Media representations of ordinary Iraqi life and humanity

Beethoven

Iraq

During a brief respite from the attacks that have paralyzed his city, an Iraqi man takes his children out for ice cream. For one moment on the news, America sees an Iraqi father watch his children lap up soft serve during an ordinary moment of family togetherness. The man shrugs when asked if he believes that peace is near. He is philosophical, not hating (or loving) America or the Iraqi fundamentalist insurgents. He merely regrets the circumstances that have inhibited the course of his ordinary life. Other images, like soldiers 'rapping' with Iraqi children might seem like more radical cultural mergers of American and Iraqi society are really just status quo images of wartime and have parallels with other typical dramatic media images of war, like the tearing down of the statue of Lenin. But this image of an apparently ordinary day is really the most avante guard image -- it shows that Iraqis just want to get on with their lives. Their culture is not exotic and most Iraqis are obsessed with religion or politics. Most people remember personal aspects of their lives as fond memories, not the toppling of Saddam Hussein, and they are not dreaming of democracy in the form of a republican legislature, they merely want their children to be happy. This is what connects Americans with Iraqis more fundamentally -- a common humanity, not abstract desires to change the government.

Discussion 2: Beethoven