I appreciate much of what you write here, especially with regard to The Brutalist - where much of the Zionism felt bizarre and shoehorned-in. At best, you can justify some of the beliefs as depicted, as being realistic for people of that time to believe. But the voiceover of the radio announcement regarding the establishment of the state of Israel was very strange.
Your criticisms of A Real Pain and Dune 2 seem much less founded. A Real Pain doesn't mention Israel once, you're equating Jewishness with Israel - which is exactly what Zionists want, but isn't what Eisenberg does with his film. His film is about one specific genocide, and that is legitimate even if it doesn't mention other genocides perpetrated - that's not the movie he chose to make, and that choice might be different to what you would have done but that doesn't make it Zionist. You could argue that Dune 2 is a pro-Arab film because so much of the depicted indigenous resistance is Arab-coded - isn't that a good thing? It co-opts some markers of Arab culture, with positive intent - these are the protagonists of the film, not the antagonists. And they don't get wiped out - they win. So that was possibly a miscomprehension on your part.
There are many legitimate criticisms of this year's Oscars crop, you don't have to invent extras.
I always thought Dune Part 2 told a story of white colonization as a way of demonstrating how terrible it is. Is Paul Atreides not written to be a white savior archetype? Dune definitely is not Zionist.
The film streamlines it from the book, but yeah it's a white saviour story that is also a critique of the white saviour trope - it's a bit "have your cake and eat it too". Certainly still a little problematic but much more complex than its many imitators who retained the messiah complex without any of the critique
Frank Herbert wrote Dune Messiah in response to people thinking Dune was a hero story and not a cautionary tale, and in it made it just how clear Paul’s “victory” was not a victory for anyone else. So yeah. Really not Zionist or white saviour-y, very much against that sort of thing. Also found it odd to say No Other Land is Zionist because it doesn’t feature Palestinian resistance, but then Dune is Zionist because it does show that resistance?
This was an interesting read and very well written. I did think the scene in The Brutalist when Adrian Brody asks his niece if he is less Jewish because he doesn't move to Israel was an important and poignant scene (though short-lived). I think it's worth noting too that one of the leads, Guy Pearce, showed up to the red carpet debut wearing a free Palestine pin.
I also thought it was interesting that at the end of the film, you learn that when he moved to Israel, he was only able to design buildings that were reminiscent of the barracks he and his wife were kept in while in concentration camps. What that felt like to me was a very subtle nod at how Israel's government has weaponized Jewish trauma for decades.
Really great piece! The scenes with the Rwandan genocide survivor were so frustrating to me in A Real Pain because realistically, he probably would feel connected to Black people across the diaspora in our struggle against colonialism, and yet it’s almost like Eisenberg dismisses that possibility in favor of a narrative that makes holocaust exceptional in its horror.
Ngl i was happy to see no other land win as it had an actual Palestinian in it and a palestinian perspective on the night of the oscars. It felt like progress compared to last year's oscars and to me it was undeniable. However, the normalization underlined in this article is real. The shift in perspective and focus is real. I think I'm going to appreciate the progress made while still saying western media must do better.
This comment really echoed my own thoughts. As a non-Palestinian, I am not going to critique how Palestinian artists are sharing their message with the world. And, at the same time, we can still hold Western media accountable for contributing to propaganda and misinformation that normalizes Israel’s occupation and genocide.
"Despite how Abraham and the film may attempt to separate Israelis like himself from occupational violence, the reality is they are only there because of such violence." An excellent point.
I'm glad no other land won, but also glad we're criticizing the problematic detail that is a part of the premise of this film. And even more glad with an article like this pointing out how prevalent Zionist talking points are in Hollywood. We should not accept the status quo that is being maintained from the belly of the beast.
Interesting piece. Among these, I only saw the Brutalist. It absolutely felt like a piece of propaganda. It was also plain awful, part of another trend that extends to Anora as well: make a film “look” like real cinema, with good cinematography, perhaps using old film or cameras, interesting design elements, market it to death, and your audience and critics will believe it’s good cinema. Include an intermission to add to the illusion. You can get away a total lack of substance. Uncharacteristic plot movements, dialogue, terrible acting that then gets praised. What poor direction. What poor writing. But who reads anymore anyway?
absolutely excellent piece and I wish more people talked about the explicit perpetuation of US imperialism propaganda in the movies. like another commenter, though, I'm not too sure about your critique of A Real Pain as Zionist media and a justification of Israel's existence. the comparison feels a little uncomfy - to me, Eisenberg's intention was to purely make a movie about grappling over feeling or not feeling a sense of generational trauma and something, if anything, was explicitly about Jewishness, which (as an anti-Zionist Jewish woman who thinks Israel should probably not exist) has nothing to do on its own with Israel. I see your point about the Rwandan genocide survivor, but I don't think this was a central enough creative choice to say the movie is perpetuating Zionist narratives idk.
great piece. While I agree about the Dune film, the book actually takes a much more nuanced and less problematic look into Islam & the Arab world. It is not perfect, but for the time it was written I think it does a pretty great job. This interview explains some of what I'm alluding to https://muse.jhu.edu/article/897704
This was super enlightening! I haven't seen any of these films, I haven't even heard of the last one, but the wider discourse around them excluded their representation of Israel. The Oscars tries to appear progressive with the films they allot (Emelia Perez and No Other Land) but they don't want anything that actually challenges the status quo. Especially as the Oscars refuses to comment on the attack and abduction of Basel Adra, we have to stop respecting the Oscars as if they're the highest form of prestige.
Excellent piece, I learnt a ton!!!
Such a brilliant piece @Merryana Salem, as always!
