Monday, March 06, 2006
Looking Harder For Comedy in the Muslim World
Guess which producer/director/comic made the following comment during an interview for The Believer?
BLVR: So in those cases, you think that satire is pretty much pointless?
HR: I think it’s a luxury of literate middle-class people. The one thing I noticed from the documentary, when he was in the Jenin camp, there was incredible widespread poverty all around him. I mentioned this to somebody from Israel, and I asked him, “What’s the unemployment rate in the occupied territory in Gaza?” He said, “Oh, about 80 percent.” And I said, “Well, what about Israel?” And they said, “Oh, it’s high right now. It’s about 12 percent.” So if you look beyond the religious fundamentalism, from a Marxist point of view, a lot of economic and class issues are driving these struggles. People who are well fed and relatively secure in their beds can laugh at their troubles. They can enjoy sitcoms. For those who aren’t quite so lucky, well, the irony might be lost on them.
Harold Ramis! Yes, "Caddyshack" Harold Ramis. Yes, "Stripes" Harold Ramis. Yes, "Ghostbusters" Harold Ramis. Though I am not surprised that Harold Ramis is in touch with world issues or that he has a more nuanced understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am floored by the fact that he changed my mind on the significance of satire and its ability to affect anything akin to social change.
More here
BLVR: So in those cases, you think that satire is pretty much pointless?
HR: I think it’s a luxury of literate middle-class people. The one thing I noticed from the documentary, when he was in the Jenin camp, there was incredible widespread poverty all around him. I mentioned this to somebody from Israel, and I asked him, “What’s the unemployment rate in the occupied territory in Gaza?” He said, “Oh, about 80 percent.” And I said, “Well, what about Israel?” And they said, “Oh, it’s high right now. It’s about 12 percent.” So if you look beyond the religious fundamentalism, from a Marxist point of view, a lot of economic and class issues are driving these struggles. People who are well fed and relatively secure in their beds can laugh at their troubles. They can enjoy sitcoms. For those who aren’t quite so lucky, well, the irony might be lost on them.
Harold Ramis! Yes, "Caddyshack" Harold Ramis. Yes, "Stripes" Harold Ramis. Yes, "Ghostbusters" Harold Ramis. Though I am not surprised that Harold Ramis is in touch with world issues or that he has a more nuanced understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am floored by the fact that he changed my mind on the significance of satire and its ability to affect anything akin to social change.
More here
# posted by Mo Diggs : 3:20 PM
