Download Love Lies Amp; Seeta Movies
Otniel Doetzel
Not everything about Sita Ramam works to the extent of making it a classic love story the makers wanted it to be. Yet, the earnestness with which they attempt to narrate a moving story of romance holds it all together. The key characters may be called Ram, Sita and Afreen. Change their names and religion but the essence of what the story conveys will still hold true. Therein lies the beauty of the tale.
REEL BAD ARABS: HOW HOLLYWOOD VILIFIES A PEOPLE
2006, 50 min, DVD, Color
Reel Bad Arabs takes a devastating tour of the American cinematic landscape, moving from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters to reveal an astonishing and persistent pattern of slanderous Arab stereotyping. Featuring acclaimed author and Hollywood film consultant Dr. Jack Shaheen, the documentary exposes American cinema's long love affair with Arab villainy and buffoonery, from over-sexed Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and bloody-thirsty terrorists. Along the way, the film provides striking insights into the origin of these images, their disturbing similarities to anti-Semitic and racists stereotypes from the past, and their political resonance during key moments of conflict in U.S. history. In the end, Shaheen inspires us to think critically about the destructive social and political effects of Hollywood's projection of Arabs, challenging us to envision counter-narratives that do justice to both the diversity and humanity of Arab people, and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture.
AL-RISALAH (THE MESSAGE):
1991, Part I: 96 min.; Part II: 76 min., 2", Color In Arabic, U,G.
This Arabic language version of The Message is a portrait of the early days of Muhammad's message. As in the English language version, the Prophet is not shown. Early Mecca and Medina are depicted imaginatively: the idols in and around the Ka'ba are surrounded by mountainous deserts along with the flourishing plantations of Yathrib, which later became Medina, the city of the Prophet. The film tells a more detailed story than the English version, and is aimed at an audience familiar with Muhammad's early life and the early life of Islam. It concentrates on military history, vividly showing the major battles of Badr, Uhud, and the final victory in Mecca. It does not convey a cultural understanding of the early Islamic milieu, focusing more on the social and political injustices of pre-Islamic Arabia. Arabic spoken in the film is excellent; the movie is strongly recommended for students of the language because of its use of Qur'anic Arabic in daily speech. [CNES] Directed by Moustapha Akkad.
RIVERS OF FIRE:
1990, 40 min., 2", Color, H,U,G.
This video is a competent presentation highlighting the volatile Middle East conflict over the natural resource more valuable than oil: water. The film examines dilemmas within countries as well as between them: Turkey's newest dam system can control waters from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowing to Syria and Iraq, which lack adequate storage facilities for the reservoir-filling process; Jordan is a "fresh-water pauper" already surviving on aqueous overdraft, though a Syrian-Jordanian project for water storage threatens Israel; and Israel's interest in the Golan Heights is as much related to control of the headwaters of the Jordan River as to fear of military strikes. With excellent maps, careful statistics, blunt interviews with politicians, commentaries from concerned citizens and good photographic coverage of the various areas. [EFB] Directed by Paul Woolrich and produced by Marshall Healey for Channel 4/BBC.