04 April 2009
02 April 2009
Britz – misunderstanding terrorism
I watched Britz, the two-part drama of a Muslim family where the brother starts working for MI5 and the sister becomes a terrorist. You can tell from this outline where the problem lies: it’s barmy!
The first episode, the one about the brother, is quite good; the second one is ridiculous. All the suspense is gone because it’s all in the first one, which is enough to send you to sleep. However, the worst part is the usual tripe about terrorism. It’s the white middle class Guardian-reading tosh about ‘understanding’ the causes of terrorism and missing the point completely.
(Some) Muslims in Britain might feel angry with the government, frustrated that 2m people marching on the streets of London didn’t stop a stupid war killing hundreds of thousand of Muslims. They might feel the first victims of the surveillance society towards which Britain is sliding. Nevertheless, these are not the reasons why rational and sensible Muslims, like, supposedly, the sister in Britz, turn to terrorism. In the video-tape statements, the bombers focus on British foreign policy not life-style.
It is important to understand the rationale of terrorism, its characteristics and explore possible preventative strategies (without targeting an entire religious group). This drama gets it all wrong. I particularly disliked the sister arguing with the fundamentalist guy. Her lack of debating skills was phenomenal. Yes, there are problems in the West. Yes, there is islamophobia (as there is racism and sexism). Yes, women are seen as sexual objects (err, that’s across the world actually). Yes, we didn’t stop the war in Iraq. Yes, MPs are voting through shit laws. But this does not justify murder.
The trouble is that terrorism is also seen as ‘freedom fighting’, the underdog rebelling against the oppressor. In the ‘arts', in particular, it is, alas, a romantic myth. Thus, Britz is to Islamic terrorism what the Godfather is to the mafia, instead of being Gomorra, a more realistic, no-nonsense and crude film about organised crime. Some film-makers tend to think that terrorists fight for freedom. In Britz, all the examples of lack of freedom in our society count as reasons for terrorism. It’s quite the opposite, dear. It’s freedom that fundamentalists (of any type) can’t stand, not lack of it! The film would have been a little more believable if they had stuck to foreign policy. So much ambition and so little talent!
Finally, I found the sister’s disguise as a pregnant woman to carry out the attack particularly distasteful. I suppose it’s meant to be ironic. It’s just awful and repulsive. This is why I would ask you to visit the BBC page about the victims.
The first episode, the one about the brother, is quite good; the second one is ridiculous. All the suspense is gone because it’s all in the first one, which is enough to send you to sleep. However, the worst part is the usual tripe about terrorism. It’s the white middle class Guardian-reading tosh about ‘understanding’ the causes of terrorism and missing the point completely.
(Some) Muslims in Britain might feel angry with the government, frustrated that 2m people marching on the streets of London didn’t stop a stupid war killing hundreds of thousand of Muslims. They might feel the first victims of the surveillance society towards which Britain is sliding. Nevertheless, these are not the reasons why rational and sensible Muslims, like, supposedly, the sister in Britz, turn to terrorism. In the video-tape statements, the bombers focus on British foreign policy not life-style.
It is important to understand the rationale of terrorism, its characteristics and explore possible preventative strategies (without targeting an entire religious group). This drama gets it all wrong. I particularly disliked the sister arguing with the fundamentalist guy. Her lack of debating skills was phenomenal. Yes, there are problems in the West. Yes, there is islamophobia (as there is racism and sexism). Yes, women are seen as sexual objects (err, that’s across the world actually). Yes, we didn’t stop the war in Iraq. Yes, MPs are voting through shit laws. But this does not justify murder.
The trouble is that terrorism is also seen as ‘freedom fighting’, the underdog rebelling against the oppressor. In the ‘arts', in particular, it is, alas, a romantic myth. Thus, Britz is to Islamic terrorism what the Godfather is to the mafia, instead of being Gomorra, a more realistic, no-nonsense and crude film about organised crime. Some film-makers tend to think that terrorists fight for freedom. In Britz, all the examples of lack of freedom in our society count as reasons for terrorism. It’s quite the opposite, dear. It’s freedom that fundamentalists (of any type) can’t stand, not lack of it! The film would have been a little more believable if they had stuck to foreign policy. So much ambition and so little talent!
Finally, I found the sister’s disguise as a pregnant woman to carry out the attack particularly distasteful. I suppose it’s meant to be ironic. It’s just awful and repulsive. This is why I would ask you to visit the BBC page about the victims.
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