By Yu-Lin Liao Possible reasons for left-handedness Hand orientation is developed in unborn children, most commonly determined by observing which hand is predominantly licked or held close to the mouth. Current genetic research suggests there is a genetic factor involved. In 2007, researchers discovered LRRTM1, the first gene linked to increased odds of being left-handed. A neurologist named Geschwind proposed a theory that exposure to higher rates of testosterone before birth can lead to a left-handed child. Testosterone suppresses the growth of the left cerebral hemisphere, so more neurons migrate to the right hemisphere, thus making it better suited to function as the center of language and handedness. The fetus is more likely to become left-handed since the right hemisphere controls the left half of the body. Some studies show that ultrasound scans may affect the brain of unborn children, causing higher rates of left-handedness in children born to mothers who have ultrasound scans compared to those who do not. Although the reason why is still unclear, the link between the two is definite. Being left in a right world Since 90% of the population is right-handed, being a lefty in a world designed for “right” people is no easy task. Left-handers suffered severe prejudice during the 18th and 19th centuries and left-handedness was often “beaten out” of people. In 21th century, using your left hand is no longer considered using the “devil’s hand.” But often, parents with children with left-side inclinations still want to “correct” them simply because using the right hand fits in better with our society. Lefties allegedly have a shorter life span due to this inconvenience, making them awkward and more likely to get into accidents. But being a “south paw”—another term for left-handed people originating from a baseball player—is not necessarily all bad. In some sports or even fights, because they use the opposite hand from most players or fighters, they have an advantage because they can do unexpected moves, and this surprise effect can easily make winners out of the lefties. So next time, watch out for that hook when you play with a lefty. Am I a lefty? How to tell if you are a lefty or not. Sometimes a child’s true handedness is hard to detect due to the influence of siblings or the environment. Here are a few questions to help you determine a person’s real hand preference. 1. Imagine the center of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with? 2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost? 3. Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking? 4. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding? 5. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup? 6. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use? 7. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost? If you answer “left” for most of the questions above, you have left-hand inclinations. Lefties can have pretty handwriting too! The right way of writing for lefties. Left-handers are notorious for their handwriting mostly because they are taught the “right” way. Correct word formation, pencil grip, and position of the paper are all different for left-handers. So left-handed children should be taught the left way instead of “the right way” to avoid bad handwriting and unnatural posture. Being a left-hander is sometimes hard but never wrong. To force left-handers to use their right hand instead may lead to awkwardness in both two hands, stuttering, stammering, learning and reading difficulties, and many more complications and inconveniences. Your brain becomes confused when instructed to act against its instincts. No matter which hand you use, don’t force the brain to do what it doesn’t want to do, especially if you are a teacher or a parent. The needs of left-handers should be heard, seen, and met, and awareness should be raised so designers, manufacturers, and many other people can help left-handers live more comfortably. After all, we don’t always need to be “right!”
