filmmaking – Stepping Stones

Preface: Either With US or Against US

“Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make:
Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.)”
—President George W. Bush on September 20^th 2001 inaugurating the ‘War on trr’ (sic).

This article analyses Spielberg’s 2005 film Munich for its thematic relevancy to the Israel-Hamas War and resurged Palestinian Conflict begun by the October 7^th attack; and more essentially, to the globalised ideology of counterterrorism. Before doing so, I outline in this Preface the context in which I interpret the current war and significant themes from the film.

Books: Reading for the Plot; Selected Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant

For centuries, literature of fiction—specifically, novels and short stories—has had a major influence upon the thoughts and attitudes of people, and has served as a catalyst for the cultural changes the West has undergone since the invention of the printing press. The social significance of fiction is important to recognize, as its power to influence is much less obvious than the overt, religious indoctrination that it has replaced. The power of fiction is not to indoctrinate, but to seduce: to affect individuals with particular ideas—but without the conscious awareness of having been engaged with an ideological sales pitch.

For this reason, learning about the essential forms and techniques of fiction can be very interesting and rewarding, as one becomes more capable of engaging with fictional works in added dimensions and with new levels of depth.