Arts editor David Walsh’s ring of truth: Painful banality
Excerpt, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett
“Some things are easier to predict than others. We are
willing to wager any amount of money that on the March 2 broadcast no one will
stick his or her nose out,” David Walsh writes.
2013 was one of the most tumultuous
years in a very long time. It is nonetheless guaranteed that on a widely
watched broadcast dedicated to the most popular art form of our time, an art
form that still draws masses of spectators annually ─ none of the presenters or winners will mention Edward Snowden, the NSA,
drones, Egypt, Syria, martial law in Boston, poverty, food stamps, the Detroit
bankruptcy …
In an interview with World Socialist Web Site, “Omar”
director Hany Abu-Assad said:
|
Arab film presented at Cannes Film Festival “Omar” Director Hany Abu-Assad wins the Jury Prize |
‘I think my artistic motivation is
to be a witness to history. One hundred years from now, people will still look
back on movies that are not just great stories, but also showed what happened
in that period of time. To witness history, from my point of view: History is something
we all write together.’
“Omar”, nominated in the Academy's best foreign film category, can be
fully endorsed,” Walsh writes. It “presents a realistic, sobering picture of
Palestinian life under Israeli rule.
|
March 12, 2013 at FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting): “‘What Palestinians Said Was Israeli Aggression’: The Death of Omar al-Masharawi,” |
‘The film points to the nearly
impossible personal and social conditions for the Palestinians under Israeli
rule. Under the intense pressures [as explained by the director], friendships
and relationships can change, deteriorate and turn into their opposite ─ Omar brings to life the tragic situation
in intimate, concrete detail.’
Of the 2014 Academy Award nominations announced January 16
in advance of the March 2 ceremony, Walsh concludes that despite deserving acclaim
for films such as “Nebraska” and “Omar”, this annual pageantry and associated awards
events
“are as predictable and embalmed as much of the rest of official
American public life, and about as unblemished by the influence of real life.”
Sources and notes
“2014 Academy Award nominations: Very few bright spots” by David
Walsh, January 18, 2014,
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/01/18/acad-j18.html
Walsh also references WSWS’s coverage of the 2013 Toronto
film festival
Writer and journalist David Walsh is arts editor of the
World Socialist Web Site and writes about film, the arts, politics and history. http://www.indiewire.com/critic/david_walsh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Walsh_(writer)
Image: March 12, 2013 at FAIR: “‘What Palestinians Said Was
Israeli Aggression’: The Death of Omar al-Masharawi,” http://www.fair.org/blog/2013/03/12/what-palestinians-said-was-israeli-aggression-the-death-of-omar-al-masharawi/
Image: Seul film arabe à avoir été présenté au dernier
festival de Cannes, Omar du palestinien Hany Abu-Assad, a remporté le prix du
Jury. Crédit photo / Site officiel - Omar de Hany Abu-Assad - See more at: http://27973hd45102.ikexpress.com/564525092013Omar-le-nouveau-film-coup-de-poing-d-Hany-Abu-Assad.html#sthash.UYUZX32T.dpuf
Google translation:
Only Arab film to be presented at the last Cannes Film
Festival, “Omar” Palestinian Hany Abu-Assad, won the Jury Prize. “Omar” Hany Abu-Assad
- - photo / Official Site Credit See more at: http://27973hd45102.ikexpress.com/564525092013Omar-le-nouveau-film-coup-de-poing-d-Hany-Abu-Assad.html#sthash.UYUZX32T.dpuf
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