Amreeka was a really good movie; I'm glad I got the opportunity to watch it. It was sort of depressing, but had some heartwarming moments and a little bit of comedy thrown in. The movie sort of made me sad about the environment that I come from. I don't understand how people can be that cruel to someone who is just trying to make a better life for themselves and their family. I also know that a lot of that racism, like the patients leaving Nabeel's practice because of his origins, actually happened all over the place in the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing carnage. I just can't see myself ever leaving or thinking less of a person for something someone else did, and I can't imagine why someone would be so blinded by hate or fear to do something like that. At least leave because he's a bad doctor or something, not because he's Palestinian.
Interesting movie. I was reminded of some friends of mine who adopted a teenage boy from Azerbaijan about a year after 9/11. He experienced the same sort of encounters and it was fascinating to see his transformation into a "normal" American teenager, which was very similar to Fadi's - the change of clothes, the change in attitude, the music, video games, etc. It was also interesting to see the biases from both sides. I'm thinking in particular of the comment by the grandmother when she said that even if the streets were lined with gold, she still wouldn't come to America because she doesn't like Americans. So you see people on both sides who have never had any direct experience with the other yet still have so much hatred toward them. The humorous moments seemed to break up the disheartening tone of the movie, which was appreciated.
I think what struck me most intensely while watching "Amreeka," was how Arabic culture, both in its place of origin and displaced, has always been one one of extreme beauty and anguish. The Israeli-Palestinian conflicts specifically have been going on so long it is no longer an ill abnormality, but a cultural idiosyncrasy. The reality of that is casting someone's, or in this case an entire enclave's, struggle as their lot in life. "Amreeka" illustrated this with Mona and Fadii's struggle in their old home and new one; a struggle to find a place in which to live a happy life without walls or prejudice. The film was a reminder of not just Palestinian issues, but of the growing number of people who are growing up displaced--some by choice, others not. However, the circumstance does not minimize the struggle, as shown by the film.
This movie broke my heart a half dozen times. I feel a lot of empathy for Muna, a single mom with a child just a few years younger than mine. I think there's a certain universal communication breakdown with parents and teenagers, though hers is certainly intensified by the cultural divide. I think a lot of people come to the U.S. for a better life, and find, like Muna did, that 2 degrees and ten years of experience translates to a job flipping burgers. Though I think Matt was pretty cool. It's unusual to see a positive portrayal of a white kid with finny colored hair and lots of tattoos in a movie. That made me happy. I'm glad it ended on a more hopeful note. I hope Muna gets to have the life she was looking for.
I really enjoyed the movie. It really captured how hard life is when you're considered different, especially if you are in a different country. One part that really got my attention was how Fadi was so excited to be able to go to America to get an education. Most Americans really take that for granted, kids (even in college) complain about going to school yet it's a privilege denied to many people in the world. "Amreeka" also showed how people have become so concerned with looks and how people are dressed. And how if someone doesn't look like everyone else then they're criticized. I really liked how the movie ended. Even though Mona and Fadi and their family are going through very trying times, they still are hopeful and happy to have each other. Elizabeth Gunnels Arabic 1001
Watching Amreeka was an eye opening experience for me personally. It was a sad reminder of how racism affects people from different minorities on a daily basis. I thought the movie said a lot about how resilient the Arab people are and how their families play an important role in their lives. I also gained some insight as to how some Arabs were wrongfully treated after the attacks on 9/11. Furthermore, I found it ironic that the family in Amreeka was Palestinian and Jewish. The harassment they faced at the checkpoints displays the discrimination that people throughout the world experience regularly based on their religious beliefs. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Arabic movie.
I didn’t watch a trailer or research the movie before I went to see it on Tuesday, but I had a feeling it was going to be a good movie and I wasn’t disappointed! The plot of the movie was not only believable, but also enjoyable. As the movie progressed, one couldn’t help but feel attached to the characters. The conversations were natural and flowed together seamlessly and the acting seemed as I it wasn’t acting at all in some places. All together I loved the plot, characters and the everyday problems that came together to make an amazing movie.
Amreeka tells a very interesting about a mom and son and the difficulties of being Arab in America during the time of war with Iraq. Americans have historically excluded almost every minority for one reason or another. This behavior has influenced our views toward Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and many other ethnic groups. Since 9-11 a lot of attention has been placed on Arabs living in and outside of country. Some Americans even demonize the entire ethnicity. We must remember is that the vast majority of Arabic people want peace and are tolerant. When all Americans realize this, situations like those depicted in the movie will be drastically reduced.
