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Reviews
Wadjda (2012)
Rel 110 Film review
"Wadjda" is a thought-provoking and highly inspiring movie about a Saudi Arabian girl called Wadjda, whose dream is to have a bicycle. In pursuit of her dream, Wadjda works very hard and decides to take part in the Qur'an recitation competition which she successfully wins. The film shows social issues of the Saudi Arabian community by depicting basic problems which Wadjda and her family had. However, the movie also demonstrates the importance of religion in everyday life of that society. This review will analyse different passages of the movie, and will show that the film emphasizes the importance of the Quran, concept of equality, marriage rules and forgiveness in Islam.
The movie does highlight the importance of the Qur'an in Islam. Namely, it was shown that there was organized the Qur'an recitation competition in the school where Wadjda studied. Moreover, the prize for the best recitation of the Qur'an was truly high. Although, the main character was very young, girls of her age and she herself participated in this competition and had good results. It clearly shows that the Qur'an should be studied from childhood and the ability to retell the excerpts from the Qur'an is highly encouraged in Saudi Arabian community. Not only children, but adults should be able to recite the first source of Islamic law. In one of the episodes, the mother of Wadjda helped her to prepare to the competition by explaining Wadjda how to sing surahs (chapters of the Qur'an) and singing herself. Therefore, by depicting the competition which is spread among pupils and the ability of adults to retell the Qur'an, the film demonstrates that the Qur'an is crucial in Muslims' lives.
Despite the fact that film shows the gender inequality in Saudi Arabia which is a part of the society in that country, it illustrates implicitly the importance of equality among women. The concept of equality plays a key role in Islam and it was mentioned in "Major Themes of The Qur'an" that "an ethical and egalitarian social order" was the goal of the Qur'an (Rahman, 38). When Wadjda told her mother about her wish to ride and own a bicycle, her mother became angry and told that girls were not allowed to ride bicycles. Thus, it is clear that there was a big difference between men and women in Saudi Arabian community. On the other side, the viewer can, certainly, see that there is an equality among women. Namely, every woman in the city had to wear a special black coloured veil when she was outside the house. Furthermore, in one of the passages of the movie, the director of school told Wadjda to wear the same simple shoes as other girls wore instead of wearing sneakers. These passages give an impression that all women should be the same in that society because of the religious laws.
The next aspect of Islam which is depicted in the film is connected with marriage. According to Rahman, polygamy is permitted in Islam and Muslims are allowed to marry up to four women. However, there is a certain condition which is required to be fulfilled if someone wants to have several wives: all four wives should be treated equally and justly (Rahman 48). In the film, the father of Wadjda did marry the other woman, but before marrying her, he told that he had to have enough money in order to support two families. Furthermore, on the day of his second wedding he was waiting for his first wife or Wadjda's mother and it was clear that he worried about her. Unfortunately, he could not find his first wife and he told Wadjda that he loved her mother. That excerpt demonstrated that Wadjda's father respected his first wife, though, he was going to marry the second wife which was an important aspect of Islam.
Apart from the Qur'an, equality and concept of marriage, the movie does emphasize the importance of "balancing the deeds" in Islam. Some verses of the Qur'an indicate that misbehaviour of people will be forgiven, if their "overall performance is good" (Rahman 30).
Wadjda is a strong girl, who is not afraid of sharing her viewpoints with others and acting against the rules. She was invited to the director of her school several times, and the director was very angry with Wadjda's behaviour and was against her. However, when Wadjda decided to take part in the competition of recitation of the Qur'an, the director changed her negative opinion about Wadjda and decided to give her a second chance. This positive attitude towards a person who did some mistakes and wanted to improve himself or herself by starting doing good things (learning the Qur'an by heart) is reflected in the Qur'an and highly welcomed in Islam.
In conclusion, "Wadjda" is an emotional movie which has an implicit connection with religion, since Islam is an essential part of Saudi Arabian community. This review discussed several moments of the movie and identified that the film highlighted the significance of the Qur'an in Islam, aspect of equality among women, Islamic law regarding marriage and mercy towards those who wanted to change themselves in a positive way.
Inside Mecca (2003)
Film review REL 110
What aspects of that religious tradition does the film highlight, criticize, or explain? Does it do so effectively?
