Hany Abu-Assads Film Omar - Movie Review Example

Student name: Professor: Course: Date: Reimagining Nation in "Omar" Hany Abu-Assad Introduction Benedict Anderson perceives nations as imagined communities based on the understanding that they are systems that are representative of culture. Nations in the view of Anderson are therefore platforms upon which people come to imagine a shared experience of identification with an extended community. From this understanding, it is possible to assert that nations are not simple hallucinations of the mind but are results of established and historical practices that facilitate the invention and performance of social differences (Anderson 13). Nationalism from the perspective of Anderson is a form of radical constitution of people’s identities. These identities result from social contests that are often violent (Anderson 18). The main objective of this essay is to provide an analysis of the ways through which the film Omar imagines and reimagines the Palestinian nation. Reimagining Nation in "Omar" Hany Abu-Assad Hany Abu-Assad’s film Omar has been considered as one of the revolutionary films in Palestinian cinema. This is because of the contributory role it played opening new possibilities for engagement with major socio-economic and political commentary within conventional modes of interaction. Omar can be listed as part of a series of political, economic, and cultural events that constituted the Palestinian nation, which were defining moments in the evolution of the political, social, economic, and cultural landscape of Palestine. Omar is a film that exemplifies social critique and aesthetic exploration characterized by an invitation of its spectators on an exploration of a process through which their nation has been imagined, the current processes of imagination and the possible imaginations in the future. In the process of representing these imaginations, the film hints at the possibility of developing novel socio-political and spatial orders that may be developed in ways that extend far beyond simple remaking of the nation. It is also possible to argue that Omar is a film that focuses on the introduction of globalization and its effects on the socio-political and economic landscape of Palestine. By drawing on the aesthetically focused and social aspects of the film, it is possible to develop an understanding that the film registers and stresses on the essence of emergent processes. These processes enable the audience as citizens to participate in ensuring that they are engaged in in-depth analysis of the thoughts that could reshape their world in the coming decades (Hutchings 14). The narration of the film begins by situating the story and the community that is described in the safety of an imagined once upon a time. This invites audiences from the beginning of the film to begin rethinking the reality of the community that they are about to see depicted in the film. This process begins without the possibility of threatening basic viewing pleasure. Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities draws attention to similar mental operation in the process of producing the idea of a nation, which is considered crucial in understanding in the film Omar. According to Anderson, the fact that no nation is more real than the other implies that every nation is imagined (Anderson 6). The difference between nations in the view of Anderson (7) is in the perception of the citizens. Probable citizens have the responsibility of imagining that once upon a time there existed a community made of people, land, and a nation. For these citizens the community has been in existence and will continue to exist. Anderson (12) reveals the role of certain technological innovations at different moments in history have played the role of facilitating the ability of different members in a community to consider themselves as a common body of citizens whose co-existence is defined by shared political, social, economic, spatial and cultural commonalities. In the development of an understanding of the concept of imagined communities, Anderson (14) draws his insight from the eighteenth century idea of shared readership and codified language for a distinct group based within a specific geographical location. The desire for shared identity among individuals resulted in the development of the classic notion of sovereign nation states, which has been a dominant and definitive philosophy of organized communities. However, the introduction and proliferation of globalization has challenged the notion of sovereignty because of the invasion of international and transnational borders and institutions. Globalization can therefore be perceived as an element that is replacing the nation. Inasmuch as the nation is still a defining factor in local imaginings and foreign affairs, its borders whether political, socio-economic, or purely imaginative terms are increasingly becoming porous to international pressure. If the concept of nationalism and nation are platforms that give people ways of thinking about place, then globalization can be considered as playing the role of radical reconstitution of space and place for citizens (Kaplan 57). The illustration of the community as imagined is a definitive feature in the film Omar. One of the obvious cases in point is the re-imagining of the setting of the film. In the film, Abu Assad seeks to depict the possible effects of statelessness on the society. The film portrays that most people in the West Bank do not own any travel documents that can allow them to cross borders and travel. They are not allowed to access natural resources such as the sea, which is only 15 kilometers away. These individuals from the film are stateless. From the film, the essence of a nation is portrayed by the desire of those who were born in a stateless society to want to get out. The film depicts how individuals will go to greater extends such as betraying their friends in order to acquire identification as a member of a certain state. Omar is therefore a film that depicts the conflict that exists between the desires and duty of human beings. It also reveals the inner conflict between personal desires and an individual’s duty towards others. The process of illustrating the community as imagined is represented when the spectators are drawn into the reconstruction of their everyday perception of the wall separating Israel from the West Bank. In the film, the main character, Omar, faces obstacles in the process of climbing the wall but he receives help from an old man. From the film is it possible for the spectators, who are mostly Palestinians to re-imagine the wall as representing everything that prevents them from engaging in constructive development of their nation. Palestine is depicted as a nation that has experienced different instances of conflicts making it difficult for the citizens to experience peace in their everyday life. Abu-Assad uses the film Omar as an offering to his audience a simultaneous vision of Palestine that they have imagined or that they have been taught to imagine as natural. He uses the analogy of Omar climbing the wall as a technique of awakening the spectators through formal positioning to an increased level of awareness of their natural homeland as a construction. In the film, Abu-Assad introduces the common perception that the wall is used for separating Israel from the West Bank for security purposes. While presenting this perception Abu-Assad also presents the notion that the wall also crosses through Palestinian towns in the West Bank. This explains the divisions of different Palestinian neighborhoods. Through this depiction, Abu-Assad foregrounds the forthcoming spatial reconstruction in the literal movement of goal posts characterized by the need by the citizens to break free from the barriers initiated by the wall. These aspirations are results in the shifts in an imagination of the society and self-reflected in the oppressions faced by citizens in the West Bank and at a second level, into the citizens drawn from the international community. The interplay between imagined change and literal shift contributes to the registration of an emergent Palestinian identity whose objective is to ensure the development of their nation by developing structures that ensure smooth flow of capital, encouraging local citizens to engage in production processes and remaking Palestine in a new and different global guise characterized by freedom (Cheah 18). Occupation and the sustaining technologies in the imagination of communities play a role in depicting the everyday life of Palestinians. In the process of depicting Palestine, Abu-Assad addresses occupation as a theme in the film Omar. Through occupation, Abu-Assad provides a reflection of the temporal struggles that characterize the everyday lives of Palestinians. The film is used to portray the possible end of these frustrations when the community will be re-imagined in the future. The future of Palestine, as a nation is based on the ability of the citizens to identify their oppressors and develop strategies of progress (Renan 19). Conclusion The film industry plays an important role in in reimagining of the nation. This is through the production of films that are involved in critical appraisal of the state of the nation in relation to prevailing cultural identities. In the film Omar, Abu-Assad presents the notion of Palestine as citizens have been taught to imagine. Through different events, he also presents the notion there is need for Palestinians to restructure their future by reimagining their nation and foregrounding the forthcoming spatial reconstruction in the literal movement of goal posts characterized by the need by the citizens to break free from existing barriers. Works Cited Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. New York: Verso, 1983 Cheah, Pheng. Spectral Nationality: Passages of Freedom from Kant to Postcolonial Literatures of Liberation. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. Hutchings, Kimberly. Time and World Politics: Thinking the Present. Manchester University Press, 2008, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt155jdgf. Kaplan, Robert D. "The Coming Anarchy." Globalization and the Challenges of a New Century. A Reader. Ed. Matthew Krain et al. Indianapolis: U Indiana P, 2000. Monaco, James. How to Read a Film: The Art, Technology, Language, History, and Theory of Film and Media. New York: Oxford UP, 1981 Omar. Director, Hany Abu-Assad Renan, Ernest. What is a Nation? trans. Martin Thom, in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi Bhabha, London and New York: Routledge, 1990, p. 19. Read More

