Something kind of awesome is happening in my rewrite class, where I'm working on Gaza Sunrise. I can't tell you exactly when the transformation occurred, or precisely why. Perhaps it is the pictures and videos I have been sending out to accompany each new set of pages, of things like the Apartheid Wall and the Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah. I sometimes forget that most people have no idea what the Occupied Territories really look like, and the images can be quite powerful. Perhaps it is the fact that after actually traveling there, I am able to be more clear and articulate and unapologetic and uncompromising (yes, it is possible!) about the fact that what's going on in Palestine is resistance to colonial oppression.
But for whatever reason, at some point, people stopped questioning the political positions of the script (or at least accepted that I wasn't going to change them to match their own views of Israel/Palestine), and started actually talking about how the characters operate within the landscape of this world that is very different from the modern United States. And all of a sudden we are talking about the Palestinian struggle like exactly what it is--a national liberation movement against an oppressive, occupying, colonial force--and the political and moral and personal choices one faces in being part of such a struggle. Which is of course what the script is actually about.
My professor (who I think is turning out to be one of my favorite professors at USC so far) said something amazing today about Moira, my protagonist. He called her a coward. For running away. For leaving Palestine after her militant father was assassinated in an attack that very nearly killed her as well, instead of following in his footsteps and continuing to fight. Which, if you think about it, implies some recognition of the idea that to stay and fight--despite the titanic risks involved--is the right choice in this situation, the choice that is not only honorable and brave but necessary for this character's growth and transformation. Which is exactly what Moira herself realizes over the course of the story.
Ha! I thought when he said that. I've got you thinking like the resistance now! But really, this is quite remarkable if you stop and think about it. At least within the confines of this rewrite class, I've won. I've succeeded in portraying these characters, who are involved in armed resistance against Israel, as not terrorists or religious fanatics or some fetishized Other, but as human beings who operate in an emotional landscape that is recognizable and understandable to people who've never been to Palestine and maybe don't even know that much about the conflict. If at the end of this script, I can get you to empathize with Palestinians who choose to stay and fight for their homeland, their rights and their loved ones against Israeli aggression...well, I've done my job, haven't I?
If anything, this semester has just reinforced my belief that the Palestinian cause is actually quite morally clear and easy to sympathize with when you know the reality of what's going on on the ground. Because the environment in the previous class in which I worked on this script was kind of hostile...or maybe un-empathetic is a better word...I think I spent a lot of time in the first draft trying to "complicate" the picture of Palestine I was presenting. When really, as Moira says near the beginning of the script, it's not that complicated at all. Oppressor. Oppressed. Which side are you on?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
back to gaza! and other updates
If you have noticed a precipitous decline in my rate of posting since, oh, the start of the semester, it's only because my non-blog-writing workload has been epic as of late. But, as I've learned that my brain is too fried from eight consecutive hours of class on Wednesdays to handle anything creative, it's time for some updates.
1. As you may have surmised from my sidebar, I'm going back to Gaza during winter break for the Gaza Freedom March. The march will be a direct, nonviolent challenge to the Israeli blockade and the total closure of the border crossings controlled by Israel. Along with the upcoming Viva Palestina joint US-UK convoy, it will be quite possibly the largest mobilization of internationals to Palestine in history. Already, 500 people from 32 countries have signed up to participate in the march, including Alice Walker, Walden Bello, and current and former government officials from several nations. We expect to be joined on the march by some tens of thousands of Palestinians--the exact number remains unclear, but the list of endorsers from Palestinian civil society is impressive.
My first trip to Palestine was more amazing than I could have ever possibly imagined--horrible, yes, but incredible, too. I started from a position of solidarity with the Palestinians and what I would consider to be an above-average knowledge of the region and its politics (at least for an American), and I was still completely transformed by the experience of actually going there. Those six days shaped my understanding of the world in ways I'm still just beginning to understand. I can't wait to go back and I feel so lucky to have the chance to participate in what I think will be a historic action. I cannot think of a better way to greet 2010 than with some nonviolent direct action in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
If you would like to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, I think it will pretty much rock your world. Register on the website by November 30.
2. For anyone in the Los Angeles area, I will be speaking on Palestine at the Southern California Socialist Conference, happening November 21-22 at USC. Despite what the website says, my session will in fact be from 1:30-3 on Saturday. Check out a single session or the whole conference; there will be some awesome speakers, including a keynote by Mike Davis.
3. Also for those in Los Angeles: after my session at the conference, you can head right down the street to a citywide organizing meeting for the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Activists will be strategizing about ways to protest the LA Department of Water & Power's cooperation with the Israeli national water company.
1. As you may have surmised from my sidebar, I'm going back to Gaza during winter break for the Gaza Freedom March. The march will be a direct, nonviolent challenge to the Israeli blockade and the total closure of the border crossings controlled by Israel. Along with the upcoming Viva Palestina joint US-UK convoy, it will be quite possibly the largest mobilization of internationals to Palestine in history. Already, 500 people from 32 countries have signed up to participate in the march, including Alice Walker, Walden Bello, and current and former government officials from several nations. We expect to be joined on the march by some tens of thousands of Palestinians--the exact number remains unclear, but the list of endorsers from Palestinian civil society is impressive.
My first trip to Palestine was more amazing than I could have ever possibly imagined--horrible, yes, but incredible, too. I started from a position of solidarity with the Palestinians and what I would consider to be an above-average knowledge of the region and its politics (at least for an American), and I was still completely transformed by the experience of actually going there. Those six days shaped my understanding of the world in ways I'm still just beginning to understand. I can't wait to go back and I feel so lucky to have the chance to participate in what I think will be a historic action. I cannot think of a better way to greet 2010 than with some nonviolent direct action in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
If you would like to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, I think it will pretty much rock your world. Register on the website by November 30.
2. For anyone in the Los Angeles area, I will be speaking on Palestine at the Southern California Socialist Conference, happening November 21-22 at USC. Despite what the website says, my session will in fact be from 1:30-3 on Saturday. Check out a single session or the whole conference; there will be some awesome speakers, including a keynote by Mike Davis.
3. Also for those in Los Angeles: after my session at the conference, you can head right down the street to a citywide organizing meeting for the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Activists will be strategizing about ways to protest the LA Department of Water & Power's cooperation with the Israeli national water company.
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