If you haven't seen this, check it out:
The Arab Conscience (Al Dameer Al Arabi, directed by Ahmad Al Arian), a sequel to The Arab Dream (Al Hilm Al Arabi, 1998), premiered on Zoom TV on 27 February 2008. After the opening credits, the songs by Wadee'a Al Safi and Mohammad Al Azabi, and an excerpt from The Arab Dream, The Arab Conscience proper begins 6:07 minutes into the video. It features 106 Arab singers, including Latifa, Hani Shaker, Nancy Ajram, Khaled, Sherine, Saber Al Rebai, Redha Al Abdullah, Amal Maher, Khaled Selim, Ahlam, Diana Karazon, Abdullah Al Rowaished, Wa'ad, Ehab Tawfeeq, Mostafa Mahfooth, Amal Hejazi, Wa'el Jassar, Omniyah, Ammar Hassan, Asalah, Jailani, Nancy Za'abalawi, Majid Al Muhandis, Amnah, Lotfi Boshnaq, Yara, Omar Al-Abdullat, Nawal, Noor Mhna, Fatin Helal Baik, and Mo'amin. The video cuts back and forth between harrowing images (from archival footage taken between 1998 and 2008) of deaths and destructions inflicted upon Arabs by US and Israeli wars and occupations -- as well as scenes of intra-Arab conflicts and incidents of terrorism -- with shots of singers whose songs urge the audience to overcome the divide and conquer game played by the empire.
(Tarbouch tip: Rami)
Thursday, April 03, 2008
The Arab Conscience
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
29 comments:
the arab dream = al hulm al arabi, not al hilm.
I've seen this video but I haven't seen the context. It airs every day in the evening on Zoom.
Not only are the images powerful, they are sickening in a similar way as it was to watch the 9/11 films over and over and over-- but for these, people remember the circumstances of the majority of the images.
People watching the video know that this is Iraq, this is in Palestine, this is the girl in Gaza whose entire family was killed by a rocket on the beach, this is Qana, this is...
For those of you who haven't seen any images like this before, because you've only seen US media, this is what happens every day, and what is broadcasted every day, by media that doesn't edit out tough images for your comfort.
Imagine watching 9/11 every day, but each day it's something new.
it's al hilm if ur shami.
provoking pictures indeed. but the Arabs are their own worst enemy. lots of talk, culture etc.... little action. Thats what you expect from them anyway these days.
you say hulm, i say hilm. i should clarify lest i be accused of plagiarising that the description is taken off of the google video page verbatim.
I've never understood why some cultures parade around images of horrid images. I suppose it makes a statement, but it just seems to be in poor taste and exploitive to me.
some cultures = EVERY culture. Everybody displays images of human suffering. Here in the U.S., we seen the planes hit the towers, the agony, etc all the time. I know it's fun to pick on Arabs, and criticize their culture, but let's be real about it.
If you wanna be real about it, there's a fundamental difference between showing planes hitting the towers and showing bloodied babies with missing limbs.
hmm. well i have the image of the bloodied baby in the arms of the firefighter after the oklahoma city bombing pretty seared into my mind.
i actually think that NOT showing these images in US media serves a very specific purpose. if people actually saw what happens in a war, we wouldn't stand for a war-mongering government. and if people saw what it was like to be really afraid, we wouldn't accept the US government's attempts to keep us consumed by politics of fear.
oppressed peoples have no right to publicize or display their oppression. shame on them.
there's a difference between showing wounded in a hospital, and showing those wounded with limbs hanging off. That's just me.
you're right, it is just you. there may be a difference, but there's no problem with an oppressed people showing either to the world. unless of course you support the oppressor. in that case, it's very problematic when the oppressed refuses to be silent and shows the world the products of occupation and oppression.
The video cuts back and forth between harrowing images (from archival footage taken between 1998 and 2008) of deaths and destructions inflicted upon Arabs by US and Israeli wars and occupations -- as well as scenes of intra-Arab conflicts and incidents of terrorism -- with shots of singers whose songs urge the audience to overcome the divide and conquer game played by the empire.
Why no "harrowing footage" of Arab terrorist attacks against non-Arabs? Are they trying to claim that isn't part of the "Arab consciousness"? Could have fooled me! And about 7 billion other non-Arabs! Why don't we take a poll of the world's population and find out what Arabs are known for?
You are American, Emily?
yeah, she is. She's trying to fit in and be down for a cause. Guess she latched onto this one...
"If you wanna be real about it, there's a fundamental difference between showing planes hitting the towers and showing bloodied babies with missing limbs."
Uh... Western culture has, for 95% of the past 2000 years, fetishistically centered around a guy nailed to a piece of wood, with thorns wraped around his head. But you know, America's gotten past that, right? I mean a gory *movie* about that stuff would never sell nowadays, right?
Anyways, the most disgusting, cowardly thing is *causing* babies to bleed and lose their limbs, and then hide the fact away. Which is what the US govt does.
Why no "harrowing footage" of Arab terrorist attacks against non-Arabs? Are they trying to claim that isn't part of the "Arab consciousness"?
That was in the video as well. Why did you not watch it before commenting?
How come the post didn't mention it then? I didn't watch the video because I'm not an arab and it is for arab consciousness. And Emily.
That's pretty dumb.
Rocky, you sound so immature. the post didn't say it was for any group in particular. And that's really pathetic of you to make a comment on the Arab consciousness without watching the context of the video. And by the way, it would be more interesting to take the world's opinion on what American are known for.
And yes, I am an American.
Rocky, I agree with you totally.
My son is enlisting in the US Marines next week.
Rocky, I don't think it matters, but Emily is an Arab-American. Why the obsession with her ethnicity?
Fadi! You outed me!
It is fascinating, though, isn't it. For some reason what I write drives some people crazy simply because "Emily" is written above it, and not "Amira" or "Rima" or "Leena".
Why does everyone think ethnicity should determine your thoughts and political opinions? It's such an inherently racist basis for judgement...
And for everyone's information, Arabs are named ALLLLLLLLLL sorts of things you wouldn't be able to recognize on paper as 'Arab'.
Oh and since we're examining my background, let's just throw in there the fact that I come from a military family.
Now try to determine my opinions without knowing me.
Shut up Emily. You're like 1/10000th Lebanese. You pee-ed out that DNA years ago. KABOBfestWATCH
It's ok, Buydatti. You don't have to go all hating just cause your mom gave you a name that can be loosely translated as 'testicles'.
haha..that was really funny!
I feel so guilty when I watch all the suffering and injustice in this world. May God forgive me for not being able to show that I am someone who still has a conscience.
Post a Comment