Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sorry I know these blogs are late...I've been sick
I wanted to discuss the film that we watched two weeks ago, because I was sick last week, on To Die in Jerusalem. The film brought out countless emotions that took very long for me to accept and allow to process in my mind. I am still quite unaware of which side, or family, I would support in this situation. I am aware that I do not have to take a side, but I feel as if the film was created because it wanted me to take a side. The mother of the Israeli girl seemed to simply want sympathy from everyone because her daughter was murdered in a suicide bombing, and asked the mother of the Palestinian girl to apologize to her on countless occasions and tell her that what her daughter did was wrong. Why she was so forceful about this is still unclear to me because you are pleading with a mother to basically dismiss the death of her daughter and simply label it as a wrong doing and leave the impression that her daughter was evil or died with no belief, honesty, or feeling of anything. The mixed emotions came into play when I began to analyze the Palestinian girls family, though. Her father was filmed, most likely strategically, sitting in front of a painting of his daughter with a headscarf and also with possession of a gun, with beloved martyr written beneath it. This struck me as odd because I just found it unbelievable that you would cherish and individual for being a martyr and basically a murderer and find a way to explain her actions by saying that she was simply fighting for what she believed in and there was no other way. I suppose when it comes to this fact, though, this could possibly be the characteristics of a parent flooding through a situation and wanting to simply keep the good memories of your deceased child at bay and attempt to not look at the subjects in which you would be troubled by. Did anyone else feel this way?
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I don't believe the film was made for people to choose sides, it is a reflection of how complicated the situation is. Both mothers have completely opposing view points however, at the end, the focus of the film is where do they go now? What is the future of Israelis and Palestinians? The father was not "cherishing an individual" he was remembering his daughter. BOth parents established that they did not agree with Ayat's decision and her mother said she would've stopped her.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same way American families praise and honor soldiers for killing Iraqis or for participating in the war. We all know that the war in Iraq is not accomplishing anything but we are not disowning American soldiers or telling AMerican mothers why are you holding on to "good memories" when your son was sent to kill Iraqi men and women. It's hard to agree with what you're saying because it sounds so superficial. I dont think you should take a side, but you should broaden your perspective.