So, the first thing that my group did was present to the movie 'arranged'. I loved this movie and thought It would have been a great idea to share it with th class, and start off with this movie, seeing as how it was a smooth transition into our topic.
To me, one of the most memorable scenes was in the beginning, when both teachers are in the same class room, and the kids are wispering about how they two teachers are supposed to hate eachother because of their cultural differences (that becuase one was jewish and one was from palestine) that eachother wanted to kill one another. I thought it was very interesting and well-done how the teacher handled it, saying to the kids that she wasn't threatened or did she want to kill the other woman. Also, the exercise in class that showed the kids how everyone can put their differences aside and get along peacefully was an awesome way to show how these classroom situations should be handled. All that people need to do is keep an open mind.
Of course, like alot of the movies we have been watching about arranged marriages, the two women are at conflict with their family. Rochel is being pressured alot by her family to go through with this arranged marriage, while Nasria is also fighting with them about her religion, but almost to a lesser extent than Rochel.
Reading on some of the other blogs, I can now see how this story is actually quite western, and kind of a reach to have everyone live harmoniously and pro-peace and whatnot. However, I did like the movie alot and thought it was a good way to introduce our subject.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Two Women
In class on thursday we watched an Iraqi movie titled "Two Women". In short, the movie was about two female characters, Roya and Fereshteh, following them from school where they met and became best friends, to Fereshteh's awful marriage to a horrible and degrading man, to how Fereshteh, in the end, ends up with her freedom back.
The movie surprised me in the way that this movie portrayed a most likely common marriage that was unfair. Fereshteh was married off to someone she did not love, and did not want to marry. Her husband was horrible to her. Fereshteh started off in the movie very headstrong, knowledgeable, and independant. Her husband, however, stripped her of all this. He would belittle her, ridicule her, and pretty much make her feel like complete crap.
I'm guessing this is a common issue in Iraq. The women get married off and no matter what cannot get away from someone who is emotionally abusive. Just because a man pays the bills and takes care of children doesn't mean he is a good person. This man was awful!
In the end, her husband gets put into the hospital, and dies, leavinf Fereshteh and her two children on their own, which Fereshteh is only too happy about :)
I would definitely reccomend this movie to any class learning about the modern Middle East. The movie was interesting, and not out-dated. I liked it alot :)
The movie surprised me in the way that this movie portrayed a most likely common marriage that was unfair. Fereshteh was married off to someone she did not love, and did not want to marry. Her husband was horrible to her. Fereshteh started off in the movie very headstrong, knowledgeable, and independant. Her husband, however, stripped her of all this. He would belittle her, ridicule her, and pretty much make her feel like complete crap.
I'm guessing this is a common issue in Iraq. The women get married off and no matter what cannot get away from someone who is emotionally abusive. Just because a man pays the bills and takes care of children doesn't mean he is a good person. This man was awful!
In the end, her husband gets put into the hospital, and dies, leavinf Fereshteh and her two children on their own, which Fereshteh is only too happy about :)
I would definitely reccomend this movie to any class learning about the modern Middle East. The movie was interesting, and not out-dated. I liked it alot :)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Paradise Now
I just finished watching Paradise Now, and again wow! This movie was very powerful, I almost cried haha. The movie was well done, and I think it would be extremely easy to show for a large group of students. Paradise Now would be an amazing way to actually get to the heart of the issue.
Something that really fascinated me was the preparation the two main characters went through before the initial mission. They were to be cleanshaven, they both got haircuts, dressed in nice suits, and prayed. I thought it was interesting on why they were to be so clean, so polished. My thought process led me to believe that because they viewed the mission as something to be honored, and important, they had to be clean just like when they pray. I remember from our trip to the Mosque that it is extremely important to be clean before you worship. Maybe that is the religious connection?
However, I have to note that I completely disagree with Martyr missions. Suicide is a horrible thing - wether the victim commited suicide out of personal issues, or something like this. I think any suicide mission is a horrible way to try to bring change into a country - killing yourself to kill other people, all to hopefully bring a positive change to the bombers own people, and death and destruction to the other side. Suicide Missions are like terrorism 101, it doesnt matter how 'honorable' you think it is! Suicide, and suicide missions are completely hypocritical to any religion! First of all, your killing yourself, which is a sin if I ever heard one, and killing other people, ditto.
I think Paradise Now would be good to show to older students, ones that could handle the serious subject matter of suicide bombings. I really enjoyed the film, I felt like the story was really easy to get hooked on, I was glued to the screen the entire time!
Something that really fascinated me was the preparation the two main characters went through before the initial mission. They were to be cleanshaven, they both got haircuts, dressed in nice suits, and prayed. I thought it was interesting on why they were to be so clean, so polished. My thought process led me to believe that because they viewed the mission as something to be honored, and important, they had to be clean just like when they pray. I remember from our trip to the Mosque that it is extremely important to be clean before you worship. Maybe that is the religious connection?