I walked in the theater for the showing of Amreeka a few minutes late but I didn’t miss any of the story. I have not read a lot about anti-Palestinian sentiment of American’s, but I feel that the movie did a good job of depicting what a Palestinian family might have gone through after 9/11 with the hate mail that they received in the film and the precautions that they had to make like buying metallic bats to place next to their bed for protection. Another thing that interested me about the film was that it was hinted that the media in America wasn’t showing all the devastating things going on in Palestine at the time, just the assassination of Saddam Hussein—this is seen in the scenes where Muna’s brother-in-law Nabeel is sleeping downstairs and watching television and when the entire family is watching television at the dinner table. American media has a knack for giving Americans a “bloated sense of patriotism, a media-fed consciousness that hosts binaries of ‘us,’ the citizens of the United States, and ‘them,’ a category that all peoples of middle-eastern descent gets clumped into” (The quote is from an essay of mine that was just published by the Norman Mailer Center, http://nmcenter.org/awards_pages/view/7/2012-norman-mailer-center-and-the-ncte-awards)
Amreeka is a great movie with a brilliant story line. I honestly cried multiple times while watching this movie. Muna and Fadi faced many obstacles in America, and the film did a great job in broadcasting these difficulties while not downplaying the overall theme of the movie. I loved how the movie ended with everyone having fun together. They could have easily created the film so that it would have a concrete ending, but they didn’t. Not having a concrete ending helped leave a sense of happiness and longing in the audience because the ending shows them having fun after going through some rough nights. Overall, Amreeka is an eye-opening movie that invites people to be both open-minded and respectful of others no matter how different they may be.
I found this movie to be very interesting. At first I was skeptical, thinking that it might not be that good. But I really liked it. The story of this mother and her son is a very emotional one. I found it to be brave of them to leave Isreal and come to America. I cant even imagine how hard that must be to leave everything and try to make a life in an entirely new country. I found it very hard to watch the scenes when school kids referred to the son and mom and the rest of the family as terrorists because everyone except and ignorant person knows they are not. All in all, i found this to be a very compelling movie that I would recomend to others.
Hopes and dreams are the only things that new immigrants have when they come to America. The Female protagonist in the story is a mother who wants nothing more than to keep her son safe. This became extremely apparent that the current situation in Palestine was not the best place for her son to be after a brief intense brush with the military. She packed all she could when she left for America but, yet she didn't pack enough in the since that she wouldn't be ready for the social stigma that currently surrounds foreigners from the Middle East. Muna like most foreigners are to American life was unaware of the aggressive form that prejudiced takes in America. America is a land of dreams but, at the same time it is a land of nightmares and demons.
I was pleased by Amreeka’s story of how hard it is to be a newly arrived immigrant, especially if you are just starting out with almost nothing. It was even more difficult for Muna and Fadi who were Arabs in the “post 9/11” era. It accurately depicts American sentiments during those troubled years where 9/11 was still horribly fresh on our minds. It also depicted the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis especially one the border between the East and West Bank which has been a place of conflict since the establishment of Israel as a nation. In all what this movie has shown me is that even though people in general are being more and more tolerant and accepting of others we still have a ways to go. And in a way we will always have work to do in that regard. Asad Kilgore
I think this was a great film with a great story-line. I think a lot of people's reactions to this film are heavily influenced by preconceptions about what this film is supposed to be "about." I can't blame them, based on the stories description, one might expect too much or too little of it. This is not a "message" film, and if you go into it looking for messages, you're going to miss the point. This is not a political film, this film is personal. You could call it simple, but it's not simplistic. This is not a perfect film, but it has a lot more depth, beauty and truth than most family dramas, and certainly more than the didactic work one might expect. This film does a phenomenal job at depicting the struggles I am sure many faced after the events of 9/11 occurred. Samira Murphy ARAB 2001
Amreeka was a really good movie; I'm glad I got the opportunity to watch it. It was sort of depressing, but had some heartwarming moments and a little bit of comedy thrown in. The movie sort of made me sad about the environment that I come from. I don't understand how people can be that cruel to someone who is just trying to make a better life for themselves and their family. I also know that a lot of that racism, like the patients leaving Nabeel's practice because of his origins, actually happened all over the place in the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing carnage. I just can't see myself ever leaving or thinking less of a person for something someone else did, and I can't imagine why someone would be so blinded by hate or fear to do something like that. At least leave because he's a bad doctor or something, not because he's Palestinian.