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By Ting-Ru Chen
Have you ever wondered how Shrek become so disgusting? Or surprised about the interaction between the little girl and the monster in Monsters, Inc.? Want to know how the avalanche was made in the Ice Age? It’s all about animation! Pixar, DreamWorks, and Blue Sky are three of the most famous animation studios. Pixar has created many well-known animations in partnership with Walt Disney Pictures, Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), and Cars (2006). DreamWorks, which is part of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group, also has an animation studio, which brought the world a series of an ogre – Shrek (2001), Shrek2 (2004), and Shrek the Third (2007). They also produced notable animations such as Antz (1998), Shark Tale (2004), Madagascar (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), and Bee Movie (2007). Blue Sky may not be as well-known as the other two studios. They’ve only produced four animated features so far: Robots (2004), Ice Age (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and Horton Hears a Who (2008), but their image of a squirrel called Scrat who always chases his beloved acorn really impressed me. So how do they make their magic? Actually, animation studios work according to a very tough schedule. First, a story idea is pitched by members of the development team; they share their ideas and have to get their audience to believe in it. Next, ideas will be developed into several small stories, which may not be complete, and which are then written into scripts or text treatments. These are short documents that summarize the main idea of the story. Once a script page is ready, they give it to the storyboard artists. Imagining how the words will translate into actions and pictures, they make some sketches, looking like a hand-drawn comic book version of the movie. With the storyboard, the director and other colleagues can easily go through the main idea of the story. After that, the visual development department begins to plan the look of the film, not only the style, tone, and color, but also every character’s design, which should be as eye-catching as possible. Now it’s time for casting! Casting in animation is not an easy job, because they have to convey the character’s emotion only by voice even though the animation isn’t finished. Only now comes the animation part. Models will be sculpted and articulated, beginning with wire frame sculptures that become modeled in 3-D. Then there’s a layout, which means a rough stand-in shape to block out the movement of the character in the scene. Camera movement, character placement, lighting, scene timing, etc., all of which you’ll find in traditional movies, are used in animation, too. After the layout, animators start bringing the characters to life in the computer, so the characters act more like themselves. Animators also build up the 3-D world of the animation. The effects artists make the effects, of course, but this takes a lot of time, even if only for a 5-minute scene. The lighting, which you may not think is so important, is also crucial for the animation world. Before the last step, animation needs to be modified and checked again and again. Not until everything is perfect will they send the computer data to be “rendered.” Rendering is the act of translating all of the information in the files that make up the shot—sets, colors, character movement, etc., into a single frame of film. And then the final touches are added, which means they put in the sound effects, mix the soundtracks, correct the color, and make the film or digital prints. The whole process can take years to complete. There are some significant differences between the three studios, however. For one thing their styles are different. Secondly, they each use different software to achieve their goals. As the leader in the field of animation, Pixar has developed special software called RenderMan. In the field of computer graphics, there’s also a well-known program called Maya, which is used by many small studios or individual workers. However, the software developed by Pixar is the highest quality renderer. There’s also a RenderMan for Maya, which includes the advantages of Maya and with lots of new features. The software used by DreamWorks is a secret, but the main tool used by Blue Sky is Render Wranglers. Their scripting language, in which every scene will be rendered by a powerful ray-tracer, can do amazing things with shadows and the way that the light interacts with surfaces. Material Design Editor allows artists to design complex material networks, and Render Queue Manager is also used. But let’s leave these problems to the studios and just go to the theater and enjoy the wonderful animation! By Yu-Lin Liao As the famous quote from Romeo and Juliet goes, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Rationally, names don’t really have any significance before they are appointed to a certain person. Still, here are some names you might be familiar with that have had some strings attached to them for a long time. Joe is a sloppy guy and Susan is very lazy. John is so popular that everyone keeps writing him letters and Tom is a peeping freak. What are the real meanings