I just watched this tonight. The production values were through the roof (for a documentary), presumably due to the success of Super Size Me, but I don’t think it made any money. It certainly didn’t get much attention.
Frankly, I loved it.
It was more a film about life in the Muslim world, and how they perceive the United States, than an earnest search for Osama, which is fine with me. I wasn’t like the idiots on IMDb who felt ripped off because he didn’t actually find ObL. I knew that would’ve been much bigger news than the documentary itself. He was searching for the symbolic bin Laden, not the man himself.
Honestly, I have to regretfully admit to holding some prejudice for Muslims. It’s something I’ve struggled with, and I’m not proud of-- nor do I like it, but there ya go. In all fairness I don’t have much love for any religion. I’ve just always perceived Islam as being somewhat more violent than the rest. Intellectually I’ve always known, or at least suspected, that it’s a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but this film really shows it.
Spurlock found the salt of the Earth- really good people, all over the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Africa. Many, many people insisted that their problem was with the American government only, not with American citizens. Most people expressed disgust for bin Laden and those like him. The most aggressive people he ran into were Hasidic Jews-- a people I’ve always perceived as being extremely peaceful!
I think what this film highlighted most for me was the almost complete lack of positive portrayals of Muslims and Middle-Easterners in American media and pop culture. People (including Bush) say that Muslims are great and Islam is a peaceful religion, but you don’t see it much. You see kids with guns and imams preaching jihad. Even in the one college class I took about the region, the professor has mostly negative things to say about the countries and their people.
Even the most radical Wahhabist Spurlock interviewed made what I felt was a very good point. He mentioned that the invasion of Afghanistan angered a lot of Muslims. Spurlock defended it and the Wahhabist asked, “was it an act of aggression?” Spurlock waffled and the Wahhabist asked, “did you go in with ambulances or tanks?” Sure, it’s a complicated issue, but from their viewpoint, what he said makes a lot of sense. We wouldn’t want any other country occupying our lands, no matter what.
I hope this movie gets some more attention through word of mouth. It’s very necessary, IMO, especially if you don’t know many Muslims or have never been to the Middle East. Check it out. Your views will likely be challenged. Mine absolutely were.