'Ajami': The Dark Ages

Excellent summary of what’s happening in the Maghreb, and analogy to ‘LA wildfire’ or wildfires in general. As in a wildfire, there’s not much fire departments can do. They’ll make a brave show of it, but their biggest partner in ultimate success is either concrete or a squall. Summary excludes the firebrands. We are looking forward and wondering how the chaos will end. Speculation in the middle going forward is never helpful. It’s like crossing a busy street with one’s eyes closed.

The same thing happened (and is still happening to some extent) with regard to our own housing meltdown. Our chronicle of same invariably starts in the middle, with the banks. Mention of the government’s role still lies buried in the bin of unmentionables (unless it’s Bush, of course).

Who stands to benefit from the chaos in the Maghreb and elsewhere? Who started it? Answer those questions and you arrive at the solution to the riddle of how it is likely to end. Who is the most organized; the most brutal? If the timeline going forward is predictable, the start and finish of the thing is apt to involve the same player(s).

For those who still believe that nothing has essentially changed; that things will return to some semblance of stability; that the next U.S. president will restore us to our former selves, take heed. Events, both here and abroad, are not unrelated or reversible. Houses burnt in a wildfire remain burnt. Rebuilding is arduous and there remains the question of whether homeowners would even retain an appetite for risking going through the whole thing again. Many will, of course. But many others will decide to relocate, leaving a scar of abandonment on the land.

Saw “Ajami” (2009), a film by Scandar Copti (a Christian Israeli Arab) and Yaron Shani. Critics compare this film to ‘Boyz N the Hood’ (LA), ‘The Wire’ (Baltimore) of ‘City of God’ (Rio de Janeiro). I’ve only seen the latter. All are said to be about gangs and gang justice. “Ajami“ happens to be set on the outskirts of an Arab ghetto in the Israeli city of Jaffa.

“Ajami” is not a great film, but certainly better than average. What jumped out at me was that it represented what many fear will be the “new world order” in which there still are people, money, and crime. Whereas in our system, the value of money is based on work, talent and the ability to innovate, in the “new world order” money will be based on protection. It will be a violent world and not one in which most of us can easily compete. It is the world of brutality, domination, oppression and ever changing players. This does not bode well for the individual, for human rights, dignity, and progress. The Dark Ages come immediately to mind - and, once initiated, it can last for a very long time.

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