Oscars night and Iraq
I watched the Oscars last night and as you know Kathryn Bigelow won for best director and best picture for ‘Hurt Locker.’ Good for her. First time a woman has won. I have not seen the movie.
But I was disappointed that all she could do was thank the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Granted she did thank the country of Jordan but not one mention of Iraqis.
Even after she won best picture she went up and thanked the soldiers again and even started thanking firefighters.
I have no issue with folks in the military- I have friends in the army that have served.
I guess I’m sick and tired of hearing about how brave the soldiers are etc… I mean they are trained to fight and kill. Big deal. What about the brave children of Iraq who have put up with 7 years of bombing and death? What about the massive amounts of bombs dropped by US military planes on innocent civilians? Not one mention of the people of Iraq?
Over 1,000,000 Iraqis have died over a war they did not ask for and not one tear for them?
Hollywood keeps making movies about the war and they still come off as cold-hearted assholes with no regard to human life. Just a huge pro-military death machine supporting a film industry.
The true heroes of the war in Iraq are not the soldiers who VOLUNTEER to learn how to shoot people and fight but it is the BRAVE Iraqis who have endured this hell of a war and still find courage to smile and look forward.
Hollywood and US policy treats the Arab world and the people of the Arab world as a backdrop for their grand explosive macho-induced money making garbage they call patriotism.
Usama Alshaibi is an award-winning filmmaker and artist based in Chicago, IL. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1969. More info about his work can be found at www.dancehabibi.com.
you’re expecting morality and sympathy from the paragon of capitalism. you’ll be waiting for a long time. but yes I agree.
Well said! The fact is that to most Americans, when one white kid from Kansas is killed in Iraq, it’s a sacrifice and a a great tragedy, whereas if its a few brown kids with funny names, it’s just collateral damage. The racism, arrogance, and ethnocentric attitudes of my fellow Americans makes me ashamed to have been born here.