Discovering the interplay between the news media and acts of terrorism

Critical Analysis – The hurt locker

            The film The Hurt Locker is an action packed movie depicting the lives and personalities of American soldiers in the recent “war on terror.“  The movie, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, undoubtedly presents the film from the soldier’s perspective and does not shed much light on the combatants they are trying to stop. She also provides an interesting angle on individual personalities of soldiers, which clearly varies from person-to-person. The movie is representative of day-to-day life of many men and women fighting overseas. Read more

Conversation Over Tea

The book Three Cups of Tea was an interesting and inspiring read. Although the book took me longer to read than most, I am incredibly glad I finished it and have been touched in way I did not think I was going to. The story of Greg Mortenson and his pursuit to overcome cultural divides separating the Middle East with other parts of the world is incredible. Read more

The other day I had a chance to talk with my friend Frido over email in regards to terrorism in the Netherlands. It was interesting to get his perspective on the subject. Here is what he said:

“Concerning terrorism, as far as I know there are no extreme terrorists groups in the Netherlands. However there are parties within in the government that take a radical political position against Muslims and the Koran. Read more

Terrorism Defined

Terrorism: interpretation

(1) In this Act “terrorism” means the use or threat of action where:

            (a) the action falls within subsection (2),

            (b) the use or threat is designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and

            (c) the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.

Read more

Bloody Sunday Movie Reflection

The movie “Bloody Sunday” was a ‘mockumentary’ (fiction-documentary) film depicting the events of January 30, 1972. In the film, British Paramilitary troops attack civilians participating in a march for civil rights in the Northern Ireland town of Londonderry. The film was written and directed by a Paul Greengrass. “John Kelly, whose brother was shot and killed in the incident, said he (Mr. Greengrass) consulted many families who were present there on that day. The families trusted the film makers to ‘tell the truth.’ We already know the truth. Our people’s right to life was taken by the British military.” Mr. Kelly also added that he “believed they will portray the film as it should be portrayed. Paul Greengrass and Mark Redhead (the producer) are people of integrity” (BBC News). This leads to discussing how Mr. Greengrass was able to re-create the events of Bloody Sunday and certain film techniques he used to give the film its documentary feel. Read more

In order to prepare for this assignment, I wanted to relive the experience and the emotion of the event. While reviewing the event on the internet, I was struck by the series of personal videos that were captured by people – innocent bystanders – of the event. These people were the ones who captured the initial news that was brought to the American public that day. These people were the ones who made the news possible. It is this personal footage that defined the event, and that every major news station turned to for documentation. It is this personal footage that made this horrific event history. Read more