Suleiman's The Time That Remains: A Semi-Autobiographical Film

Chapter three of Eyal Press’ Beautiful Souls follows Avner Wishnitzer, an Israeli combat soldier serving in the occupied territories during the Second Intifada. In the 6-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and has since kept the land under an Israeli military occupation. In 1987 to 1991, a Palestinian uprising involving resistance and civil disobedience, known as the First Intifada, occurred in the occupied territories. Consequently, Israel deployed many soldiers into the occupied territories, and an estimated 1,674 people were killed in total. The Second Intifada, a much more violent Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, transpired from 2000 until 2005. In response, Israel enacted Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale military operation, in 2002 to stop the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings of the Second Intifada. An approximate 4,426 people were killed in the Second Intifada. Avner Wishnitzer’s public refusal to serve in the occupied territories was worth getting kicked out of Sayeret Matkal and being disgraced by Israeli society because it made people question the occupation and the treatment towards Palestinians. Even if Avner had been my father, I would have condoned his choices because I could create my own reputation in the military. Additionally, the current controversy over the Israeli occupation legitimizes his stance and actions for many Israeli citizens.

Conflict often has harmful effects, including causing death and destruction, so it is usually viewed negatively. However, conflict can also bring out positive traits in people, and the people involved in it may be respected. “Bayonet Charge” imagines a soldier’s experience in battle. “The Charge of The Light Brigade” recounts the story of the charge made by the Light Brigade in the Battle of Balaclava.

During World War one, the United States Navy Recruiting Bureau, and the United States Treasury Department each commissioned posters featuring women who encouraged citizens to participate in the war effort. The two posters, despite being intended for the same purpose, depict women in particularly contrasting light. Analysis of the contrasting war posters can help illustrate society’s perspective about women during the early 1900’s, their expected roles pertaining to the war effort, the strategies used to engage citizens and encourage them to become involved, and the use of imagery and symbolism that were used to achieve the posters’ objective.

His article argues that the Israelis won the Arab- Israeli War of 1948 and therefore were able to shape its history through their lens, but their version of the conflict is flawed and the information now available undermines what they claimed to be true. He stated that the Zionist version of the truth is just propaganda, spread in a way to make them look like innocent bystanders and the victims and the Arabs as the

‘Wild Thorns’ by Sahar Khalifeh is an insightful commentary that brings to life the Palestinian struggle under the Israeli Occupation and embodies this conflict through the different perspectives brought forth by the contrasting characters. We are primarily shown this strife through the eyes of the principal character, the expatriate Usama, as well as the foil character of his cousin, Adil. Khalifeh skillfully uses literary devices such as emotive language, allusions and positive and negative connotations to highlight life under the Occupation. As the audience, these techniques help encourage us to consider the struggle more in depth, and due to the wide variety of characters, invite us to relate to them.

As we move along in the story, we find that the apparent victor of the fight falls into a conflict of his own. This brings us to another goal of cultural studies analogy- Politics and Power: who has it, and how is it shown.

Joe Sacco’s graphic novel, Palestine, deals with the repercussions of the first intifada in Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land. The story follows the author through the many refugee camps and towns around Palestine as he tries to gather information, stories, and pictures to construct his graphic novel. While the book is enjoyable at a face level, there are many underlying themes conveyed throughout its illustrated pages and written text.

Furthermore, the Israeli occupation of Palestine that the film depicts is a part of the 2000-2005 second intifada between the two nations (Manekin, 2013). Nablus, in Palestine is where Said and Khaled are based, and the mission is to take place in Tel Aviv across the border. A noticeable feature of the movie is the concept of deadness, the two main characters are not suicidal but the life they are trapped in has created a sense of them being dead already (Nashef, 2016) this is represented by the oppression and the lack of opportunity that is present. This theme can be further seen in their town – Nablus. Due to the conflict, the landscape and infrastructure is bleak, destroyed and very much discarded. The depiction of the lifestyle experienced during that period of conflict, highlighted to me potential motivations.