ReplyDeleteInteresting movie. I was reminded of some friends of mine who adopted a teenage boy from Azerbaijan about a year after 9/11. He experienced the same sort of encounters and it was fascinating to see his transformation into a "normal" American teenager, which was very similar to Fadi's - the change of clothes, the change in attitude, the music, video games, etc. It was also interesting to see the biases from both sides. I'm thinking in particular of the comment by the grandmother when she said that even if the streets were lined with gold, she still wouldn't come to America because she doesn't like Americans. So you see people on both sides who have never had any direct experience with the other yet still have so much hatred toward them. The humorous moments seemed to break up the disheartening tone of the movie, which was appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI think what struck me most intensely while watching "Amreeka," was how Arabic culture, both in its place of origin and displaced, has always been one one of extreme beauty and anguish. The Israeli-Palestinian conflicts specifically have been going on so long it is no longer an ill abnormality, but a cultural idiosyncrasy. The reality of that is casting someone's, or in this case an entire enclave's, struggle as their lot in life. "Amreeka" illustrated this with Mona and Fadii's struggle in their old home and new one; a struggle to find a place in which to live a happy life without walls or prejudice. The film was a reminder of not just Palestinian issues, but of the growing number of people who are growing up displaced--some by choice, others not. However, the circumstance does not minimize the struggle, as shown by the film.
ReplyDeleteJayne
This movie broke my heart a half dozen times. I feel a lot of empathy for Muna, a single mom with a child just a few years younger than mine. I think there's a certain universal communication breakdown with parents and teenagers, though hers is certainly intensified by the cultural divide. I think a lot of people come to the U.S. for a better life, and find, like Muna did, that 2 degrees and ten years of experience translates to a job flipping burgers. Though I think Matt was pretty cool. It's unusual to see a positive portrayal of a white kid with finny colored hair and lots of tattoos in a movie. That made me happy. I'm glad it ended on a more hopeful note. I hope Muna gets to have the life she was looking for.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the movie. It really captured how hard life is when you're considered different, especially if you are in a different country. One part that really got my attention was how Fadi was so excited to be able to go to America to get an education. Most Americans really take that for granted, kids (even in college) complain about going to school yet it's a privilege denied to many people in the world. "Amreeka" also showed how people have become so concerned with looks and how people are dressed. And how if someone doesn't look like everyone else then they're criticized. I really liked how the movie ended. Even though Mona and Fadi and their family are going through very trying times, they still are hopeful and happy to have each other.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Gunnels
Arabic 1001
Watching Amreeka was an eye opening experience for me personally. It was a sad reminder of how racism affects people from different minorities on a daily basis. I thought the movie said a lot about how resilient the Arab people are and how their families play an important role in their lives. I also gained some insight as to how some Arabs were wrongfully treated after the attacks on 9/11. Furthermore, I found it ironic that the family in Amreeka was Palestinian and Jewish. The harassment they faced at the checkpoints displays the discrimination that people throughout the world experience regularly based on their religious beliefs. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Arabic movie.
ReplyDeleteMaTH Horne
Arabic 1001
I didn’t watch a trailer or research the movie before I went to see it on Tuesday, but I had a feeling it was going to be a good movie and I wasn’t disappointed! The plot of the movie was not only believable, but also enjoyable. As the movie progressed, one couldn’t help but feel attached to the characters. The conversations were natural and flowed together seamlessly and the acting seemed as I it wasn’t acting at all in some places. All together I loved the plot, characters and the everyday problems that came together to make an amazing movie.
ReplyDeleteGibson Pope
Arabic 1001
Amreeka tells a very interesting about a mom and son and the difficulties of being Arab in America during the time of war with Iraq. Americans have historically excluded almost every minority for one reason or another. This behavior has influenced our views toward Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and many other ethnic groups. Since 9-11 a lot of attention has been placed on Arabs living in and outside of country. Some Americans even demonize the entire ethnicity. We must remember is that the vast majority of Arabic people want peace and are tolerant. When all Americans realize this, situations like those depicted in the movie will be drastically reduced.