and stories behind these famous names? Sloppy Joe A sloppy Joe is actually an American dish of ground beef, onions, ketchup, and other seasonings served on a hamburger bun. The name “sloppy” comes from the fact that eating it as if it were a normal sandwich often results in the meat and sauce spilling out. And “Joe” is a name that would suggest, to an American, a person of proletarian character and unassailable genuineness, similar to how having a cup of “Joe” referred to coffee. Lazy Susan A lazy Susan is a rotating tray placed on top of a table to aid in moving food on a large table or counter tops. They are often found in Chinese restaurants and in Chinese homes. The term “lazy Susan” first appeared in a Vanity Fair advertisement in 1917, but the device has been around since the 1700s and its invention is allegedly attributed to Thomas Jefferson. It is believed that servants were called “Susans” around the 1800s and that the revolving tables were made as a replacement for a “lazy Susan” or maid who didn’t want to work. Adam’s Apple Adam’s apple is not a kind of fruit but the laryngeal prominence in the male body. Popular tradition traces the origin of the prominence to the piece of the forbidden fruit caught in Adam’s throat in the biblical book of Genesis and in the Qur’an. Dear John Letter Dear no more! A Dear John letter is actually a break up letter. The term is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to break up with them through a letter. As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language, a serviceman receiving note beginning with a curt “Dear John” (as opposed to the expected “Dear Johnny,” “My dearest John,” or simply “Darling”) would instantly be aware of the letter’s purpose. Amber Alert An Amber Alert is a notification to the general public, issued when police confirm that a child has been abducted. AMBER is an acronym for “America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response,” and was named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was abducted and murdered in Texas in 1996. In January, 1996, after she was killed, citizens of her community learned that local law enforcement had information that might have helped locate her shortly after she was abducted, but had no means to distribute this information. The system of reporting abducted children was then devised and improved over the years. Now, Amber Alert is an effective national network that has helped many victims. Miranda Rights/Warning “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.” In the United States, the Miranda warning is a warning given by police to criminal suspects in police custody before they are asked questions relating to the commission of a crime. In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for the kidnapping and rape of a Jane Doe. He made a confession without having been told of his constitutional right to remain silent and his right to have an attorney. The Supreme Court ruled that Miranda was intimidated by the interrogation and that he did not understand his right not to incriminate himself or his right to counsel. On this basis, they overturned his conviction. Miranda was later convicted in a new trial, with witnesses testifying against him and other evidence presented. He was then sentenced to eleven years. He served one-third of his sentence and was turned down for parole four times before being paroled in December 1972. Ironically, when Miranda was later killed in a knife fight, his killer received the Miranda warnings. He invoked his rights and declined to give a statement. Charley Horse Charley horse is a term for a painful contusion of a muscle, especially in the thigh or calf, following strenuous exercise. The term may have originated from a common sports injury, when an athlete is struck by an opponent’s knee, in a manner like the kick of a horse. “Charley horse” is also used to describe leg/foot cramping. The term may date back to American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie “Old Hoss” Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps. Peeping Tom Peeping Tom refers to a person who likes to spy on people when they do not know they are being watched. The story of peeping Tom springs from Lady Godiva’s infamous ride through the streets in England. Unclothed with only her long hair to cover her, she made the ride as a protest to the oppressive taxation of the townspeople by her husband, the Lord of Coventry. Before her ride, Lady Godiva asked the townspeople to stay inside with their shutters and doors closed but a tailor named Tom bore a hole in his shutters to catch a glimpse of Godiva as she passed. Unfortunately Tom was struck blind the moment he saw her and his name is forever shamed. Megan’s List/Law Megan’s law requires law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Megan’s list includes the offender’s name, picture, address, incarceration date, and nature of the crime. The information is displayed on a free public website as well as other media. This law was named after Megan Kanka who was seven years old when Jesse Timmendequas, a repeated violent sexual offender who lived across the street from her, kidnapped, raped, and murdered her. Megan’s parents began the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation