This is one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a while. In his follow up to Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock takes on the subject of the war on terror. Morgan decides to do what the U.S. government hasn't been able to do since 9/11, find Osama Bin Laden. Motivated by the impending birth of his child, he sets of on a quest which sends him to the Middle East to find "OBL" (Bin Laden). His journey takes him to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. At each stop, Spurlock speaks with the common man, right off the streets, and they share their opinions on Bin Laden and the U.S. Their opinions are often eye opening and surprising. With a light touch and great sense of humor, Spurlock tries to enlighten the viewer and offer a better understanding of the psychology behind the extremists and the possible root causes for the expansion of terror cells throughout the world, while also showing the exploitative and corrupt regimes in supposed "democratic" countries like Saudi Arabia. The footage from some of the more war ravaged countries, like Afghanistan, is compelling. Spurlock makes a wonderful case for our need to win more "hearts and minds" as he shows a school class being held in the open air at a bombed out school with partially erect walls and no roof. In the end, while faced with the enormity of the situation, you also walk out of the movie with a sense of hope at the realization that in truth we're more alike than we thought and while there are many extremists and jihadists that hate America, like Spurlock says "there are a lot more people just like us, then like him (Bin Laden)".
Friday, April 25, 2008
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
This is one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a while. In his follow up to Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock takes on the subject of the war on terror. Morgan decides to do what the U.S. government hasn't been able to do since 9/11, find Osama Bin Laden. Motivated by the impending birth of his child, he sets of on a quest which sends him to the Middle East to find "OBL" (Bin Laden). His journey takes him to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. At each stop, Spurlock speaks with the common man, right off the streets, and they share their opinions on Bin Laden and the U.S. Their opinions are often eye opening and surprising. With a light touch and great sense of humor, Spurlock tries to enlighten the viewer and offer a better understanding of the psychology behind the extremists and the possible root causes for the expansion of terror cells throughout the world, while also showing the exploitative and corrupt regimes in supposed "democratic" countries like Saudi Arabia. The footage from some of the more war ravaged countries, like Afghanistan, is compelling. Spurlock makes a wonderful case for our need to win more "hearts and minds" as he shows a school class being held in the open air at a bombed out school with partially erect walls and no roof. In the end, while faced with the enormity of the situation, you also walk out of the movie with a sense of hope at the realization that in truth we're more alike than we thought and while there are many extremists and jihadists that hate America, like Spurlock says "there are a lot more people just like us, then like him (Bin Laden)".
