On Orientalism
June 28, 2008
The outstanding scholar Edward Said is featured in the following documentary On Orientalsim discussing the themes of his work namely Western anti-Arab racism and what it means for the Middle East.
Reel Bad Arabs
June 27, 2008
Sir! No Sir! - The GI Revolt
June 25, 2008
Sir! No Sir! A film on GI resistance during the Vietnam war where ordinary soldiers began to refuse orders and fragged (killed) their own officers. I was reminded of this excellent documentary recently when Dahr Jamail was discussing similar trends in Iraq - instead of carrying out ’search and destroy’ missions soldiers are doing ’search and avoidance.’
Shooting the Messenger
June 21, 2008
From the excellent Al Jazeera International (incidentally, the channel has been suppressed in the ‘land of the free’): This documentary on the deliberate killing and intimidation of journalists in conflict zones, examines how international reporters became targets.
The Doctor, Depleted Uranium and Dying Children
June 7, 2008
A documentary exposing how the US/UK have poisoned Iraq with their use of weapons tipped with depleted uranium a.k.a. nuclear waste. What kind of sick society, instead of disposing of its nuclear waste in the normal regulated fashion, turns it into a bomb to be exploded in someone elses country? Blair and Bush will hang for their war crimes as will their associates. Watch them drop, live on the Fanonite.
We Feed the World
May 28, 2008
We Feed the World is a film about globalisation and scarcity amid plenty.
When the Levees Broke
May 20, 2008
Pepe Escobar has done an excellent short documentary report from New Orleans speaking to locals about their continuing problems. For more on the subject I recommend Spike Lee’s film When the Levees Broke (I’ve included the first two parts below for more see here) and Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.
Birth of a Nightmare
May 14, 2008
What’s the BBC’s ‘Birthday’ present to Israel? A stream of propaganda following a story thats Israeli driven. Not content with 3 other, Israeli directed, Storyville documentaries (watch here), a birthday radio show (featuring 4 Israelis with one token Israeli Arab and zero Palestinians) and birthday articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc) the BBC has gone a step further and commissioned this 60 minute film by Jeremy Bowen, detailing the founding of the State of Israel. To be sure, the events are of immense import and considering their repercussions around the world, the level of coverage is merited. However it’s instructive that this documentary is called ‘The Birth of Israel’ and not for example ‘The Nakba’ - we get an idea of the focus from the start. In fact we might ask where all the Nakba articles (1?), audio and films are? Is it sufficient that it just happens to get a small mention in amongst all this ‘birthday’ nonsense?
Although this film is good in many places, covering the massacre of Deir Yassin for example, overall it fails to place the responsibility of the conflict firmly in the hands of the Israelis and Europeans. It fails to present the Palestinians as the victims of Zionist colonialism which was approved of by the Europeans because of guilt from the Holocaust and because 60 years ago the idea of colonialism, ‘civilised’ Europeans settling land that native ‘barbarians’ are wasting, was still acceptable. Time and again Israelis under interview blame the conflict on the Palestinians for not accepting the 1947 UN partition plan, where the UN carved up the land of Palestine and gave much of it to the colonialists. In the 21st century we should by now understand that the UN had no right to give away another mans home, the Zionists were incorrect in thinking they could colonise another peoples country and that resistance to this dispossession was legitimate. What nation would accept its land being given away to immigrants by the UN? Especially with such a bad deal: Israelis owning 10% of the land but getting 50% while only accounting for only 33% of the total population.
Counting the number of Israelis interviewed we find there were 11 with 10 Palestinians representatives. The number of times they appeared differs more: Israelis appearing 30 times and Palestinians 22. In a 60 minute film this approximately translates to about 8 minutes (15%) more air time. Personally I don’t believe balance is about giving both sides equal time - I follow Robert Fisks example of giving more time to the victims no matter who they are. In the ‘birth’ of Israel the victims were the Palestinian natives: 700,000 of whom were ethnically cleansed and many men, women and children were brutally massacred. This crime has continued as although under international law refugees have a Right of Return this has been denied. And Palestinians that remain in Israel and the Occupied Territories live in Apartheid conditions. Therefore its significant that they are not given priority.
The other big issue I have with the film is its failure to convey the true nature of a Two State solution. Israeli colonialism has continued with the illegal gaining of territory through military force in 1967. It is by now clear the continued Israeli rejection of peace for expansion and settlement of the Occupied Territories has led to a situation where a Two State solution is now unworkable. Only a One State solution where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights and share the land will provide any meaningful resolution to the regions problems. The idea of a predominatly Jewish State is non-inclusive and racist, it can only be maintained through further ethnic cleansing and apartheid.
Hearts and Minds
May 1, 2008
My two favourite documentaries on Vietnam are Winter Soldier and this one, Hearts and Minds. Its hard to say which is better the former giving a very accurate account of a solders life and his affect on his surroundings while, Academy Award winning, Hearts and Minds gives an excellent overview of the whole war.
Meeting Resistance
April 28, 2008
Meeting Resistance is now available on DVD. This is not a big commercial release. Please honour the rare courage of these journalists and assist their work by purchasing it here.