with the belief that “every parent should have the right to know if a dangerous sexual predator moves into their neighborhood.” The Kankas circulated a petition demanding immediate legislative action, got over 400,000 signatures and the law was passed in an unprecedented 89 days. As language evolves, more names are being enriched by their owners. So be careful what you do and say or your name might forever have a special tag on it. By Jen-ching Kao After the cold war, Samuel P. Huntington propounded a sensational hypothesis for the new world that “conflict between civilizations will be the latest phase in the evolution of conflict in the modern world.” As non-Western civilizations continue to improve their technology, weapons, and wealth, while retaining their traditional culture values, Huntington suggested that the West should defend their interests by “maintaining military superiority in East and Southwest Asia,” “limiting the expansion of the military strength of Confucian and Islamic states,” and so on. Huntington’s discourse in The Clash of Civilizations became particularly hotly debated after the September 11 attacks in 2001. We all witnessed simultaneously, at least on TV, what happened to the World Trade Center south tower in downtown Manhattan on that day, while still assuming that the north tower was only on fire. A few moments later, worldwide live news broadcasted the scenes of the collapsing buildings, which was just as dramatic as a typical Hollywood action movie. After the serial incidents on September 11, 2001, words like Taliban, Islam, Afghanistan, and Jihad gained tremendous awareness, especially in the West, and have been presented in multiple types of media, for example, movies. 2003 – Osama As soon as this movie was released in the spring of 2003, it acquired vast attention in the West as the title has an obvious resemblance to the name of Osama bin Laden. Osama is the pseudonym of a 12-year-old Afghan girl who has to disguise herself as a boy in order to support herself and her mother. The Taliban forbids women leaving their houses without a male companion, which leaves Osama and her mother with nowhere to go. Therefore, Osama dresses like a boy so she can go out and work. Made in Afghanistan, Osama was produced in partnership by Afghan, Dutch, Japanese, Irish, and Iranian companies, and eventually distributed by Western corporations. It was awarded the Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film in 2004 and a few other titles at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. The movie has received both popular and critical acclaim from Western audiences. It is indeed a well-made, artistic film and able to visualize general beliefs about what Kabul was like before the collapse of the Taliban regime. There are several violent, explicit scenes involving execution and the torturing of women and children. The director, Siddiq Barmak, originally wrote the story with a hopeful ending that Osama becomes free; however, as the war in Afghanistan continued he decided that Osama marries an old man who already has three other depressed, reluctant wives. The sickening plot can arouse emotions leading one continually to sympathize with Western evangelism as the rationale for the war in Afghanistan. 2005 – Paradise Now “Jihad” is an Arabic word meaning “holy war” in Islamic countries, and the martyrs deserve to go to heaven, which provides a supposedly justifiable motivation for Islamic terrorists. Khaled and Said are best childhood friends living in Nablus, Palestine. On an ordinary day they are recruited for suicide bombings in Tel Aviv, Israel, and the mission is supposed to be conducted in 36 hours. However, while trespassing the border between the two countries, Israeli soldiers begin shooting the men; Khaled returns whereas Said successfully enters Israel. After having his bomb removed, Khaled embarks on a search for Said and at the same time is convinced by Suha, Said’s crush who grew up in Europe and is a human rights advocator, that suicide bombings will not change the political reality between Israelis and Palestinians. A few hours later, Said is found. Khaled accompanies him to Tel Aviv and tries to persuade him to withdraw; Said lies to Khaled and gets on an Israeli bus alone. This movie attracted more audience than Osama; it was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Foreign Language Film and won a Golden Globe in the same category, as well as a few others at the Berlin International Film Festival. The director and writer of the film, Hany Abu-Assad, is a Palestinian-Dutch man; the movie was mainly produced by a Dutch company and distributed by several Western corporations. The film presents Muslim suicide bombers from an apolitical, human perspective. However, at the end of the movie Said is portrayed as a depressed child whose father was executed for being a collaborator in a refugee camp in Israel. 