Skewed View

I admit it - I'm an award show junkie. Tonys, Grammys and especially the Oscars. I've been faithful to the Oscars since I was 8, only missing 2 of the shows (but watching the tape the next day) in 14 years. The one show I really never got into was the Golden Globes. It all seemed like a bit much, trying to shmoosh television and cinema into one evening. This morning, I logged onto the website to see the results, and was saddened, disappointed but not altogether suprised to see the award for best foreign film went to Paradise Now, a film which attempts to give a humane perspective to Palestiniane suicide bombers. I was further suprised to see that the entry was from Palestine, despite being filmed by a director who is currently a Dutch resident and by the fact that there is currently not a country named Palestine.

I then came upon a fantastic op-ed in the Jpost. The gist of it is that any film trying to give a humane perspective to other suicide bombers, from 9/11 or Madrid or London, would have been lambasted by the international community and not received so much as a nomination. Within this terrible conflict that Israel and the Palestinians have been embroiled, stereotypes and generalizations have been propgated on either side. It is important to view Israelis not just as soldiers and settlers, and Palestinians not just as terrorists and suicide bombers. However, a film such as this gives a tacit permission to identify with and pity a murderer who explodes himself amongst innocent men, women and children. People who are guilty for nothing more than wanting to get a slice of pizza with friends or trying to get to school on time to hand in a piece of homework.

The importance of not overly demonizing the other side must be emphasised, but at what cost?