Althouse: "This film understands jihadists as human beings and understands human beings as innately ridiculous."

November 5, 2010

"This film understands jihadists as human beings and understands human beings as innately ridiculous."

"Within that context, terrorism is about ideology, but it’s also about imbeciles."

19 comments:

coketown said...: What makes me skeptical of movies like this is that you know the director is making a broader, more serious point about terrorism and our reaction to it, but if asked to defend that point he would fall back and say, "Oh it's just satire. It's not meant to be taken seriously." But that's why we need to stop calling stuff like this satire. Gulliver's Travels was satire; The Man Who was Thursday was satire; The Loved One was satire. But they all made and defended serious, broader points. This movie, based on the article, sounds just stupid.; 11/5/10, 3:37 PM
Triangle Man said...: The broader, more serious point, is likely to be that terrorists are just people too. Perhaps the director will also sneak in a switcheroo whereby we come to realize that although the terrorists may be idiots, the non-terrorists are too. In any case, it looks like it could be a hilarious film.; 11/5/10, 3:45 PM
traditionalguy said...: Arabs are stupid, but that is the best reason not to leave them running around free living off government supported incomes while the try to use every weapon and explosive device that they can find to murder infidels. Even stupid people do learn things by practicing them.; 11/5/10, 3:52 PM
Anonymous said...: All you need to know about divine jihadists and, Obama’s favorite call to prayer.; 11/5/10, 3:53 PM
ricpic said...: Let me guess, terrorists are just victims, right? Either that or they're confused kids. It must be wonderful being a sophisticate swanning ones way through life, The trick is not to see the dead bodies as they pile up.; 11/5/10, 3:55 PM
Unknown said...: Terrorists are people, too. They believe they are on the side of right. Sometimes they make mistakes. This makes them lovable people with good hearts.

The same points could also be made about the SS.

Unless you were Jewish. Or a gypsy. Or Slavic.

Or had any intention of being Catholic after 1948.; 11/5/10, 4:35 PM
Phil 314 said...: Is this like Spring Time for Hitler?; 11/5/10, 4:37 PM
Phil 314 said...: Did I just violate Godwin's law?; 11/5/10, 4:40 PM
John Burgess said...: While mockery is likely a useful tool against extremism of any sort, this film looks just too dumb to watch.; 11/5/10, 5:11 PM
Irene said...: Cartoonish?; 11/5/10, 6:27 PM
Anonymous said...: It's gotten good reviews from conservatives so I think it's worth a trip to the movies.; 11/5/10, 6:32 PM
CatherineM said...: Actually guys, I haven't seen the movie, but I was listening to some comedians on the radio and they said what they liked about it was that it didn't chicken out with a "they are just people too," angle. They said it was very non"PC." It never gives them the excuse that they have valid reasons to do what they do. The director is not a "why do they hate us," guy.

Basically, these guys are assholes and dupes to the masterminds in Pakistan like the time square bomber.

I don't see what's wrong with making fun of assholes who think they are going to paradise before their head hits the ceiling.; 11/5/10, 6:53 PM
CatherineM said...: Spring time for Hitler is a good comparison.; 11/5/10, 6:53 PM
CatherineM said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/5/10, 7:01 PM
CatherineM said...: The link below is to the same group of guys making fun of the Dateline type shows pedophile hysteria. Pedophile is not funny, but the fear mongers should be mocked.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9031532194656768989#

My favorite line was something like, "The problem is massive. If you define a child as anyone under 30, that means 86% of the country has been a victim of a pedophile!"; 11/5/10, 7:12 PM
William said...: There have been any number of films making fun of Christians and Republicans, so it does seem fair that there be just one film making fun of jihadists.....I note in passing, however, that some of these jihadists are well educated and focussed. Some have been physicians and MIT graduates. They are clowns but not in the Three Stooges sense. Stalin engineered a bank robbery that killed forty two innocent bystanders. Incompetence is farcical but not ineffective.; 11/5/10, 9:27 PM
CatherineM said...: William - Actually, the filmmaker made that point on the radio. He said for every 10 dopes there is a skilled, qualified doctor trying to blow up and airport in the UK.

Just as they are not poor desperate people as my professor's always claimed - Obama a billionaire, the 9/11 terrorists all privileged...; 11/6/10, 12:28 AM
jr565 said...: Triangle Man wrote:
The broader, more serious point, is likely to be that terrorists are just people too.

Isn't that the dumbest point though - that people are people? Talk about a distinction without a distinction. We don't need a movie to tell us that humans are humans (or a song by Depeche Mode) since that's already a known fact.
While I certainly can appreciate a movie that mocks terrorists, I don't want one that makes them seem like one of the guys. Those kooky terrorists, if we just get past the jihad and head chopping we can have a beer with them and hang out and watch lord of the rings together! Well, maybe not beer. Unless they're sleeper cells and are pretending to be westerners, in which case we can meet them at strip clubs.; 11/6/10, 4:17 AM
Anonymous said...: "It must have been difficult for the Muslims stuffing the dogs with the bombs and detonators, considering how they loathe dogs. The sacrifices they make for jihad." - Pam Geller

Daily Mail (UK): The Kamikaze canines - whose stomach had been stuffed with bombs and detonators - were discovered at Baghdad airport two years ago, French daily Le Figaro said.

They had been primed to explode in mid-flight, but were never loaded aboard the aircraft because freight handlers spotted both dogs had died in their cages.

Post mortem examinations on the animals uncovered explosives and detonators set to go off several hours into the flight from the Iraqi capital to Los Angeles, Le Figaro said.... Link; 11/6/10, 11:24 AM