However, I have to note that I completely disagree with Martyr missions. Suicide is a horrible thing - wether the victim commited suicide out of personal issues, or something like this. I think any suicide mission is a horrible way to try to bring change into a country - killing yourself to kill other people, all to hopefully bring a positive change to the bombers own people, and death and destruction to the other side. Suicide Missions are like terrorism 101, it doesnt matter how 'honorable' you think it is! Suicide, and suicide missions are completely hypocritical to any religion! First of all, your killing yourself, which is a sin if I ever heard one, and killing other people, ditto.
I think Paradise Now would be good to show to older students, ones that could handle the serious subject matter of suicide bombings. I really enjoyed the film, I felt like the story was really easy to get hooked on, I was glued to the screen the entire time!
War in the Land of Egypt
Okay, first off, let me apologize on not making this blog sooner - honestly I completely didn't realize I never blogged about it!
All I can say about this story is wow! I loved it.
I think that my favorite part was how the novel was written. It was very clever, and actually did a better job engaging me into the story than most of the others have. Having the story told from different perspectives is a huge symbol in itself - It makes me think of the movie "Vantage Point". Because your getting so many sides of the story, it really depends on your own personal beliefs which perspective you like the most, or you found to have the most impact/truth etc... Also, the fact that all the characters perspectives were from different social classes also made the different points of view more unique.
But perhaps the most compelling part of the story was the issue that the speaker in class brought up (well one of them). The fact that the main character, had no perspective. This is a HUGE literary 'technique', if you will. This emphasizes how much of a symbol Masri really is. Masri symbolizes the average Egyptian, and the struggles that the majority of them have felt close to home.
Putting the characters and symbols aside, though, you really get to the meat of the novel. War in the Land of Egypt is about corruption and the awful things said majority has to fight for (and against) everyday of their lives. The title doesn't really mean an actual war that Egypt is fighting, the war is internal. People are fighting against huge enemies in their own country, like the government. Its no easy feat.
All in all, I thought the novel was extremely well-written, a great read. Also, had a lot of good symbolism and techniques I really liked.
All I can say about this story is wow! I loved it.
I think that my favorite part was how the novel was written. It was very clever, and actually did a better job engaging me into the story than most of the others have. Having the story told from different perspectives is a huge symbol in itself - It makes me think of the movie "Vantage Point". Because your getting so many sides of the story, it really depends on your own personal beliefs which perspective you like the most, or you found to have the most impact/truth etc... Also, the fact that all the characters perspectives were from different social classes also made the different points of view more unique.
But perhaps the most compelling part of the story was the issue that the speaker in class brought up (well one of them). The fact that the main character, had no perspective. This is a HUGE literary 'technique', if you will. This emphasizes how much of a symbol Masri really is. Masri symbolizes the average Egyptian, and the struggles that the majority of them have felt close to home.
Putting the characters and symbols aside, though, you really get to the meat of the novel. War in the Land of Egypt is about corruption and the awful things said majority has to fight for (and against) everyday of their lives. The title doesn't really mean an actual war that Egypt is fighting, the war is internal. People are fighting against huge enemies in their own country, like the government. Its no easy feat.
All in all, I thought the novel was extremely well-written, a great read. Also, had a lot of good symbolism and techniques I really liked.
Gold Dust
After reading the novel Gold Dust, I can really admit that I wasn't a big fan of the book. This may be because I missed out on the discussion on Tuesday, after reading other people blogs I thought that I missed a good class period! :( But, I guess I should go on and blog about my feelings toward the book.
Honestly, to me the book started out pretty slow, I just couldn't get into it. I was just thinking "Alright..a boy and his camel..." and really couldn't get out of the slump. But after completing the novel and reading some blog posts on it I can obviously make the connection between Ukhayyad and his piebald. Ukhayyad is completely devoted to his camel, he loves him like nothing else. This is very apparent in the beginning. I thought that the major reason he was so devoted to this camel wasn't the fact that he had been given the camel at a young age by an important elder, but rather the fact that the camel's breeding was so 'high-end' if you will...basically is pedigree was amazing. In the beginning, at least.
However, after finishing and reflecting on the whole novel. I could see that the bond between Ukhayyad and his camel was much more than that. If he could, I'm sure Ukhayyad would have done anything to make his camel not feel any pain, or suffer under any circumstance. Unfortunatley he may have realized this himself a little late, seeing as I view his piebald Mahri getting sick with mange to be a punishment to Ukhayyad for all of his sleeping around with girls in other places...But thats just me. But, if anything the piebald's sickness became something like a catalyst - it heightened Ukhayyad's devotion to his camel, and the two became stronger than ever.
Again, a little slow at first, but overall a good read.
Honestly, to me the book started out pretty slow, I just couldn't get into it. I was just thinking "Alright..a boy and his camel..." and really couldn't get out of the slump. But after completing the novel and reading some blog posts on it I can obviously make the connection between Ukhayyad and his piebald. Ukhayyad is completely devoted to his camel, he loves him like nothing else. This is very apparent in the beginning. I thought that the major reason he was so devoted to this camel wasn't the fact that he had been given the camel at a young age by an important elder, but rather the fact that the camel's breeding was so 'high-end' if you will...basically is pedigree was amazing. In the beginning, at least.