2006 – United 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four airplanes hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. It was bound for the U.S. Capitol but found crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. United 93 is a hybrid of documentary and drama, representing what actually happened on United 93 that morning based on the Black Box transcripts, phone records from passengers on the plane, and testimonials from victims’ families. The box office of United 93 during its first week was almost ten times as much as that of Osama; it was a highly popular film in 2006 and nominated in two categories at the Academy Awards. Despite the fact that the movie is based mostly on empirical evidence, imagination and drama are still applied to the unknown details. For example, in the film passengers successfully conquer two hijackers and in the last seconds before the plane crashes, the passengers break into the cockpit and struggle with the hijacker for the controls. But according to the Black Box, the passengers never entered the cockpit, and the 9/11 Commission concluded that the hijackers crashed the plane before arriving at its target because they assumed that the passengers would be able to overwhelm the cockpit in a few seconds. Imagined scenarios in this film have, to some extent, exaggerated heroism and applauded patriotism. Indeed, the 9/11 attacks have been the main cause of the War in Afghanistan, and one United 93 passenger’s last words recorded during a phone call were used as a battle cry in Afghanistan. 2007 – The Kite Runner The Kite Runner is the most popular of the four movies listed. It is based on a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan American writer. Hassan, a Hazara boy who can always fetch the kite after a kite fight, is a loyal friend and servant of Amir, who is a local champion kite fighter born to a wealthy family. Hassan is raped by a violent teenage boy Assef, who later becomes a Taliban official, after fetching the last kite for Amir at the championship. Amir witnesses it, and is upset by his own cowardice and Hassan’s extreme loyalty to secure the kite; Amir begins to estrange himself from Hassan. The backdrop events include the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. Amir and his father escape to California whereas Hassan and his wife are killed by the Taliban, with one son, Sohrab, left for Amir to save. Most of the movie was shot in Xinjian, China due to security concerns. The young actors who appeared in the movie have also been relocated by the production company from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, where they are free from governmental threats, as there are several subtle but disturbing scenes, including Assef raping young boys and Taliban officials stoning adulterers to death in front of hundreds of viewers at a stadium. In addition, when Sohrab is found as a dance boy for Assef and some other Taliban officials, the movie gives the impression that the Taliban engage in psychotic conduct which is forbidden even by the Koran. When brutality is represented visually and artistically in the media, the emotions triggered from the audience tend to have a much deeper impact on our perception of Islamic countries, and often this impact transcends what we read in newspapers and books. What we need to realize is that movies are often unreal, and getting us into the mood is their very purpose. Films, like other forms of communication, represent different agendas of the directors, producers, writers, etc. There have been other Western films which portray Islamic issues from different perspectives and can balance these generally negative images of the Middle East. One example is the documentary film, Fahrenheit 9/11, the best selling political film ever recorded. But again, while it tries to examine the accuracy and objectivity of the rationale for the Iraq War, its own accuracy and objectivity have been criticized as well. By Tanya Huang
This is not only a piece of history but a fascinating story. The movie The Other Boleyn Girl, featuring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, briefly describes the story of the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn. In this two–hour movie, the actresses perform the war between two Boleyn sisters well. Natalie Portman portrays Anne, while Scarlett Johansson is Mary Boleyn. Both of the Boleyn sisters were picked by Henry VIII as his mistresses. Due to their different characteristics, the two sisters were lead to totally different fates. The obedience of Mary and the ambition of Anne were the strongest scenes in the movie. Additionally, the characters were successfully used by the director to present the contradictions between relationships and human nature. However, because the movie was an adaptation of a novel of the same title by British author Philippa Gregory, some people might doubt its factual history. Yet there is no denying that it is a splendid story about interest and sacrifice. To know more about this glamorous woman, Anne Boleyn, let us trace back to the beginning of her life. There is no definite date of her birth but it is likely that she was born between 1501 and 1507. Anne’s father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, was a courtier and a diplomat and her mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Sir Thomas was sent on many diplomatic missions by King Henry VII and his charm won many admirers, including Archduchess Margaret of Austria. Therefore, she offered a place in her household to Anne. Anne made a good impression in the Netherlands with her manners