Opinion

Message to IS

I have comments on the latest video of the Islamic state, which I do not suggest anyone watch. My comments are not only from the standpoint of my being a film director, but also from psychological, humanitarian and political perspectives.
 
The video was directed by a professional who gave it a lot of thought before shooting it, so as to make it more impressive. It was better directed than all the other videos we watched from Iraq, Syria and Sinai. The director made use of the depressive picture of the sea at sunset under gloomy skies. Also, shooting the sea was a symbolic message to Europe, which is located on the other side of the expanse, not too far away. 
 
It was an expensive production of a video that was shot with professional equipment. And choosing black uniforms for the executioners and orange uniforms for the victims was visually, very scary.
 
From a psychological perspective, the video used the “Shock Value” technique. It is a technique that aims to show you never-before-seen images so shocking that they will remain in your memory forever.
 
And because we have the Internet, people will post those shocking images, which will help spread the video. This is exactly what the assassins want.
 
Interestingly, those IS terrorists use a different and more shocking technique each time. This means there is someone who thinks about how to present something new before shooting each video. As a film director, I cannot direct the brutal scenes I watched in that video.
 
From a humanitarian perspective, those terrorists do not consider their victims human, for anyone who is not Muslim is an infidel, and infidels to them are not human. This breeds a similar reaction among viewers, for they too will not be moved if those terrorists are killed because to them they are not human.
 
Another technique used in those videos is known as “Compassion Fatigue.” Repeated scenes of killing gradually lessens compassion. People get accustomed to seeing such images. Eventually, it makes them rigid and unaffected until they become unwilling to fight injustice.
 
From a political point of view, the director of the video could have been a good father or husband or a man useful to mankind. Instead, he chose to be a tool for murder.
 
Arab rulers cared about their palaces more than their people. They cared about controlling the people more than providing them with proper education. They spent on repressive security tools more than on art. They thwarted ambitions. All this led to frustration among people. And every frustrated person is a perfect candidate for terrorism.
 
Not only the poor are frustrated. The rich may also be frustrated when they see their friends being unjustly killed or jailed. The Arab rulers added ignorance and poverty to frustration. And terrorism is the product of injustice, frustration and religious discourse.
 
A whole country may have more extremist beliefs than IS. Yet it does not exercise daily killing because its people have ambitions. They have the culture of life, not the culture of death. 
 
To the Islamic State I say, you are erasing your humanity and ours. You are erasing our creativity to the extent that we are unable to come up with a happy ending for all this suffering and pain. With your beheadings you made us believe there is no justice on this miserable planet. 
 
 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

Related Articles

Back to top button