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OpEdNews Op Eds    H4'ed 12/12/10

Budrus: A Film That Gives Viewers Permission to Feel Something Unpopular

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Westerners or Americans have long thought that Palestinians needed to stick to nonviolence against Israel if they ever hoped to win peace. Julia Bacha, the writer and director behind the documentary, explained during an appearance on "Riz Khan" on Al Jazeera English, covering nonviolent struggles require patience. There is no guaranteed outcome. A person has to believe in the determination of the characters involved in the struggle. This is why Americans do not know about peaceful resistance by Palestinians; the media sometimes picks up on protest movements when they are at their most sensational points but often only display interest in covering violence, which can be blamed on terrorism.

 

Bacha is a filmmaker who is truly committed to the cause of forging cooperation and understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by shifting attitudes. She is greatly optimistic about nonviolence bringing peace to the Palestinians: 

 

"To use nonviolence is much harder. It requires much more courage. It requires much more bravery than using violent methods"These processes take time. They lead to societies that are more democratic. They lead to societies that in this case through the participation of women in the struggle will allow for women to have a bigger role in power. Hopefully, with the political parties having to organize together the end result will be that the political parties can disagree but they have a larger common goal. Also, the participation of Israelis in these demonstrations creates an opportunity for people, who have not met but who have share the land, in the end to recognize the dignity and rights in the other and, when peace comes, this will be a long term peace and not just a ceasefire."

 

For nine weeks, the film has been battling traditions of commercial censorship in America and has only been shown on a handful of theaters around the country. It has been on the festival circuit and has earned awards at the Berlin, Tribeca, San Francisco and Bergen International Film Festivals and also a Witness Award at the Silverdocs Film Festival. This may mean nothing to you, but for documentary filmmakers, festivals can sometimes be the only opportunity one has to show their film and convince a distributor to release the film to a wider audience.

 

It has more power than any book by Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, or Ilan Pappe. The director and producers understand, as Neil Postman wrote, that images tend "to dismember reality." The news often "dismembers" the story of the conflict by showing only terrorism or by showing only war. The film challenges the "idiosyncratic" coverage of the conflict by adding a piece of the story that is often left out. That piece has more power than any other pieces of the story because it shows the people want peace but are struggling and need the world's help to survive.

 

The film, which began production in 2003, humanizes the Palestinians. It gives attention to a conflict that most artists and media makers would not dare, which is why so little art and media on the conflict is created. It is not afraid to make the Palestinians seem like real people who deserve empathy. And so, it creates inquisitiveness among Americans, who never would have dared to search for the truth about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.

It makes Americans relieved to know people are trying to use nonviolence. It make some think about joining the struggle. It makes others, who have had their worldview or prejudice toward Palestinians challenged, admit they need to go home and think over what they just watched.

Like most art with the power to create social change, it destroys ignorance while giving viewers permission to feel empathy and tenderness. When you see Morrar's daughter throw her body on the bulldozer, joy is felt. When you see members of the community being beaten by defense forces, pain is felt. And, when the children forget the strategy and out of frustration begin to throw rocks at Israelis who are firing weapons at Palestinians, aggravation is felt.

 

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Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof Press. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, "Unauthorized Disclosure." He was an editor for OpEdNews.com
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