Limelight: Truth has many faces By Lubna Abdel-Aziz With no great store of personal sagacity, and an immense reservoir of human infirmity, Hollywood filmmakers have regularly overwhelmed us with their rigid and tenacious desire to thwart the truth. The goal was never the examination or investigation of facts or truth in a critical spirit. More often then not, the easy road taken was the popular one, warped, biased, distorted, but comforting, convenient and lucrative. The goal was always to gratify the basic instincts and tastes of a "madding crown". Consider the plight of the Native American, better known as the "red Indian". How often has he been depicted as the bloodthirsty barbarian with an insatiable desire to drink, rape, and kill? On the other hand, how frequently has he been portrayed as a helpless victim defending land, family and home from relentless invaders? The Germans of WWII fared no better, neither did the Communists of the USSR. The African Americans, dragged from their homes into servitude in the New World have just recently risen from slave status to die-hard criminals on the silver screen. The South Americans all deal in drugs and Asians are conspiring, disloyal, treacherous crooks. True or false, was never the issue. The re-enforcement of deceptions, half-truths and preconceived misconceptions, readily replaced truth and justice. Does any society rest on truth and justice? Society rests on force. Force is the august foundation of society breeding injustice at every turn. It is therefore no surprise that Hollywood perpetrates the form rather than the substance, disarming the weak, arming the strong -- turning untruths into unequivocal truths. Arabs on film have had their share of lashing and bashing. The once romantic and chivalrous, Sheikh of Araby now rolls in a mine of money, and strolls in a well-stacked harem. In recent years however, he has become a person with a mission -- to kill innocent women and children -- and according to filmmakers, senselessly, for no apparent reason. A ray of sunshine is shedding light on blinded eyes, softening Hollywood's hardened hearts. This season there is more than one film that attempts to show that another side to the coin. One man's "terrorist" could be another man's "freedom fighter". Some filmmakers have chosen a road less trodden, pursuing truth and fairness instead of feeding audiences with their comfort foods spiced with the usual lies, misconceptions and prejudices. British director Ridley Scott, inaugurated the movement with Kingdom of Heaven where the Arab leader Salaheddin appeared as honourable. as brave, and as virtuous as a crusader. Now Stephan Gaghan, after his Oscar win for writing the script to Traffic, writes and directs a marvellously convoluted political thriller, Syriana. While "drugs" ruled the world in Traffic, "oil" rules the hearts of men in this morally, murky, world of Syriana. The movie is fast, vast and complex, racing from Texas to Congress to the CIA -- from Washington to China to Kazakhstan. The film is a labyrinthine exposé that winds and waves its way between mysterious characters of Arab princes, traders, spies and terrorists. Based on Robert Baer's book See No Evil, the gripping story, despite its myriad twisted plots, grabs you and never lets go. The refreshing surprise that stupefies is the new enlightened view of the so-called "terrorist". Gaghan treats his Muslim Pakistani anti-hero Wassim (Mazhar Munir) with an abundance of courage heretofore unseen. Wassim and his father lose their jobs at the Texas-based oil company "Connex" in the Gulf. Vulnerable, desperate and confused, he becomes the perfect prey for "terrorist" groups, who easily recruit him as a suicide bomber. Gaghan dares to put a human face on his "murderer in training". His second almost "simpatico" character is Prince Nassir (Alexander Siddiq) who deals a serious blow to Texas énergy giant, Connex. Gaghan succeeds in exposing the complicated mosaic of injustice brought about by the world's insatiable need for oil, of which there is less than the world requires. The infectious fanatic hatred of Wassim and his conversion to suicide terrorism becomes a clear logical process, easy to understand. You are in harmony with the hungry, the persecuted, the downtrodden, even if he is a suicide bomber. The stellar cast, assembled by Gaghan is led by George Clooney, himself a rare filmmaker with grace and integrity. Clooney is getting more rave reviews for Syriana following the critical success of Goodnight and Good Luck. As CIA agent Robert Barnes, double-crossed by his associates, Clooney wears a bushy beard, and adds 15 extra kilogrammes around his midriff. leaving his super-star persona at home. He brings to the screen yet another unglamorous portrayal that neither dictates nor dominates, even if he is executive producer of the film. The vision and courage of director Stephen Spielberg has been well-established, with his impressive list of fearless adventures, under the seas in Jaws, in outer space with ET. or in Nazi Germany on Schindler's List. There is therefore nothing unusual in this brilliant director of the Jewish faith, bringing us a film about the killing of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian group "Black September" at the 1972 Munich Olympic games -- Munich. Why then is Spielberg in the centre of a storm of protest from Hollywood, Congress, Jewish organisations and even the Israeli government? Spielberg reveals even more courage by questioning the purpose of revenge. He does not deal with the killer group "Black September" but recounts the aftermath of the incidents, and how the Israeli Intelligence Service of Mossad hunts and kills those believed to be, but not certainly, responsible. He dares question the morality or immorality of assassination. Moreover, he highlights the little known fact that Mossad only eliminated minor activists rather than the main killers. Spielberg has no appetite for revenge. Revenge merely perpetuates the cycle of violence. When victim turns avenger, he is no longer a victim. What then is the difference between the Mossad and "Black September", Spielberg dares to ask. The killing and bloodshed continues. The one-dimensional stereo-typical view of villain and hero, is no longer satisfactory to a few intelligent filmmakers. It is not only fair, but intelligent to pursue veracity, and flip the coin on the other side, once in a while. British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (1521-1618) explores the concept of the multi-faced truth in his History of the World. He recounts, in his famous History that one day while working on his manuscript, he heard a scuffle below his window. He watched the brawlers carefully and for a long while, then returned to resume his work. The next day, he related the incident to a friend, who contradicted him on every point, as he himself was witness to the brawl. Raleigh reflected, if he were mistaken as to events which passed beneath his very eyes, how much greater must be the difficulty of ascertaining the truth concerning events far distant. In despair, he threw the manuscript of his History in the fire. Truth is elusive, multi-dimensional, ambiguous and complex -- still our search must never stop. Imitation, often blind, lies at the root of most human action. People are called good, when they do as others do -- even in Hollywood. To defy what others do or think, to seek another side of the truth, no matter how offensive, is a necessary but lonely task. We salute all the bravehearts who try. The truth is rarely pure, and never simple -- The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