I appreciate much of what you write here, especially with regard to The Brutalist - where much of the Zionism felt bizarre and shoehorned-in. At best, you can justify some of the beliefs as depicted, as being realistic for people of that time to believe. But the voiceover of the radio announcement regarding the establishment of the state of Israel was very strange.
Your criticisms of A Real Pain and Dune 2 seem much less founded. A Real Pain doesn't mention Israel once, you're equating Jewishness with Israel - which is exactly what Zionists want, but isn't what Eisenberg does with his film. His film is about one specific genocide, and that is legitimate even if it doesn't mention other genocides perpetrated - that's not the movie he chose to make, and that choice might be different to what you would have done but that doesn't make it Zionist. You could argue that Dune 2 is a pro-Arab film because so much of the depicted indigenous resistance is Arab-coded - isn't that a good thing? It co-opts some markers of Arab culture, with positive intent - these are the protagonists of the film, not the antagonists. And they don't get wiped out - they win. So that was possibly a miscomprehension on your part.
There are many legitimate criticisms of this year's Oscars crop, you don't have to invent extras.
I always thought Dune Part 2 told a story of white colonization as a way of demonstrating how terrible it is. Is Paul Atreides not written to be a white savior archetype? Dune definitely is not Zionist.
The film streamlines it from the book, but yeah it's a white saviour story that is also a critique of the white saviour trope - it's a bit "have your cake and eat it too". Certainly still a little problematic but much more complex than its many imitators who retained the messiah complex without any of the critique
Frank Herbert wrote Dune Messiah in response to people thinking Dune was a hero story and not a cautionary tale, and in it made it just how clear Paul’s “victory” was not a victory for anyone else. So yeah. Really not Zionist or white saviour-y, very much against that sort of thing. Also found it odd to say No Other Land is Zionist because it doesn’t feature Palestinian resistance, but then Dune is Zionist because it does show that resistance?
This was an interesting read and very well written. I did think the scene in The Brutalist when Adrian Brody asks his niece if he is less Jewish because he doesn't move to Israel was an important and poignant scene (though short-lived). I think it's worth noting too that one of the leads, Guy Pearce, showed up to the red carpet debut wearing a free Palestine pin.
I also thought it was interesting that at the end of the film, you learn that when he moved to Israel, he was only able to design buildings that were reminiscent of the barracks he and his wife were kept in while in concentration camps. What that felt like to me was a very subtle nod at how Israel's government has weaponized Jewish trauma for decades.
You articulated this really well, it’s interesting to see how States work to align themselves culturally as well as politically!
Appreciate the kind words May!
Really great piece! The scenes with the Rwandan genocide survivor were so frustrating to me in A Real Pain because realistically, he probably would feel connected to Black people across the diaspora in our struggle against colonialism, and yet it’s almost like Eisenberg dismisses that possibility in favor of a narrative that makes holocaust exceptional in its horror.
Really really great piece!
Thanks Sam!
so excellent, thank you for writing this!
This was an absolutely excellent read!!!!
Ngl i was happy to see no other land win as it had an actual Palestinian in it and a palestinian perspective on the night of the oscars. It felt like progress compared to last year's oscars and to me it was undeniable. However, the normalization underlined in this article is real. The shift in perspective and focus is real. I think I'm going to appreciate the progress made while still saying western media must do better.
This comment really echoed my own thoughts. As a non-Palestinian, I am not going to critique how Palestinian artists are sharing their message with the world. And, at the same time, we can still hold Western media accountable for contributing to propaganda and misinformation that normalizes Israel’s occupation and genocide.
"Despite how Abraham and the film may attempt to separate Israelis like himself from occupational violence, the reality is they are only there because of such violence." An excellent point.
I'm glad no other land won, but also glad we're criticizing the problematic detail that is a part of the premise of this film. And even more glad with an article like this pointing out how prevalent Zionist talking points are in Hollywood. We should not accept the status quo that is being maintained from the belly of the beast.
Interesting piece. Among these, I only saw the Brutalist. It absolutely felt like a piece of propaganda. It was also plain awful, part of another trend that extends to Anora as well: make a film “look” like real cinema, with good cinematography, perhaps using old film or cameras, interesting design elements, market it to death, and your audience and critics will believe it’s good cinema. Include an intermission to add to the illusion. You can get away a total lack of substance. Uncharacteristic plot movements, dialogue, terrible acting that then gets praised. What poor direction. What poor writing. But who reads anymore anyway?
absolutely excellent piece and I wish more people talked about the explicit perpetuation of US imperialism propaganda in the movies. like another commenter, though, I'm not too sure about your critique of A Real Pain as Zionist media and a justification of Israel's existence. the comparison feels a little uncomfy - to me, Eisenberg's intention was to purely make a movie about grappling over feeling or not feeling a sense of generational trauma and something, if anything, was explicitly about Jewishness, which (as an anti-Zionist Jewish woman who thinks Israel should probably not exist) has nothing to do on its own with Israel. I see your point about the Rwandan genocide survivor, but I don't think this was a central enough creative choice to say the movie is perpetuating Zionist narratives idk.
great piece. While I agree about the Dune film, the book actually takes a much more nuanced and less problematic look into Islam & the Arab world. It is not perfect, but for the time it was written I think it does a pretty great job. This interview explains some of what I'm alluding to https://muse.jhu.edu/article/897704
This was super enlightening! I haven't seen any of these films, I haven't even heard of the last one, but the wider discourse around them excluded their representation of Israel. The Oscars tries to appear progressive with the films they allot (Emelia Perez and No Other Land) but they don't want anything that actually challenges the status quo. Especially as the Oscars refuses to comment on the attack and abduction of Basel Adra, we have to stop respecting the Oscars as if they're the highest form of prestige.