The narration of the film begins by situating the story and the community that is described in the safety of an imagined once upon a time. This invites audiences from the beginning of the film to begin rethinking the reality of the community that they are about to see depicted in the film. This process begins without the possibility of threatening basic viewing pleasure. Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities draws attention to similar mental operation in the process of producing the idea of a nation, which is considered crucial in understanding in the film Omar.

According to Anderson, the fact that no nation is more real than the other implies that every nation is imagined (Anderson 6). The difference between nations in the view of Anderson (7) is in the perception of the citizens. Probable citizens have the responsibility of imagining that once upon a time there existed a community made of people, land, and a nation. For these citizens the community has been in existence and will continue to exist. Anderson (12) reveals the role of certain technological innovations at different moments in history have played the role of facilitating the ability of different members in a community to consider themselves as a common body of citizens whose co-existence is defined by shared political, social, economic, spatial and cultural commonalities.

In the development of an understanding of the concept of imagined communities, Anderson (14) draws his insight from the eighteenth century idea of shared readership and codified language for a distinct group based within a specific geographical location. The desire for shared identity among individuals resulted in the development of the classic notion of sovereign nation states, which has been a dominant and definitive philosophy of organized communities. However, the introduction and proliferation of globalization has challenged the notion of sovereignty because of the invasion of international and transnational borders and institutions.

Globalization can therefore be perceived as an element that is replacing the nation. Inasmuch as the nation is still a defining factor in local imaginings and foreign affairs, its borders whether political, socio-economic, or purely imaginative terms are increasingly becoming porous to international pressure. If the concept of nationalism and nation are platforms that give people ways of thinking about place, then globalization can be considered as playing the role of radical reconstitution of space and place for citizens (Kaplan 57).

The illustration of the community as imagined is a definitive feature in the film Omar. One of the obvious cases in point is the re-imagining of the setting of the film. In the film, Abu Assad seeks to depict the possible effects of statelessness on the society. The film portrays that most people in the West Bank do not own any travel documents that can allow them to cross borders and travel. They are not allowed to access natural resources such as the sea, which is only 15 kilometers away. These individuals from the film are stateless.

From the film, the essence of a nation is portrayed by the desire of those who were born in a stateless society to want to get out. The film depicts how individuals will go to greater extends such as betraying their friends in order to acquire identification as a member of a certain state. Omar is therefore a film that depicts the conflict that exists between the desires and duty of human beings. It also reveals the inner conflict between personal desires and an individual’s duty towards others.

The process of illustrating the community as imagined is represented when the spectators are drawn into the reconstruction of their everyday perception of the wall separating Israel from the West Bank. In the film, the main character, Omar, faces obstacles in the process of climbing the wall but he receives help from an old man. From the film is it possible for the spectators, who are mostly Palestinians to re-imagine the wall as representing everything that prevents them from engaging in constructive development of their nation.

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