Arranged

I thought arranges was a cute movie, but definitely American. I would think this film to be appropriate for a younger audience such as junior high or high school students. For the most part it was a feel good film and I think that worked in it's favor. Personally I was uninterested in the arranged marriage subject as the obstacle for both main characters. I don't think there was much to learn about arranged marriages from the film especially since we as college students might be more familiar with it than younger students.

Guest speakers Part 2

So I know we spent part of the class trying to talk about the literature but since we really were more interested in our guest speaker, I think that is what this blog should be about. When we got on the topic of Egypt's perception of the United States things obviously got awkward. I felt as though she felt attacked by our questioning because she interpreted our argumentativeness as anger or offense when it really wasn't. I think Americans know a little about how the rest of the world views us. I though it was interesting when she said the United States is perceived as a servant to Israel for supplying them weapons. I wish KATIE had been there to help our argument but w/e. Though I understand disliking a country for supplying an enemy country weaponry I thought it was a little unusual to have no second options. I think a good discussion would have been to find out what Egypt feels the United States should do, or what thwy think we are actually doing.

Two Women

For our class and what we are trying to accomplish I beileve Two Women was a good film to see. It was written and directed by Iraqi women so though it may be biased, it is likely accurate. However because this film was produced many years ago and is not current, it may be important to find a more modern film that depicts the situation of women now in Iraq.

I thought the film used women in a positive light despite the fact that the women in this film were not treated as they should be. You can really empathize with the women in this film unlike some Lifetime movies....

The women in this movie were intelligent and ambitious and relatable to an American audience which I think is it's best feature.

Women in Islam: Guest speakers

I think guest speakers are the best way to introduce people to a foreign culture. I always learn a lot more when I am able to speak face to face with someone. Being in the presence of a person as opposed to reading fictional tales is a little easier to relate to. It become hard to distinguish what is drama and what is truth when you are reading novels about a region. When someone who has been there is answering your questions, you can get the answers you want instead of just what the book wants to tell. When there is a guest speaker, you are also able to speak in the present tense, ask about the way things are now as opposed to when ever the article or book was written.

I thought our guest speakers were amazing, they answered a lot of my questions and also gave me new information that I didn't know. The best part was the fact that there were two speakers, one from Egypt and one from Pakistan. felt that was a perfect relationship for both of them to have because it put them in a more relatable position with the rest of the class. Not only were they both from a place other than the United States, but they were also from different countries within the Middle East.

I thought it was also beneficial that they were both educated not only about American culture, but about their own. One speaker spoke Arabic, but did not talk about Islam, the other did not know Arabic, but has studied the Koran. They were both from different age groups and practiced their beliefs in different ways. The speakers also were in agreeance with one another about some subjects but disagreed about others.

Honor Killings

The discussion we had in class the other day made me really think about how one would justify an honor killing. Because I am an American I know that it may be impossible for me to accept honor killing as a solution to anything. However a large community of people believe that honor is the most important thing you can have. Honor keeps you safe, without honor you have no power in your village. Not going through with an honor killing would mean escalated violence against your whole family. In order to protect the others in you family, you have an obligation to go through with the honor killing in order to restore the family's honor. Now, I can understand the concept of protecting your family, sacrificing one for many etc. What I do not understand is why honor killing do not involve men as the victims. Men having the most power should be the one responsible for the actions of the women in his family. It is unfair to blame a female for her mistakes when she does not have the power to make decisions on her own accord. The honor killing punishment can be used for an assortment of reasons that are not justifiable causes to kill a person. Honor killings are likely to be a huge deterrent in Western society accepting the Middle East. Such a biased cultural defect would go against the American family and their values. Regardless of whether or not I am able to understand the reasoning behind honor killings, I cannot imagine committing such an act against my own family. There just has to be other options available that don't involve killing your family member. At the very least, those involved could relocate to another village or country, or do whatever it took to save the life of your family member.