ReplyDeleteJohn D Howard Jr.
Arabic 2001
I walked in the theater for the showing of Amreeka a few minutes late but I didn’t miss any of the story. I have not read a lot about anti-Palestinian sentiment of American’s, but I feel that the movie did a good job of depicting what a Palestinian family might have gone through after 9/11 with the hate mail that they received in the film and the precautions that they had to make like buying metallic bats to place next to their bed for protection. Another thing that interested me about the film was that it was hinted that the media in America wasn’t showing all the devastating things going on in Palestine at the time, just the assassination of Saddam Hussein—this is seen in the scenes where Muna’s brother-in-law Nabeel is sleeping downstairs and watching television and when the entire family is watching television at the dinner table. American media has a knack for giving Americans a “bloated sense of patriotism, a media-fed consciousness that hosts binaries of ‘us,’ the citizens of the United States, and ‘them,’ a category that all peoples of middle-eastern descent gets clumped into” (The quote is from an essay of mine that was just published by the Norman Mailer Center, http://nmcenter.org/awards_pages/view/7/2012-norman-mailer-center-and-the-ncte-awards)
ReplyDeleteAmreeka is a great movie with a brilliant story line. I honestly cried multiple times while watching this movie. Muna and Fadi faced many obstacles in America, and the film did a great job in broadcasting these difficulties while not downplaying the overall theme of the movie. I loved how the movie ended with everyone having fun together. They could have easily created the film so that it would have a concrete ending, but they didn’t. Not having a concrete ending helped leave a sense of happiness and longing in the audience because the ending shows them having fun after going through some rough nights. Overall, Amreeka is an eye-opening movie that invites people to be both open-minded and respectful of others no matter how different they may be.
ReplyDeleteYavaria Ryan
Arabic 1001
I found this movie to be very interesting. At first I was skeptical, thinking that it might not be that good. But I really liked it. The story of this mother and her son is a very emotional one. I found it to be brave of them to leave Isreal and come to America. I cant even imagine how hard that must be to leave everything and try to make a life in an entirely new country. I found it very hard to watch the scenes when school kids referred to the son and mom and the rest of the family as terrorists because everyone except and ignorant person knows they are not. All in all, i found this to be a very compelling movie that I would recomend to others.
ReplyDeleteBrennan Patrick
Arabic 1001
Hopes and dreams are the only things that new immigrants have when they come to America. The Female protagonist in the story is a mother who wants nothing more than to keep her son safe. This became extremely apparent that the current situation in Palestine was not the best place for her son to be after a brief intense brush with the military. She packed all she could when she left for America but, yet she didn't pack enough in the since that she wouldn't be ready for the social stigma that currently surrounds foreigners from the Middle East. Muna like most foreigners are to American life was unaware of the aggressive form that prejudiced takes in America. America is a land of dreams but, at the same time it is a land of nightmares and demons.
ReplyDeleteLatane' Brackett, IV (Elmo)
Arabic 1001
I was pleased by Amreeka’s story of how hard it is to be a newly arrived immigrant, especially if you are just starting out with almost nothing. It was even more difficult for Muna and Fadi who were Arabs in the “post 9/11” era. It accurately depicts American sentiments during those troubled years where 9/11 was still horribly fresh on our minds. It also depicted the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis especially one the border between the East and West Bank which has been a place of conflict since the establishment of Israel as a nation. In all what this movie has shown me is that even though people in general are being more and more tolerant and accepting of others we still have a ways to go. And in a way we will always have work to do in that regard.
ReplyDeleteAsad Kilgore
I think this was a great film with a great story-line. I think a lot of people's reactions to this film are heavily influenced by preconceptions about what this film is supposed to be "about." I can't blame them, based on the stories description, one might expect too much or too little of it. This is not a "message" film, and if you go into it looking for messages, you're going to miss the point. This is not a political film, this film is personal. You could call it simple, but it's not simplistic. This is not a perfect film, but it has a lot more depth, beauty and truth than most family dramas, and certainly more than the didactic work one might expect. This film does a phenomenal job at depicting the struggles I am sure many faced after the events of 9/11 occurred.
ReplyDeleteSamira Murphy
ARAB 2001