“When the Violin”

When
The violin
Can forgive the past

It starts singing.

When the violin can stop worrying
About the future

You will become
Such a drunk laughing nuisance

That God
Will then lean down
And start combing you into
His
Hair.

When the violin can forgive
Every wound caused by
Others

The heart starts
Singing.

—Hafiz (c. 1320-1389), Persian poet

from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master
Translations by Daniel Ladansky
New York: Penguin Compass, 1999

NOW COMES THE TRICKY PART

COURSE TITLE: “Make Films, Not War: Political Cinema in Israel, Palestine, and Iran”

When I first conceived of this course, my expectations about what it might cover were more or less what one might gather from the course title—that is, a look at how films in each of the regions under investigation advance political positions on current issues. To provide adequate context for understanding these “issues” and their importance, however, I must first try to provide a concise contemporary history of each region, ideally through film:

* The history of Israel and Palestine from, say, 1948 (the year of Israeli statehood) to the present

* The history of Iran from, say, 1979 (the year of the Islamic revolution) to the present

Of course, appreciating even these historical windows requires some background knowledge. For example, the story of modern Israel/Palestine should probably reach back at least to the First Zionist Congress in 1897 (a time when film production was pretty minimal, since motion picture technology was still in its infancy). Likewise, the Islamic revolution would not have been possible without something or someone against which to revolt, namely, Shah Rheza Pahlavi, who came to power in 1941 (when popular Iranian films were often screen adaptations of Islamic fables and legends). Written texts, I suspect, will be required to fill out the picture of each region in this way.

This is precisely as it should be. In a course designed to foster a deeper understanding of such an important and complex part of the world as the Middle East, film cannot be a substitute for other texts.

Still, the human side of an issue that a film focuses on can enhance one’s understanding in profound ways. Thomas Friedman’s From Beirut to Jerusalem is a great introductory text on who’s who in Israel/Palestine and Lebanon. Follow a few chapters of that book with, oh, Amos Gitai’s Kadosh and Hany Abu-Assad’s Paradise Now, and one sees Orthodox Jewish life and the plight of Palestinians living in the West Bank, respectively, in a more intense light.

The biggest challenge in developing this course may be in striking an effective balance between broad historical overviews of each region and intimate portraits of daily life, between rigorous written texts and fluid, immersive film narratives. So far, thanks to my contacts in Israel, I believe I’m on the right track.

Perhaps you could help me out. I welcome any suggestions for texts, films, and music. For that matter, share with me your hummus recipe. Post a comment.