and studiousness and lived there until her father arranged for her to become a maid-of-honor to Henry VIII’ s sister, the Queen of France. In France, Anne was the maid-of-honor to Queen Mary and then to Queen Claude. She studied French and developed a taste for fashion, which later proved to be of great value. Her education in Europe ended in 1521, when her father summoned her back to England. Carrying her father’s great expectations, Anne was sent to the court of Henry VIII as a maid-of-honor to Queen Catherine. At that time, Mary Boleyn, who was the wife of Sir William Carey, was the King’s lover. Anne made her debut at a masquerade ball in 1522, where she was described as charming, stylish, and witty. The elaborate dance she performed with several great ladies made her known as the most accomplished and fashionable woman in the court. She was even referred to as “the glass of fashion.” However, Anne was seldom thought to have conventional beauty. People said that her dramatic allure lay in her vivacious personality and her gracefulness. She was not only swarmed by young men but her taste also led to many trends among ladies in England. King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine had several children but only one daughter survived. That there was no male heir was of great concern for the king. Nevertheless, Anne considered this situation as her chance. The king married Anne in a secret wedding and she became pregnant soon thereafter. After Catherine was formally stripped of her title as queen, Anne was crowned Queen Consort. Anne gave birth to a daughter called Elizabeth on September 7, 1533. However, the king and the new queen were not pleased with their married life. The king still continued his frequent infidelities and Anne reacted with tears and rage to his mistresses. After a miscarriage in 1534, the king lost his passion for Anne and thought of her failure to give him a son as a betrayal. The end of their royal marriage was on the very day of Catherine’s funeral. In January 1536, when Anne recovered from her last miscarriage, the king declared the invalidity of their marriage and soon moved his new mistress, Jane Seymour, into new quarters. Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower, where she was accused of adultery, incest, and high treason. Many people were involved, including George Boleyn, Anne’s brother. Anne Boleyn’s story is outstanding material for all forms of entertainment. She has also attracted composers such as Gaetano Donizetti, who wrote an opera named Anna Bolena. Saint-Saens’s Henry VIII is also based on her story. There is a recent TV series called The Tudors that depicts the English society of the time in great detail. If you are interested in her story, these can provide you with more information. By Tanya Huang
This is not only a piece of history but a fascinating story. The movie The Other Boleyn Girl, featuring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, briefly describes the story of the second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn. In this two–hour movie, the actresses perform the war between two Boleyn sisters well. Natalie Portman portrays Anne, while Scarlett Johansson is Mary Boleyn. Both of the Boleyn sisters were picked by Henry VIII as his mistresses. Due to their different characteristics, the two sisters were lead to totally different fates. The obedience of Mary and the ambition of Anne were the strongest scenes in the movie. Additionally, the characters were successfully used by the director to present the contradictions between relationships and human nature. However, because the movie was an adaptation of a novel of the same title by British author Philippa Gregory, some people might doubt its factual history. Yet there is no denying that it is a splendid story about interest and sacrifice. To know more about this glamorous woman, Anne Boleyn, let us trace back to the beginning of her life. There is no definite date of her birth but it is likely that she was born between 1501 and 1507. Anne’s father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, was a courtier and a diplomat and her mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Sir Thomas was sent on many diplomatic missions by King Henry VII and his charm won many admirers, including Archduchess Margaret of Austria. Therefore, she offered a place in her household to Anne. Anne made a good impression in the Netherlands with her manners and studiousness and lived there until her father arranged for her to become a maid-of-honor to Henry VIII’ s sister, the Queen of France. In France, Anne was the maid-of-honor to Queen Mary and then to Queen Claude. She studied French and developed a taste for fashion, which later proved to be of great value. Her education in Europe ended in 1521, when her father summoned her back to England. Carrying her father’s great expectations, Anne was sent to the court of Henry VIII as a maid-of-honor to Queen Catherine. At that time, Mary Boleyn, who was the wife of Sir William Carey, was the King’s lover. Anne made her debut at a masquerade ball in 1522, where she was described as charming, stylish, and witty. The elaborate dance she performed with several great ladies made her known as the most accomplished and fashionable