Dear Kamran and others,
Thanks so much for sharing your resources. I'll certainly compare our
lists and share anything that adds to the discussion. I've used a lot of
Shohat and Stam's writings in the past, so I'll investigate McAlister's
text.
I also very much value your caution that we consider the differences
between films about the ME and films from the ME. That's, in part, why
the subtitle of my course is actually "West Asia and North Africa on Film"
because we look at representations of the areas and cultures from what I
loosely call "outside" and "inside" views.
I'm also in my third update of this course because I am much more an
authority on Turkish cinema than anything else. Hence, the
Turkish/Kurdish/Cypriot bias of my syllabus. This is another reason I
find your list so interesting, of course. I've spent the last year
working on Palestinian, Israeli, and Syrian cinema, but that still leaves
gaps in my knowledge, of course. This year I am striving for more
transnational productions and a better balance, at least between
Turkey/Iran/Egypt.
I'm also trying to move away from the more auteurist beginnings of my
list: Guney, Chahine, Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf, Gatai, Khleifi, etc. This
year I'm adding a unit on popular cinema because it seems to be a favorite
of students in my Turkish Film and Culture course and the unit that most
surprises them.
good day,
Brian
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:14:38 +0100
> From: Kamran Rastegar <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: middle east on film?
>
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>
> Brian and all,
>
> I wonder if we might not wish to make a distinction between films /from/
> the Middle East and those /about/ the Middle East (and, I'd suggest,
> North Africa). I think it's potentially very problematic to mix the two,
> unless the point of the exercise is to examine the politics of
> representation, etc.
>
> I teach a course on cinemas of the Middle East/North Africa -- I'm
> listing the films I use below. But there are many others I wish I could
> add -- if anyone has particular areas of interest relating to ME/NA
> films I'd be more than happy to discuss how these lists could be changed
> or expanded. For example, my list is quite weak on Turkish cinema.
>
> I'd love to hear more about what anyone on this list who has taught this
> area in the past has taught... same with the readings that have been used.
>
> It's not on my list below, but if you're interested in the politics of
> US representations of the ME in popular culture, I'd highly recommend a
> wonderful text by Melanie McAlister: Epic Encounters: Culture, Media,
> and U.S. Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000.
>
> best,
> Kamran Rastegar
>
++++++++++++++++++++
Brian K. Bergen-Aurand, PhD
Department of English (M/C 162)
2026 University Hall
601 S. Morgan St.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL 60607-7120
USA
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