My (earnest, irate) thoughts

I know I just talked about how evil TV is, but here is a short, soon-to-be-updated list of movies that you need to watch immediately (if not sooner).

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet is one of just a handful of movies that actually seeks out articulate spokespeople for Islam. This PBS documentary presents an imminently watchable, entertaining look at both the life of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and the varied lives of modern-day American Muslims. (Unfortunately, most movies that claim to “tell the truth about Islam” first begin by retelling all the lies already being told, and then putting a camera in front of a few uneducated, dirty Muslims with atypical opinions. Muslims, e.g., should have been called Muslim Problems.) But Legacy of a Prophet is full of touching scenes — a congressional aide washing himself for ritual prayer, a nurse comforting a dying man — mixed with flashbacks of how the revelation of the Qur’an profoundly affected the Prophet’s otherwise ordinary life. It is beautiful, and western scholar Karen Armstrong is especially enjoyable to watch.

Blood and Oil: A History of the Middle East in World War I is interesting only to a history nerd like myself for the first 90 percent of it. But after the Ottoman Empire surrenders to the Allied powers, and the war “ends” — the true desert storm begins. Several historians call that time the “peace to end all peace” because it created a situation that is inherently unstable, and rife with enough conflict to spark centuries of war. This movie uses snobby British historians, and never even comes close to being pro-Turk or pro-Arab — and the Anglocentric viewpoint makes a sordid history even more so… The Arabs, persuaded by Britain to fight for “independence” from the Turks, were doubly betrayed: A secret treaty between Britain and France, the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, meant the two countries would divide the Middle East between them, carving up the Muslim empire into arbitrary “nations” and “peoples.” Then Zionist sympathies spawned the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which meant the British would guarantee a Jewish homeland in Palestine — the site of the ancient kingdom of Israel where Arabs had lived for more than a thousand years. This movie only begins to explain why the last century has meant only horror for Middle Easterners of every tongue, creed and color. I wish only that people would watch this movie, and perhaps begin to remove the veil that allows people to confuse these 20th-century political conflicts with a 1,400-year-old religion that preaches only peace.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is very important to me personally. Every day I hear people, good people who are trying to raise thoughtful children, mention “When I got it at Wal-Mart…” and inwardly I startle, a bit surprised by how many good, God-fearing folks I know who shop there, blind to the inherent contradiction between goodness and supporting the largest, foulest, most ruthless behemoth in the world today. Watch it if you want to serve God, and if you believe Jesus meant it when he said that our faith is measured by how we treat “the least of these…” Watch it if you’re a humanist who believes in an egalitarian playing field. Watch it if you started boycotting Wal-Mart long ago, or if you still shop there. This documentary by Robert Greenwald will make you feel ashamed of yourself, and vow never to support Wal-Mart, or “Mao-Mart” as my brother calls it, with your hard-earned money ever again. And be honest: you’re not giving up a thing. Wal-Mart goods are inferior, Wal-Mart staff is overworked and prevented at every turn from unionizing, and the nickels you save were taken directly from the “least of these” — the impoverished Chinese.