woman in the court. She was even referred to as “the glass of fashion.” However, Anne was seldom thought to have conventional beauty. People said that her dramatic allure lay in her vivacious personality and her gracefulness. She was not only swarmed by young men but her taste also led to many trends among ladies in England. King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine had several children but only one daughter survived. That there was no male heir was of great concern for the king. Nevertheless, Anne considered this situation as her chance. The king married Anne in a secret wedding and she became pregnant soon thereafter. After Catherine was formally stripped of her title as queen, Anne was crowned Queen Consort. Anne gave birth to a daughter called Elizabeth on September 7, 1533. However, the king and the new queen were not pleased with their married life. The king still continued his frequent infidelities and Anne reacted with tears and rage to his mistresses. After a miscarriage in 1534, the king lost his passion for Anne and thought of her failure to give him a son as a betrayal. The end of their royal marriage was on the very day of Catherine’s funeral. In January 1536, when Anne recovered from her last miscarriage, the king declared the invalidity of their marriage and soon moved his new mistress, Jane Seymour, into new quarters. Anne was arrested and taken to the Tower, where she was accused of adultery, incest, and high treason. Many people were involved, including George Boleyn, Anne’s brother. Anne Boleyn’s story is outstanding material for all forms of entertainment. She has also attracted composers such as Gaetano Donizetti, who wrote an opera named Anna Bolena. Saint-Saens’s Henry VIII is also based on her story. There is a recent TV series called The Tudors that depicts the English society of the time in great detail. If you are interested in her story, these can provide you with more information. By Jen-ching Kao After the cold war, Samuel P. Huntington propounded a sensational hypothesis for the new world that “conflict between civilizations will be the latest phase in the evolution of conflict in the modern world.” As non-Western civilizations continue to improve their technology, weapons, and wealth, while retaining their traditional culture values, Huntington suggested that the West should defend their interests by “maintaining military superiority in East and Southwest Asia,” “limiting the expansion of the military strength of Confucian and Islamic states,” and so on. Huntington’s discourse in The Clash of Civilizations became particularly hotly debated after the September 11 attacks in 2001. We all witnessed simultaneously, at least on TV, what happened to the World Trade Center south tower in downtown Manhattan on that day, while still assuming that the north tower was only on fire. A few moments later, worldwide live news broadcasted the scenes of the collapsing buildings, which was just as dramatic as a typical Hollywood action movie. After the serial incidents on September 11, 2001, words like Taliban, Islam, Afghanistan, and Jihad gained tremendous awareness, especially in the West, and have been presented in multiple types of media, for example, movies. 2003 – Osama As soon as this movie was released in the spring of 2003, it acquired vast attention in the West as the title has an obvious resemblance to the name of Osama bin Laden. Osama is the pseudonym of a 12-year-old Afghan girl who has to disguise herself as a boy in order to support herself and her mother. The Taliban forbids women leaving their houses without a male companion, which leaves Osama and her mother with nowhere to go. Therefore, Osama dresses like a boy so she can go out and work. Made in Afghanistan, Osama was produced in partnership by Afghan, Dutch, Japanese, Irish, and Iranian companies, and eventually distributed by Western corporations. It was awarded the Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film in 2004 and a few other titles at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. The movie has received both popular and critical acclaim from Western audiences. It is indeed a well-made, artistic film and able to visualize general beliefs about what Kabul was like before the collapse of the Taliban regime. There are several violent, explicit scenes involving execution and the torturing of women and children. The director, Siddiq Barmak, originally wrote the story with a hopeful ending that Osama becomes free; however, as the war in Afghanistan continued he decided that Osama marries an old man who already has three other depressed, reluctant wives. The sickening plot can arouse emotions leading one continually to sympathize with Western evangelism as the rationale for the war in Afghanistan. 