Arranged

                  Arranged was a nice little film.  It was a little politically charged and quite an Americanized fairy-tale, but a sweet movie nonetheless.  I loved the story, but it seemed to me that it was a little too good to be true- just like “world peace commercials,” etc.  It would be wonderful if everyone could live together peacefully and happily- it is somewhat of the American dream, I think-but it is not going to happen.  That may be a pretty Realist perspective, but it’s true.  And I think the same thing is true about the Arab-Israeli/ Muslim-Jewish conflict; the conflict is so long-standing and deep-rooted that the bitterness and animosity will never be fully washed away.  Maybe they can be friends on an individual basis like the two girls were in the film, but on the whole, I don’t think the conflict will ever fully be resolved.

                  I really enjoyed the aspect of the film that portrayed the arranged marriage processes for both the Muslims and the Orthodox Jews.  It was interesting to see how the whole process worked for both religions, and to see what parts of it the girls liked and what parts they did not agree with.  It was wonderful to see both of them so happily married in the end, with such bright futures ahead of them.

                  Watching the film, I could definitely tell that it was an American film, and that this situation would probably only (or at least mostly) happen in the US, particularly in a place like New York.  Plus, New York is far from the Middle East, and thus rather far from the conflict.  One has to wonder if these girls would have been able to be friends if they lived in the Middle East, right in the heart of the conflict.

                  One last thing… the one little kid in the movie asked a question that was not answered.  The question was along the lines that yes, some of the Muslims hate the Jews, but not all of them.  But the little kid asked, “How many?”  This is an important question.  How would one find the answer?  Was it significant that they did not answer it in the film?