Review: new short film ‘Gaza in Context’

by · Published · Updated

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail
Noura Erakat, in a screenshot from the film 'Gaza in Context'

Noura Erakat, narrator and co-writer of this excellent new film.

Gaza, the continuing human tragedy, caused by fellow humans. Undoubtedly, we are all aware of the disastrous conditions of life there under the continuing blockade. Surely, you have also witnessed its devastating destruction of war, through the media and through your social media network. Repeated military campaigns by the Israeli army, aimed largely at its civilian population consisting mostly of refugees, cannot have escaped your attention. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen the gruesome pictures of mass murder, that were circulating everywhere.

Living without the prospect of improvement

Even until now, nothing in Gaza has turned for the better, or has planted the seeds of hope. Western media, pressured and controlled largely by Zionist lobbies, have continued to present Israeli devastating war campaigns as ‘defensive’, and have tried to portray the resistance as ‘yet another example of violent Islamic extremism’.

The movie: Gaza in Context

There can be no doubt that this grossly misleading Western media practice of misinformation and disinformation* must be countered. Therefore, Palestinians from the United States have come up with an excellent new video, called ‘Gaza in Context’. Narrated by Noura Erakat, it very clearly and systematically debunks the myths that Western media continue to spin about the situation. As the title suggests, it places the Gaza situation in its proper context, making use of historical timelines, animated map graphics, and background analysis.

My opinion

This movie, which was published to Youtube, is one of the best short documentaries available online about the situation in Gaza. Noura Erakat narrates slowly and clearly, making it possible for anyone to follow and digest the information that is being shared. Also, the script of the film, which was written by Palestinian-American teacher Nour Joudah together with Erakat, leaves little room for criticism. The movie makes excellent use of multimedia, and follows a logical and easy to follow narrative line. On top of that, it utilizes clear examples and arguments, that possess the power to convince. In short, this is an excellent production, and from what I guess from the end credits, it seems to be a completely Palestinian-American (or at least Arab-American) endeavor. Way to make me proud!

No Zionism?

According to Philip Weiss, editor of the website Mondoweiss, the word ‘Zionism’ does not appear anywhere in the video. An interesting observation, and after watching the film, I have to agree that I haven’t heard its mention at any point in the movie. I do wonder why this is the case, although I must add that it doesn’t detract from the overall quality of the documentary. One might say that it leaves a pretty essential perspective unmentioned within the ‘context’ that this movie purports to present. Again, however, I wouldn’t say that this point in itself makes the movie any less relevant, or any less well-made.

Recommendation

On my website, I like to highlight the efforts of Palestinians from all around the world. This is not to say that other demographics will never be featured here, but I like nothing more than seeing Palestinians taking control of their own narrative. More often than not, we see their efforts downplayed, and preference given to progressive Jewish and non-Jewish Western voices. True, there is a certain dodgy rationale behind that, which I have written about before. I, however, firmly believe that a people must always try to take control of its own destiny, as much as possible. Nevertheless, in order to achieve as well as deserve this, we can’t compromise on quality in the process. I believe that ‘Gaza in Context’ is an excellent example of Palestinians in control of their own narrative. Not only that; they are doing so at the necessary high level standard that we need for our cause. I therefore proudly, and without hesitation, give this production a well-deserved 5 stars out of 5.

Future

In fact, I am so happy with the efforts of this wonderful team, that I am hoping they continue to work together. We need to see them putting out more and more quality products like this one. Kudos to Noura Erakat, Nour Joudah, and the rest of the crew. I would like to mention their names here: Dia ‘Azzeh, Tariq Radi, Bassam Haddad, Aboud Haj-Mohammad, Basel Naser, Lena Ghannam, Faris Shomali, Khalid Namez, Lena Ibrahim, Hala Numan, and Ahmad Zaqout. I sincerely hope I didn’t leave anyone out, and I’m happy to stand corrected if I did.

Sharing is caring!

This team can count on my support, and I hope they have yours too. Sharing is caring: you must help make sure that this video reaches the masses. In this day and age, we all possess the tools for making this happen. Go for it, and support ‘Gaza in Context’!

Doc Jazz

Palestinian surgeon, musician and writer

To follow me on Twitter: @docjazzmusic

*) :

Facebooktwitterrssyoutube

Tags:

Doc Jazz

Doc Jazz is a Palestinian musician, currently based in the United Arab Emirates. He was born and raised in the Netherlands, which is where he started his first musical endeavors. He works full-time as a surgeon, and produces his songs in his free time. He usually does all the instruments and vocals in his recordings by himself. His music, which covers a wide variety of genres ranging from funky pop and jazz all the way to rap and Arabic music, has been featured on many media outlets in the Netherlands, in the Middle East, and elsewhere. The Palestinian cause plays a big role in the themes of his songs.

You may also like...