For example, voting for a pop idol strictly on ethnic lines.
Indirectly, this movie speaks volumes about the folly of attempting to impose a modern democratic republic on a patrimonial, ethnically-segmented society.
For example, voting for a pop idol strictly on ethnic lines.
The ethnic thing was indeed primitive, but not very shocking. What I thought was more shocking was how one contestant had to fear for her life just because she danced a little on stage! Even her fellow competitors (who were supposed to represent modernity in Afghanistan) disapproved of it.
"I don't want to survive...I want to LIVE!"
-- Captain McCrea in WALL·E
People do that all over the world, it has been that way since the beginning. Even in the US, people will vote for or are drawn to people who are culturally or ethnically like them. We just don't often say it outloud and some people don't know that they are doing it.
shareWhile identity politics is universal to a degree, I beg to differ with the thrust of your post. Political factions in America and most other ethnically diverse Western countries owe far more to ideology, values, and economic interest than ethnicity.
Human bias is one thing, ethnic chauvinism quite another.
When citizens of a nation openly and unapologetically support reflexive chauvinism, they have essentially two futures before them: economic stagnation at best, civil war and balkanization at worst.
It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be Scandinavian or not. -- 11/27/95, Alfred Nobel.
Afghanistan seems like a very scary place. I'm amazed they got this documentary done. I wonder if it ever will be shown there and what the people will think of it.
share[deleted]
Afganistan used to be more free in 80s as the documentary itself did show. Things took big step culturally backwards due islamist extremists, which arose there to counter Soviet Union invasion. USA itself was funding those taleban and extremists groups, CIA creating Al Qaeda in process there to fight against CCCP and providing them Stinger Missiles and other equipment to turn Afganistan into Soviet's own Vietnam War.
So what you see basicly nowdays is country that got torn apart by two imperialistic superpowers fighting over it, one directly, other indirectly. So before calling em backwards, perhaps concider who are in big way responsible about that too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone
80s celebrated freedom fighters in western movies, fighting the big bad evil soviet union, are nowdays insurgents and terrorists with no human rights that can be killed in sights of Apache guncams if looking suspicious or detained/tortured without trial in illegal USA camps.