"Inside Mecca" is a documentary film that tells about a pilgrimage to Mecca by covering the stories of three Muslims from different continents. These people are the main characters of the movie: Fidelma O'Leary from Texas, Khalil Mandlasi from South Africa, and Ismael Mado who comes from Malaysia. The movie clearly shows all the rituals which are performed during the Hajj. Although the heroes of the film have different cultural backgrounds, they have the same religious goal which unites them in the holy place. This review will show that the movie does emphasize the crucial concepts of Islam such as equality, the sacred space and supporting weak by analysing different passages of the documentary and behaviour of main characters.
The movie highlights the importance of the equality in Islam. According to Rahman, the goal of the Qur'an, which is the first source of Islamic law is "an ethical and egalitarian social order" (Rahman, 38). In one of the episodes, there was mentioned the term "Ihram" which was a special attire for men. Namely, "Ihram" constitutes for two pieces of cloth which are the same for everyone and men have to wear it during the pilgrimage. In this outfit wealthy and poor, literate and non-literate people do look identical. For example, Ismael holds a high job position and is very successful, but when he comes to Mecca he leaves his comfort life and wears "Ihram" which makes him similar to other Muslims. In addition, the second main hero of the documentary Khalil Mandlasi emphasizes the aspects of brotherhood and sisterhood in Islam and considers Hajj as "a chance to see an ideal world in action". Khalil comes to Mecca from South Africa and strongly believes that despite the fact that people have different races and different economic statuses, they are all equal. It could be clearly seen from the experience of another character called Fidelma. Both of these heroes are the representatives of different nationalities, however, they feel themselves the same as other Muslims. Although, Khalil and Fidelma face some discrimination in Mecca, their ideals of Islam do not change to a great extent. Especially, when Khalil was circling around the Kaaba with other Muslims he gained that brotherhood and felt the equality which was clearly seen from his emotions. Therefore, by showing the significance of "Ihram", motivation of Khalil to witness the Islamic brotherhood and depicting the stories of people with different background the movie underlines the concept of equality in Islam.
The next aspect of Islam which is emphasized in the movie is the significance of the city Mecca and the most sacred site Kaaba. As it was shown in Eliade every religion had its own holy space which was a point of reference for the followers of the particular religious traditions (Eliade, 24), and Mecca is a sacred place in Islam. At the beginning of the documentary, it is pointed out that Mecca is "a year round destination for Muslims and considered to be a sacred territory where hunting and fighting were prohibited". Moreover, Mecca played an important role even in pre-Islamic Arabia when people believed in many Gods and the Kaaba was the centre of various rites and rituals (Lecture The Origins of Islam). However, the Prophet Muhammad cleared Kaaba from idols and people worshipped to one God. The movie does demonstrate that the Kaaba is a symbol of worship to one God and millions of Muslims circle the Kaaba and pray during their Hajj. Furthermore, the main characters of the documentary were highly excited to visit Mecca and the Kaaba and were very happy to feel the atmosphere which was present in that holy place. Thus, the passages which contain interviews with the main heroes and different rituals such as going around the Kaaba clearly depict the significance of these places in Islam.
Apart from equality and sacred space, the documentary shows how crucial it is to help poor people in Islam. It is worth mentioning that according to the Qur'an, Muslims should support vulnerable parts of society and take care of them (Rahman, 46). In one of the episodes, Khalil Mandlasi buys products for children of immigrants who live in Mecca in the "ramshackle houses" and tells that it was not the first time when he was doing that. This example clearly demonstrates that Muslims should provide help to those who need it.
In conclusion, "Inside Mecca" is an exciting documentary that demonstrates all the stages of annual pilgrimage to Mecca and tells the story of three pilgrims. So, by discussing the experiences of these people and different passages of the movie, this review shows that the film highlights the Islamic concepts of equality, importance of Mecca and Kaaba and significance of supporting vulnerable parts of society.
Reference list:
Daniel Beben, "The Origins of Islam" (Lecture, Nazarbayev University).
Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: the Nature of Religion. San Diego: Harcourt Inc., 1987.
Rahman, Fazlur. Major Themes of the Qur'an. Minneapolis : Bibliotheca Islamica, 1994.