Ever since, Palestinians have had to adapt to new places and cultures in order to survive, which makes it more difficult for them to preserve their own. Said presents several examples of transculturation throughout the essay. For instance, the use of the Mercedes, even though Said describes it in negative terms, the use of the Mercedes has come in handy for Palestinians. Enduring one disaster after another, Palestinian identity is arduous to preserve in exile. It is a struggle of having no country. Our country is a big part of who we are. As we are born, we are destined to become a part of it. It becomes part of our identity. Things that we grew up with meant something to us. We usually treasure things that became part of our lives. Even unconsciously, we take hold of it. Home brings us memories, memories that we want to hold on up to our last breath.

Imagine living in a conflict that has divided two nations, literally, by a concrete barrier. This turbulent and heated confrontation has left many dead and even more injured. Welcome to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The documentary “5 Broken Cameras” is a portrayal of this modern day dispute through the personal lens of self-taught Palestinian cameraman, Emad Burnat. This compelling documentary provides a realistic presentation of the hatred that surrounds these two divided nations. Movie viewers will be drawn to this film is because it demonstrates the harsh realities of what it is like to live in the midst of a conflict and how the lives of those affected are altered as a result of this prolonged struggle.

The essay States, by Edward Said, describes the trouble for Palestinians to find their identity due to the loss of their homeland. He also describes the situation of the Palestinians and the isolation that they feel through photographs that he had taken. Said has many different pictures throughout this essay and each of them play a part in supporting the main point of this essay. Said believes that, without a homeland, the Palestinians cannot have an identity and the Palestinians should not be content with being exiles forever. So the purpose of the pictures is to support and further strengthen this idea. The photographer wants the viewer to understand the struggle that the Palestinians are going through.

One particularly interesting perspective is his opinion on how the conflict has somewhat freed the identity of Palestinians from a shared land, and that for some Palestinians that can escape the occupation, there is a the creation of a transnational, transgressive life. (Suleiman, 2003, 73) Thus exists multiple outcomes from one identity. He further supports this by commenting that Palestine does not have borders, does not actually exist in the sense of geography, but it still has a sense of space. The Palestinian people are this space, and the people are how we define what is, and what is not Palestine. People are separated geographically, but defined by identity and community, and this creates a unique sense of freedom outside of a defined nation-state. (Suleiman, 2000, 96) This lets the definition of this identity be more fluid. He says that in his work he purposefully moves away from a centralized view of Palestinian identity and uses cinema to present the differences in viewpoint, perception, and narration that exist within this conflict. Not only between Israelis and Palestinian's but between all Palestinian's. (Suleiman, 2000, 97) He purposefully moves away from a singular form of Palestinian identity and states “My films are Palestinian because I am Palestinian.” (Suleiman, 2000, 99) This movement from a

Emily Dickinson, in one of her many infamous writings stated “The brain- is wider than the sky” (Dickinson Dickinson left her mark on composition long before the discovery of the expansive capabilities of the mind, but she was being more intuitive than she even thought in this quote. She is discussing the abstract ability of the human mind- the ability to imagine. Her thought, however, is also congruent to the fact that the human brain works in such a strange pattern of chemicals, and our thought process in itself is a very intricate thing. Depression is a seemingly complex state of mind that we as a people are trying to understand right now, and its roots could go deeper than we

The point of view in the story “The Use of Force” is in first person narrative. This conveys inner the inner thoughts of the narrator as the doctor. The doctor is a reliable narrator and an observer. I feel that his personality is brought out in the doctor. So the doctors thoughts and behaviors are a reflection of the authors.

On my way to my high school graduation at Eastern Randolph High School, I had a mixture of emotions, but then I remembered that I had forgotten the most important item for the day, like forgetting to study for a test that counts fifty percent of a grade. My graduation cap and tassel were left in the bag that I bought them in. I called my mom immediately, hoping she could still bring them to me on time. She would not pick up the phone. I had to let someone know I had a major problem. Thankfully, there were extra caps and tassels but in exchange of borrowing one, I had to leave my phone which made me experience the same feeling I have when I have to leave my little brother with his babysitter and see him cry.