Who are you, what do you do, who are you loyal to and why? These deeper questions of identity weave throughout the narrative of Syriana. Yesturday I saw the movie for the second time (the first time was Saturday). As I do everything these days – I kept ‘identity’ in mind and it made it even more depth and intesnsity. I would recommend it to you all.
It is a political economy thriller (my favorite kind). It touches on a range of the complex issues of today’s world.
- A web of entrenched oil interests
- US interest in energy reserves and the rise of China
- Secret operations ‘in American interesAmerican interest’
- The lack of economic opportunity for the “youth buldge” coming of age in the Arab/Muslim world with no hope of a good job there for no hope of getting married and having “a life.”
- The intense living conditions of migrant workers throughout the middle east.
- How corporate acquisitions and flexibility affects peoples lives – ‘letting them go.’
- When work disappears and religious “institutions” become appealing life options leading to young men willing to kill themselves for ‘the true faith.’
- When emir’s pick their successor based on the preference of Texas oil firms, their law firms and American ‘government interest.’
- When flights flying far above and missiles can take out the one car with the one guy they don’t want around any more.
Identity arises again and again. I am going to write more about this after I see it a third time today.
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