Small Scale

Research

Project

Representations of Middle Eastern conflict post 1990s and the effect of American Imperialism

What is imperialism?

Imperialism-The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political rein (leader state) over other nations. An example of this is the British Empire. (Below)

The Middle East And First American Involvement

1918-1945: BREAKING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST: THE FIGHT FOR INFLUENCE & OIL

Moreover, in comparison to European powers such Britain and France which had managed to colonise almost all of the Middle East region after defeating the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the United States was ‘popular and respected throughout the Middle East’. Indeed, ‘Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans’.

1920-28: U.S. pressures Britain, then the dominant Middle East power, into signing a "Red Line Agreement" providing that Middle Eastern oil will not be developed by any single power without the participation of the others. Standard Oil and Mobil obtain shares of the Iraq Petroleum Company.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6308.htm

Iraq in Fragments (Focus Film? 2007)

The Hurt Locker(Kathryn Bigelow U.S 2009, Venice June 2008)

Jarhead (Sam Mendes 2005)

The Kingdom (Peter Berg 2007)

Green Zone(Paul Greengrass 2010)

Waltz with Bashir(Ari Folman 2008)

Iraq in Fragments (Focus Film? 2007)

Jarhead (Sam Mendes 2005)

The Kingdom (Peter Berg 2007)

Green Zone(Paul Greengrass 2010)

Waltz with Bashir(Ari Folman 2008)

The Hurt Locker(Kathryn Bigelow U.S 2009, Venice June 2008)

Why I Chose My Investigation Title

I have been interested in ‘war’ and why countries decide to have conflicts. Also the fact that this is happening today and there is such a mix view on the middle eastern conflict.

Iraq in Fragments Iraq in Fragments illuminates post-war Iraq in three acts, building a picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. Filmed in verité style with no scripted narration, the film explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis to illustrate and give background to larger trends in Iraqi society.

The Hurt LockerAn intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he's indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each

man forever.

Jarhead Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girlfriend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks and oil-drenched horse.

Green ZoneFollowing the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his men are charged with finding the so-called weapons of mass destruction, whose existence justified American involvement, according to the Pentagon and their man in Baghdad, Poundstone. Veteran CIA operative Marty tells Miller that there are no weapons, it is a deception to allow the Americans to take over the country and install a puppet leader. Also suspicious of Poundstone is Wall Street Journal reporter Lawrie Dayne, who lets slip to Miller that Poundstone told her he had secret talks in Jordan with an important Iraqi, code-named Magellan, who told him about the weapons, though it now seems likely Magellan's true information was to the contrary.

Video LinksThe Hurt Locker -Taxi Scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8xL5DJ_wmA&feature=related

Iraq In Fragments –Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z39tD1wK6wA

Green Zone 5:35-7:35http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFVdFhibU1w&feature=related

Jarhead –Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEihaz6FcWs&feature=related

Other Linkshttp://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/jul/18/hurt-locker-teencritic1/

http://infosthetics.com/archives/2008/10/roots_of_middle_east_conflict_movie.html

http://www.american.edu/sis/ipcr/upload/Nouraie-Simone-Middle-East-Conflicts-in-Fiction-and-Film-SIS-419-004-and-619-029.pdf

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/the-promise-peter-kosminsky-middle-east

How My Investigation Is Looking So Far.

Looking good.

Thanks for listening