STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Maddie · Coach

Syriana

honey · Gucci

i saw it sunday & really liked it, though i get what your saying. overall i thought the structure was a little too similar to traffic. not that it made it a bad movie, but i don't think one should be lauded for making the same movie, with a different central theme i.e. oil replacing drugs.

i should add that i have a personal bias, b/c i really liked that it showed how gov. have lots of ulterior motives when get involved in the actions of other countries. something i don't think most people want to think about.

while the characters were for the most part good or evil, i liked certain aspects of the portrayals, particularly how it showed the transition for some people. for example the lawyer who imo, started out as a "good" character became a "bad" character (SPOILER) when he sold out his boss. but at the same time he was kind of in a position where if he didn't screw over someone he would get screwed for not effectively resolving the problem.

imo the same theme was played out in matt damon's character & the older brother. for matt damon i like how they showed how he got caught up in idealism and swept away by the thought of revolutionizing a country, to the point where he ignored his family and was totally going to support a coup. which was a change from the straight laced person he seemed at the beginning. also the elder brother character kind of started out all icky, but then there was more exposition and you realized he was a "good" guy. though i do think that plot line was kind of trite.

as far as the oil companies = evil. i actually didn't hate the head of connex (or whatever it was called) i was kind of ambivalent about their actions. however considering the approach they took to making the movie, it might have helped to show how we are completely dependant (sp?) upon oil. they kind of glossed over it with the china thing (how china doesn't have enough oil to meet its productions needs, while the us is a huge superpower b/c we guzzle it) but i think a separate plot line, or more exposition on that issue would have made the connection clearer.

lastly i liked the approach they took to terrorism in the sense that they showed that the average (when i use average i mean it reference to the person who completes the suicide mission, while i would consider the person who planned the mission to be different from your "average" terrorist) isn't always some sort of psycho nut case. just want to add that i don't support terrorism in any shape or form (lest my comments be misconstrued) but i think it's important to realize that most people turn to it as a last resort (which is something we should consider in our anti-terrorism policies), and not b/c they just hate westerners.

Maddie · Coach

I agree with a lot of your points and can see why you would like it. It did show a lot of what goes on in government that we don't see on the news, but it's far from the first movie to do so.

I do agree that the Matt Damon character was interesting, but I still didn't really care. Maybe because he didn't have enough screentime? Or the moment before (SPOILER) the guy's car explodes and he and George Clooney look at each other just didn't carry as much power as it should have.

I thought that the terrorist storyline was intersting and one of the best, but I also felt it perpetuated the idea that we should be afraid if the average Muslim. I'm sure that this happens a lot, but at the same I don't think the majority of unemployed Muslims resort to terrorism. I felt like it would make people think that Muslims are inherently ruthless and violent. Even though we were sympathetic to those characters. But then again, I'm sure that happens a lot so I don't really know.

I kind of want to see it again because I'd be able to follow it better and maybe care a little more about the characters. I thought Traffic was much better and managed to handle the confusing plot (though it was much less so) and numerous characters yet still get me to care about it.

honey · Gucci

Maddie wrote:

I agree with a lot of your points and can see why you would like it. It did show a lot of what goes on in government that we don't see on the news, but it's far . I thought that the terrorist storyline was intersting and one of the best, but I also felt it perpetuated the idea that we should be afraid if the average Muslim. I'm sure that this happens a lot, but at the same I don't think the majority of unemployed Muslims resort to terrorism. I felt like it would make people think that Muslims are inherently ruthless and violent. Even though we were sympathetic to those characters. But then again, I'm sure that happens a lot so I don't really know.

interesting point. i didn't really think of it from the perspective of linking his terrorist actions with islam. i guess in my head i saw it as he's this disillusioned youth that found hope in something, in this case the something being islam. i think it parallels the experience of becoming a born again christian, and people do crazy things in the name of christianity. for me it was more about him being manipulated into a specific action by a nut who twisted a religion to suit his own purpose. iirc the recruiter was not among the people at the end engaged in the terrorism. but i definitely see what you're saying.