MovieChat Forums > Britz (2007) Discussion > Hypocrisy (spoiler)

Hypocrisy (spoiler)

posted 16 years ago by Debbieuk
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I read about this programme that they never wanted to reduce the character of Nasima to a 'monster suicide bomber' but in my opinion, adding a slightly human aspect to the character didn't make her less of a monster.
The programme didn't dwell on Nasima believing that her actions were going to lead to her reaching a contented afterlife, only that she became a bomber to fight the injustice of Muslims who are actually alive and living in Britain. Surely then, as a British Muslim, blowing up other human beings would be entirely counterproductive. It would add to the hysteria surrounding suicide bombers and the country would become more racist. What would have been far more useful in the long run would have been her working hard at her education, becoming a Doctor and a respected member of society and then using that power to make a difference.
What made me particularly angry (and I know that this was not about them) was that the 'racist' characters, such as the police and the surgeon were completely two dimensional. It really created an ‘us’ and ‘them’ feeling, which I assume was the point, but dehumanising racist people is simply hypocritical, especially in a programme that is supposed to be making a point that not all suicide bombers are faceless monsters.
I was also disturbed by the fact that Nasima completely overlooked the racism within her community; her own father told her that she had a ‘negro’ boyfriend and instead of standing up to him, she decided that she’d simply go along with her idea of becoming a bomber.
Nasima was an intelligent young woman and she should have seen that by segregating herself, she was complicit in creating a situation. Her ultimate ‘sacrifice’ was fuelled by hate, her brother’s was fuelled by love and that makes her a monster and he a hero.

[–] travis-paddock 16 years ago

I suppose I can understand how you might feel the way you do about some of the points you made, the creators seemed more interested in the characters process and actions rather than their motivations. still, i think a lot of your issues were addressed.

The third hour of the program dealt with Nasima's descent into radicalism, seeing the brutality of the police, the death of her friend, the insinity of anti-terrorism legislation, and the blithe racism she experienced when she wears the hajab. One of the things i thought they did well was establishing her as someone who believed one person could make a difference and then slowly (very slowly!) chipping away at that belief. One example was when she, alone, orchestrated the protest outside the police station and then (to avoid spoilers) the manner she was punished for it and the effect it had on her family, which gave her a sense of urgency that she had to do something to strike back.

If the police, Nasima's instructors, and other secondary characters seemed underdeveloped it may simply be that the creators didn't have enough time to unpack backstories about every character in the film (which would have made it even more tedious). surely you'll agree there are racist police officers and surgeons, just as i'm sure there were racially-sensitive people in these characters lives, but the creators needed to make the main characters feel isolated, so they necessarily would focus on their more alienating experiences. Even if Nasima knew why her instructors were dismissive, she still would have been hurt by it. I actually appreciated that they did not have any blitheringly obnoxious racist characters, but showed how bland, everyday, slights and inaccommodations add up.

I thought she told her father who she was dating, knowing he would send her to india, where she could then escape and join the training camp. I think she was expecting his reaction and had planned with the other activists to disappear that way.

The grey area between wanting to change a system that oppresses from the inside to simply wanting to punish those who oppress is the core of the story in britz and, really, one of the dominant themes of geopolitics right now. britz was obviously pretty heavy-handed about it, sending a clear message to those who would oppress what it is that sets the oppressed off. But it may have been more effective if it had sent a message to those who are oppressed (likely the only audience that would seek out a film on this topic) about how to deal with oppression, other than "it's impossible to work inside the system" "it's really depressing to blow up people"