This video is an interesting scene from the movie Team America: World Police directed by Trey Parker.
In this scene, Gary, a new member of Team America, makes his first move as a protector of freedom of the Middle East. He must act his way through the security guards to find out where the ‘terrorists’ are. This film contains many political humors, of which the best shown is the tension between America and the Middle East. From my perspective, Trey Parker purposefully suited up the Team members in iridescent stars-and-stripes uniforms that do not match the sandy scenery of the Middle East to show that they are not welcome in the Arab community. The clumsiness in Gary’s makeup also serves the same purpose. Even though it may seem like the United States is motivated by a good cause (democracy and stability, they say) to be involved in the Middle Eastern conflicts or create them, most Arabic people do not appreciate or welcome the US involvement. Gary cannot communicate fluently with the Arabs and moves past the door with uncertainty, which may represent the real-life political situation, without trying to recognize the dangers that might lie ahead of America. Perhaps it is better to leave the Arabic nations to solve their own problems, or actually achieve a real goal of peace.
SL
(taken from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6eHnuXBQ4)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
SL, this video is a great example of how Hollywood and American entertainment depict the conflicts between the Middle East and the United States. It is common for a group of people to use comedy to divert their uneasy feelings towards a subject. It is a great observation to point out the fact that the Americans in this film are wearing the colors of our flag. It could possibly point out two ideas, one of which is stating that we our strangers in a foreign land. We do not blend in with the Arabs and their culture and for the most part we have no intention of doing anything to learn about them. It also shows that we are trying to put our ways of government and lifestyle in a country, which many of our customs would be seen, as obscene. One thing we need to think about however, is that yes, must of us do not care to learn about the Middle East. On the same level however is the fact that the Arabs also have not tried to learn about our culture and ways of life. To solve our conflict in the Middle East we both need to have equal information on the opposing force.
-PC
Post a Comment