Comments on: Munich http://spoonfighter.com/archives/104 A funny, frequently updated blog from Denver, Colorado, about current events, politics, media, humor, ideas, entertainment and life. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:40:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.2 Comment on Munich by: Dan http://spoonfighter.com/archives/104#comment-409 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:41:06 +0000 http://spoonfighter.com/archives/104#comment-409 Yea! The Spoon is back! I have not seen Munich, and I do not object to calling/depicting/whatever people on both sides of a conflict human, but I heard the movie spent little or no time on the victims and their families, ie, making them human. (If I am wrong, please correct me.) I would be much more inclined to see the movie if both sides being depicted as human also included the victims. (again, feel free to smack me if what I heard about the victims being nearly absent from the movie is wrong) <em>That wouldn't have worked, however, since the movie was about the activities of the Israeli assassins. - SF</em> We've gone back and forth on this issue many times, not sure I have much to add to the debate I haven't already said. But I was just reading a piece in today's (2/3/2006 -- that's Feb 3 for the Spoon's international readers) Washington Post, and it does present some facts that deserve careful thought: -begin excerpt- In August 2001, Hamas sent a suicide bomber into a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem. He killed 15 innocent Israelis, mutilating many dozens more. A month later, Hamas student activists at al-Najah University in Nablus celebrated the attack with an exhibit, a mockup of the smashed Sbarro shop strewn with blood and fake body parts -- a severed leg, still dressed in jeans; a human hand dangling from the ceiling. The inscription (with a reference to the Qassam military wing of Hamas) read: "Qassami Pizza is more delicious." -end excerpt- <em>Disgusting. I'm not sure how it's relevant to the movie, though. I am not suggesting that the terrorists are good people, deep down. I don't think that showing the "humanity" of our enemies turns them into good people. Mother Theresa was human. But so was Hitler. We talk about evil, cruel acts being monstrous or inhumane, as though such things are out of character for human beings, but what blindness that is. Humans excel at evil. Showing the "humanity" of the Palestinian terrorists in </em>Munich<em> wasn't an act of charity toward them. It was simply an act of honesty. Showing why somebody does something evil does not diminish the evil. If you really want to know what I think, though, it's this: I think the Palestinians got screwed and are legitimately angry. They got caught in the cross-fire between the British, the UN, Israel, and the neighboring Arab countries, losing land, homes and lives. But life isn't fair. I can't fault the Israelis for seizing the territory they needed in order to create a defensible border, either: it's not their fault they got attacked the day after Independence and had to fight to exist for the next several decades. It's a complicated, dirty situation with a thick layer of injustice spread all around. But - The Palestinians have made themselves the enemy of Israel and of peace in the region. Understanding their complaint does not change that. If the government seizes your house to build a highway, you have a right to be angry at the government. But you don't have a right to kill the construction crew, or blow up the county courthouse. - SF</em> Yea! The Spoon is back!

I have not seen Munich, and I do not object to calling/depicting/whatever people on both sides of a conflict human, but I heard the movie spent little or no time on the victims and their families, ie, making them human. (If I am wrong, please correct me.) I would be much more inclined to see the movie if both sides being depicted as human also included the victims. (again, feel free to smack me if what I heard about the victims being nearly absent from the movie is wrong)

That wouldn’t have worked, however, since the movie was about the activities of the Israeli assassins. - SF

We’ve gone back and forth on this issue many times, not sure I have much to add to the debate I haven’t already said. But I was just reading a piece in today’s (2/3/2006 — that’s Feb 3 for the Spoon’s international readers) Washington Post, and it does present some facts that deserve careful thought:

-begin excerpt-
In August 2001, Hamas sent a suicide bomber into a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem. He killed 15 innocent Israelis, mutilating many dozens more. A month later, Hamas student activists at al-Najah University in Nablus celebrated the attack with an exhibit, a mockup of the smashed Sbarro shop strewn with blood and fake body parts — a severed leg, still dressed in jeans; a human hand dangling from the ceiling. The inscription (with a reference to the Qassam military wing of Hamas) read: “Qassami Pizza is more delicious.”
-end excerpt-

Disgusting. I’m not sure how it’s relevant to the movie, though. I am not suggesting that the terrorists are good people, deep down. I don’t think that showing the “humanity” of our enemies turns them into good people. Mother Theresa was human. But so was Hitler. We talk about evil, cruel acts being monstrous or inhumane, as though such things are out of character for human beings, but what blindness that is. Humans excel at evil.

Showing the “humanity” of the Palestinian terrorists in Munich wasn’t an act of charity toward them. It was simply an act of honesty. Showing why somebody does something evil does not diminish the evil.

If you really want to know what I think, though, it’s this: I think the Palestinians got screwed and are legitimately angry. They got caught in the cross-fire between the British, the UN, Israel, and the neighboring Arab countries, losing land, homes and lives. But life isn’t fair. I can’t fault the Israelis for seizing the territory they needed in order to create a defensible border, either: it’s not their fault they got attacked the day after Independence and had to fight to exist for the next several decades. It’s a complicated, dirty situation with a thick layer of injustice spread all around.

But - The Palestinians have made themselves the enemy of Israel and of peace in the region. Understanding their complaint does not change that. If the government seizes your house to build a highway, you have a right to be angry at the government. But you don’t have a right to kill the construction crew, or blow up the county courthouse. - SF

]]> Comment on Munich by: daveawayfromhome http://spoonfighter.com/archives/104#comment-404 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 04:18:47 +0000 http://spoonfighter.com/archives/104#comment-404 Dead on. "They" dont want anyone to think of the Palestinians as human beings, if for no other reason than because thinking about things leads to asking questions, which makes ruling harder, especially when what you're ordering doesnt make much sense. I've been thinking about another Spielberg film lately, "the Terminal", which while subtler, might be just as subversive. Maybe. I'm still pondering. <em>Thanks. Do you think it is really such a cynical conspiracy, though? I'm curious. Please add more thoughts. - SF</em> Dead on.
“They” dont want anyone to think of the Palestinians as human beings, if for no other reason than because thinking about things leads to asking questions, which makes ruling harder, especially when what you’re ordering doesnt make much sense.
I’ve been thinking about another Spielberg film lately, “the Terminal”, which while subtler, might be just as subversive. Maybe. I’m still pondering.

Thanks. Do you think it is really such a cynical conspiracy, though? I’m curious. Please add more thoughts. - SF

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