaker of the Catholic Relief Services, says, "the number one myth that westerners have about this conflict is that Arabs and Jews have been fighting for thousands of years." I'm surprised by this statement, since I thought that the Palestine/Israel conflict started during World War II with the migration of persecuted Jews to Palestine.
-I have been curious about why the Gaza Strip and The West Bank are in rather opposite "corners" of Israel and why the territories are not just right by each other or rather one large territory. The film explains that the country was divided, by the U.N., depending on the regions of fertile soil in 1947.
-Although the film clip provides facts on the conflict and its history that are significant in understanding the background to the current problems, it is dramatized through the background music/sounds, making it come across as bias. All documentaries have control over their message through the documentarist's choice in what is being filmed and edited. I would have preferred to see this clip without the music; I feel that the docu. could be more credible without it.
-Some of the comments left underneath the clip are very disturbing. I almost wish YouTube would get rid of that feature or have a button where the people making these comments can be reported.
-I would have been interested to see more recent events, such as the creation of the Wall/"security fence." This National Geographic clip provides an accurate picture of the situation today though, I think.

Response to "Orientalism," so far...

When I was an 8th grader the war in Afghanistan was just about a year old. Clearly, there was tension in the air regarding anything "middle east." In addition, anything "East" of Berlin was deemed as suspicious or in need of political help in the media and throughout history. My history teacher of the time occasionally made funny remarks regarding the current events regarding the middle east too. All in all, I was getting rather annoyed. My friend Chanana and I discussed this unfairness and simplemindedness of our teacher. We decided to confront him about it in class.
During the following history lesson the teacher ranted on about something middle east again in an, I thought, rather inappropriate fashion. I stood up and said, "It's making me uncomfortable the way you, and it seems society as a whole, speak about the middle east. Not everything East, including Russia and the former Soviet Union, is bad...." (those weren't my exact words of course, but parts of it are; this was the message I was trying to bring across anyway). He told me that what I was saying was stupid and absurd; that's all I heard. I know he kept talking to me, but I couldn't hear anything.
The following day his supervising teacher (he was still a student teacher) took me out of class to roam the halls with me and "chat." I felt rather uncomfortable and don't really remember the conversation, besides the fact that this teacher was not praising me for speaking my valid observation or comforting me after my teacher thought what I was saying was stupid.
Now I am a junior at a University and reading Edward Said's (1978) Orientalism in which HE states, "No one will have failed to note how 'East' has always signified danger and threat during this period, even as it has meant the traditional Orient as well as Russia" (26).
HA! I'm sure this sort of thing happens to everyone: you say something and it is disregarded, but later you read exactly your point somewhere, or you hear someone with higher credentials say it. Reading Orientalism really made me glad. I was an 8th grader, and although I did not study this theme as Edward Said did, I understood his message before even reading his book. I'm thankful that Said wrote this book the way he did. Of course, Orientalism must be read critically, just like anything else, and there are definitely issues within this text that can be discussed, but for now, I'll leave it by praising Said's work.

'Reel Bad Arabs'

The clip Reel Bad Arabs was very impressive. Its messages were strong, insightful, and true. Most of the films used to present the negative Arabic stereotypes were ones I never saw or even heard of. However, Disney's Aladdin was a film I grew up with. In fact, I even had somewhat of a crush on Aladdin. At any rate, I never, while watching the film as a child, registered the beginning lines of the film: "...from a far away place...where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home." I wonder what my stepfather, who is Lebanese, thought of all this. Also, who refers to their home as a far away place?? It can't be far away if you're living there.
I also ask myself what kind of actors take on these degrading roles? Are they Arabs themselves? I'm sure in some cases yes, but often not. In Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, for example the Palestinian Jesus is played by James Caviezel, an U.S. American christian. I don't know what is worse: someone of a different ethnicity degrading you, or someone degrading their own? Something interesting in regards to that are the actors' Arabic accents. They are often too gutteral and exaggerated in all sorts of ways. It is very painful when one's accent is being ridiculed.
A film that was not portrayed in this short documentary, one that I remember watching in 6th grade or so and saw as quite awful, even though it's based on a true story is Not Without My Daughter (1991), directed by Brian Gilbert. It milks the stereotype of the aggressive and possessive Iranian husband and his oppressed, white, U.S. American wife. At the end of the film the American flag takes over the screen....
A strong message in Reel Bad Arabs is that "politics and Hollywood's images are linked." Those politics do not 'only' refer to the politics of the United States, but many other countries and regions too. These movies are released and seen all over the world. My hope is that many people can see and study the cultural phenomenon presented in Dr.Jack Shaheen's film, and to be sensitive to its subject by changing the way they view and support the media that exploits these stereotypes.