However, after finishing and reflecting on the whole novel. I could see that the bond between Ukhayyad and his camel was much more than that. If he could, I'm sure Ukhayyad would have done anything to make his camel not feel any pain, or suffer under any circumstance. Unfortunatley he may have realized this himself a little late, seeing as I view his piebald Mahri getting sick with mange to be a punishment to Ukhayyad for all of his sleeping around with girls in other places...But thats just me. But, if anything the piebald's sickness became something like a catalyst - it heightened Ukhayyad's devotion to his camel, and the two became stronger than ever.
Again, a little slow at first, but overall a good read.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Short Stories
After reading the two short stories, The Lawsuit, and A Long-Term Plan, I felt a little unsettled. I actually didn't really like either of these stories very much.
The First was about how sa young man recieves a lawsuit from a woman who used to be married to his father. The first problem I had with this story is that I was completely confused by the fact that the wife was so fine that her husband was marrying a much younger, more beautiful wife. Secondly, the brother dying in prison for throwing a lamp at his father seemed quite dramatic, even for a story, and then his father dying from stroke, then his mother dying. One right after the other.
Also, I didn't need to hear about this old womans beauty in the past. Over. and over.
I guess there was a moral to the story though, I took it as a 'what-goes-around-comes-around" type of lesson. She married an older man, possibly for money, stole the family's fortune, and then went off, tried to do it again, but failed. Lesson learned - Karma sucks.
The second story, about an old man in his seventies who is so used to loafing off everybody, not working, and being poor, becomes an overnight millionaire. He meets with a lawyer and the guy who is buying his house, and tries to tell them what exactly he is going to spend all his money on. After recieving a new haircut, shave, and suit, he is put up in a nice hotel, then seems to eat his way into a coma. And then most likely dies.
Can anyone say Irony?
What a great example of irony. A man finally makes himself the money and security he needs to live the remainder of his life peacefully, and he dies from overindulgence. Classic.
The First was about how sa young man recieves a lawsuit from a woman who used to be married to his father. The first problem I had with this story is that I was completely confused by the fact that the wife was so fine that her husband was marrying a much younger, more beautiful wife. Secondly, the brother dying in prison for throwing a lamp at his father seemed quite dramatic, even for a story, and then his father dying from stroke, then his mother dying. One right after the other.
Also, I didn't need to hear about this old womans beauty in the past. Over. and over.
I guess there was a moral to the story though, I took it as a 'what-goes-around-comes-around" type of lesson. She married an older man, possibly for money, stole the family's fortune, and then went off, tried to do it again, but failed. Lesson learned - Karma sucks.
The second story, about an old man in his seventies who is so used to loafing off everybody, not working, and being poor, becomes an overnight millionaire. He meets with a lawyer and the guy who is buying his house, and tries to tell them what exactly he is going to spend all his money on. After recieving a new haircut, shave, and suit, he is put up in a nice hotel, then seems to eat his way into a coma. And then most likely dies.
Can anyone say Irony?
What a great example of irony. A man finally makes himself the money and security he needs to live the remainder of his life peacefully, and he dies from overindulgence. Classic.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Day of Ahmed's Secret
This story was not what I had expected from a childrens story at all, with the exception of the secret itself.
Normally, chuldrens stories in American are full of fantasy creatures, both great and horrible. Take for instance the most common children stories, like cinderella and snow white. The stories both teach lessons to children, and paint pretty pictures in little kids heads while doing so.
The Day of Ahmed's Secret, however did not. It was full of words that described the Middle East, carts, donkeys, crowded streets with merchants everywhere. At first glance the class and I thought this was part of the 'Arab Land' deal, but at closer inspection we realized that was not the case. The pictures held those things, indeed, but also showed people in modern clothing, cars, and streetlamps. No fairytale dragons, though. :)
The ending was very cute, how Ahmed went through the whole day so excited to share his secret, he wanted to wait untill he had the perfect timing. The secret being that he could finally write his name brought up another discussion - one about how old the boy is, and if the reason he is so excited to write about his name could be the fact that he is much older than originally thought. I, personally, thought that Ahmed was about 8 or 9, in which case it isnt that outlandish for a worker boy to just learn his name.
Normally, chuldrens stories in American are full of fantasy creatures, both great and horrible. Take for instance the most common children stories, like cinderella and snow white. The stories both teach lessons to children, and paint pretty pictures in little kids heads while doing so.
The Day of Ahmed's Secret, however did not. It was full of words that described the Middle East, carts, donkeys, crowded streets with merchants everywhere. At first glance the class and I thought this was part of the 'Arab Land' deal, but at closer inspection we realized that was not the case. The pictures held those things, indeed, but also showed people in modern clothing, cars, and streetlamps. No fairytale dragons, though. :)
The ending was very cute, how Ahmed went through the whole day so excited to share his secret, he wanted to wait untill he had the perfect timing. The secret being that he could finally write his name brought up another discussion - one about how old the boy is, and if the reason he is so excited to write about his name could be the fact that he is much older than originally thought. I, personally, thought that Ahmed was about 8 or 9, in which case it isnt that outlandish for a worker boy to just learn his name.
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