2005 – Paradise Now “Jihad” is an Arabic word meaning “holy war” in Islamic countries, and the martyrs deserve to go to heaven, which provides a supposedly justifiable motivation for Islamic terrorists. Khaled and Said are best childhood friends living in Nablus, Palestine. On an ordinary day they are recruited for suicide bombings in Tel Aviv, Israel, and the mission is supposed to be conducted in 36 hours. However, while trespassing the border between the two countries, Israeli soldiers begin shooting the men; Khaled returns whereas Said successfully enters Israel. After having his bomb removed, Khaled embarks on a search for Said and at the same time is convinced by Suha, Said’s crush who grew up in Europe and is a human rights advocator, that suicide bombings will not change the political reality between Israelis and Palestinians. A few hours later, Said is found. Khaled accompanies him to Tel Aviv and tries to persuade him to withdraw; Said lies to Khaled and gets on an Israeli bus alone. This movie attracted more audience than Osama; it was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Foreign Language Film and won a Golden Globe in the same category, as well as a few others at the Berlin International Film Festival. The director and writer of the film, Hany Abu-Assad, is a Palestinian-Dutch man; the movie was mainly produced by a Dutch company and distributed by several Western corporations. The film presents Muslim suicide bombers from an apolitical, human perspective. However, at the end of the movie Said is portrayed as a depressed child whose father was executed for being a collaborator in a refugee camp in Israel. 2006 – United 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four airplanes hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. It was bound for the U.S. Capitol but found crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. United 93 is a hybrid of documentary and drama, representing what actually happened on United 93 that morning based on the Black Box transcripts, phone records from passengers on the plane, and testimonials from victims’ families. The box office of United 93 during its first week was almost ten times as much as that of Osama; it was a highly popular film in 2006 and nominated in two categories at the Academy Awards. Despite the fact that the movie is based mostly on empirical evidence, imagination and drama are still applied to the unknown details. For example, in the film passengers successfully conquer two hijackers and in the last seconds before the plane crashes, the passengers break into the cockpit and struggle with the hijacker for the controls. But according to the Black Box, the passengers never entered the cockpit, and the 9/11 Commission concluded that the hijackers crashed the plane before arriving at its target because they assumed that the passengers would be able to overwhelm the cockpit in a few seconds. Imagined scenarios in this film have, to some extent, exaggerated heroism and applauded patriotism. Indeed, the 9/11 attacks have been the main cause of the War in Afghanistan, and one United 93 passenger’s last words recorded during a phone call were used as a battle cry in Afghanistan. 2007 – The Kite Runner The Kite Runner is the most popular of the four movies listed. It is based on a novel written by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan American writer. Hassan, a Hazara boy who can always fetch the kite after a kite fight, is a loyal friend and servant of Amir, who is a local champion kite fighter born to a wealthy family. Hassan is raped by a violent teenage boy Assef, who later becomes a Taliban official, after fetching the last kite for Amir at the championship. Amir witnesses it, and is upset by his own cowardice and Hassan’s extreme loyalty to secure the kite; Amir begins to estrange himself from Hassan. The backdrop events include the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Taliban regime. Amir and his father escape to California whereas Hassan and his wife are killed by the Taliban, with one son, Sohrab, left for Amir to save. Most of the movie was shot in Xinjian, China due to security concerns. The young actors who appeared in the movie have also been relocated by the production company from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, where they are free from governmental threats, as there are several subtle but disturbing scenes, including Assef raping young boys and Taliban officials stoning adulterers to death in front of hundreds of viewers at a stadium. In addition, when Sohrab is found as a dance boy for Assef and some other Taliban officials, the movie gives the impression that the Taliban engage in psychotic conduct which is forbidden even by the Koran. When brutality is represented visually and artistically in the media, the emotions triggered from the audience tend to have a much deeper impact on our perception of Islamic countries, and often this impact transcends what we read in newspapers and books. What we need to realize is that movies are often unreal, and getting us into the mood is their very purpose. Films, like other forms of communication, represent different agendas of the directors, producers, writers, etc. There have been other Western films which portray Islamic issues from different perspectives and can balance these generally negative images of the Middle East. One example is the documentary film, Fahrenheit 9/11, the best selling political film ever recorded. But again, while it tries to examine the accuracy and objectivity of the rationale for the Iraq War, its own accuracy and objectivity have been criticized as well. |
Authors
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May 2024
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