"World Cinema: Israel"

My book, "World Cinema: Israel" (originally published in 1996) is available from Amazon on "Kindle", with an in-depth chapter comparing and analyzing internationally acclaimed Israeli films up to 2010.

Want to see some of the best films of recent years? Just scroll down to "best films" to find listings of my recommendations.

amykronish@gmail.com

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Zionist Symbols

At this time, when the Bedouin village of El Arakib in the northern Negev is continuously being dismantled by the JNF and then rebuilt by the local Bedouin themselves, with assistance from Israeli activists, I would like to draw your attention to the importance of the plight of these human beings, citizens of the State of Israel, many of whom serve in the Israeli army. Please consider previewing and using with your groups, the important film Destiny Hills גבעות גורל by Leeor Kaufman, which I have written about in detail in the past.
Peretz Rodman, an educator and friend, wanted to share some observations about the film. The following is his posting:
I was struck by the plethora of Zionist mythic symbols that appear as part of the life of the Bedouin family:
  • love of this land and of a particular locale
  • manual labor
  • planting trees
  • awareness and enjoyment of wildflowers
  • male stoicism and emotional restraint
  • making the Negev bloom
  • collective labor accomplishing what individuals cannot
  • (the pièce de résistance) the blue and white lateral stripe color scheme of tent in which Muhammad wakes up during the Knesset demonstration scene, near the end of the film.
It's so clearly a way of showing an Israeli audience that "they" are so much a mirror image of "us".

No comments: