Comments on: Folklore and journalism http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html The War of Ideas in the Middle East Mon, 28 May 2012 13:32:17 +0000 hourly 1 By: Chaos4700 http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-128143 Chaos4700 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:30:11 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-128143 Strangely enough, Blake's 7 was one of the formative shows I watched as a kid. Local public television carries a number of BBC shows, and when I was growing up, Doctor Who and Blake's 7 were among them. It was a deeply pessimistic show but it did sow some seeds of optimism -- take for instance, the events leading up to the second season cliff-hanger (yes, I'm being very careful of spoilers, just in case). One of the phenomenal aspects of the show is that it broke so many conventions of television story telling, much to its credit. I like what you've said about the ancient Palestinians needing help as much as modern ones. Both have been slandered as a matter of political expedience and you find racist language against them, and against Arabs and even Muslims generally, veritably encoded into Western dialog now. Strangely enough, Blake’s 7 was one of the formative shows I watched as a kid. Local public television carries a number of BBC shows, and when I was growing up, Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 were among them. It was a deeply pessimistic show but it did sow some seeds of optimism — take for instance, the events leading up to the second season cliff-hanger (yes, I’m being very careful of spoilers, just in case). One of the phenomenal aspects of the show is that it broke so many conventions of television story telling, much to its credit.

I like what you’ve said about the ancient Palestinians needing help as much as modern ones. Both have been slandered as a matter of political expedience and you find racist language against them, and against Arabs and even Muslims generally, veritably encoded into Western dialog now.

]]> By: MHughes976 http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-128141 MHughes976 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:12:36 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-128141 I wondered if S-Carroll had really read Cohen's review, which under the semblance of a critique of Sand supports him on many points and is strangely silent on others - it is agreed that there was no mass expulsion after 70 post-Titus and nothing is said about any expulsion after 135 post-Hadrian. Sand seems only to be reflecting Israeli academia in a general move away from expulsionism. Which is to the credit of Israeli academia, though as so often academics speak in a quiet voice until someone like Sand amplifies things, and at that point they say that it's really no big deal and the propagandists think that they might as well go on thinking what they always thought. Whereas in fact, considering Zionist ideology, the deal is not so small. There was an exhibition about Hadrian at the British Museum last year which took a strongly expulsionist line. I couldn't find any way of contacting the organisers to ask what authority, ancient or even modern, they had. One of my enthusiasms is trying to expose the true multiculturalism of the ancient world which the nationalisms of our time, Zionism most of all I think, misrepresent. The ancient Palestinians need our help as well as their modern counterparts. Blakes 7 was very good - a credit to our British imagination, I certainly hope you'll agree. At the end they have some primordial-type creatures who turn out not to be primordial but 'what we will become'. One of the most profound philosophical questions to be addressed in popular fiction. When I think of the absence of mass expulsions from ancient Palestine and the reality of mass expulsion these days the pessimism of B7 seems to be illustrated. I wondered if S-Carroll had really read Cohen’s review, which under the semblance of a critique of Sand supports him on many points and is strangely silent on others – it is agreed that there was no mass expulsion after 70 post-Titus and nothing is said about any expulsion after 135 post-Hadrian. Sand seems only to be reflecting Israeli academia in a general move away from expulsionism. Which is to the credit of Israeli academia, though as so often academics speak in a quiet voice until someone like Sand amplifies things, and at that point they say that it’s really no big deal and the propagandists think that they might as well go on thinking what they always thought. Whereas in fact, considering Zionist ideology, the deal is not so small.
There was an exhibition about Hadrian at the British Museum last year which took a strongly expulsionist line. I couldn’t find any way of contacting the organisers to ask what authority, ancient or even modern, they had.
One of my enthusiasms is trying to expose the true multiculturalism of the ancient world which the nationalisms of our time, Zionism most of all I think, misrepresent. The ancient Palestinians need our help as well as their modern counterparts.
Blakes 7 was very good – a credit to our British imagination, I certainly hope you’ll agree. At the end they have some primordial-type creatures who turn out not to be primordial but ‘what we will become’. One of the most profound philosophical questions to be addressed in popular fiction. When I think of the absence of mass expulsions from ancient Palestine and the reality of mass expulsion these days the pessimism of B7 seems to be illustrated.

]]> By: Colin Murray http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-127615 Colin Murray Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:29:28 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-127615 I love Blake's 7! The final scene was a quite a shock, I foolishly expecting a formulaic Hollywood happy ending. I love Blake’s 7! The final scene was a quite a shock, I foolishly expecting a formulaic Hollywood happy ending.

]]> By: Chaos4700 http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-127517 Chaos4700 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:26:03 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-127517 In the United States? Good luck. I can't even get region 1 DVDs of <i>Blake's 7</i>, and that's merely 80's British sci-fi. You can forget about distribution of something like this in the US in any commercial channel, very probably. In the United States? Good luck. I can’t even get region 1 DVDs of Blake’s 7, and that’s merely 80′s British sci-fi. You can forget about distribution of something like this in the US in any commercial channel, very probably.

]]> By: Chaos4700 http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-127516 Chaos4700 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:24:04 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-127516 So we have Witty attacking "justice" on one end and Mr. Silow-Carroll attacking "objectivity" on the other. Any other pillars of modern civilization you Zionists would like to pull down? So we have Witty attacking “justice” on one end and Mr. Silow-Carroll attacking “objectivity” on the other. Any other pillars of modern civilization you Zionists would like to pull down?

]]> By: Colin Murray http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-127509 Colin Murray Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:18:23 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-127509 I've been wanting to watch this for some time now. Does anyone know how to get a legal copy? Netflix doesn't carry it, and Youtube took the full version down ostensibly due to copyright problems. I’ve been wanting to watch this for some time now. Does anyone know how to get a legal copy? Netflix doesn’t carry it, and Youtube took the full version down ostensibly due to copyright problems.

]]> By: An0nym0us http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/article-of-faith.html/comment-page-1#comment-127412 An0nym0us Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:53:29 +0000 http://mondoweiss.net/?p=11655#comment-127412 Hopefully this new film may begin to awaken people to the realities of Israel and the manipulation of diaspora Jews: <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJo7LhSPJaY" rel="nofollow">Defamation</a></b> Hopefully this new film may begin to awaken people to the realities of Israel and the manipulation of diaspora Jews:
Defamation

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