Respond to the screening in 1-2 paragraphs. You may include what interested you, impacted you, or how your perspective on ME politics changed after watching the film.
10 thoughts on “Excuse Us”
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Respond to the screening in 1-2 paragraphs. You may include what interested you, impacted you, or how your perspective on ME politics changed after watching the film.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Entitled, privileged, ignorant, arrogant, self-serving, overly ambitious, and nosey all words I could use to describe America, but I feel “Excuse Us” does a fine a job on its own. Describing the movie as a satire would be an understatement at best. Fast-paced dialogue non-sensical reasons for serious actions, and conspiracy theories all make this at the bottom rated side of any Roger Ebert review. But I do think the movie does strike at the issues surrounding 9/11 and what actually happened. The depiction of the planes hitting the two-towers while a steadfast reminder of fear, sadness and weakness for American audiences, were a symbol of change and a falling evil to Middle Eastern audiences. Further, the satire addresses topics of American free will such as child-bearing out of wedlock as Emma points out. How can Americans be upset at this film?
Consider how American films portray people from the Middle East as well as we how treated Middle Easterners post 9/11. Satire is a two way street and a double-edged sword. The director’s views just represent the disconnect between our societies and how reconciling these misconceptions will be impossible if America is still seen as a hegemony that invades countries off of mere conspiracies and has inept leaders like Bush.
I am so glad I watched that movie yesterday night. I had lots of fun watching it, laughing so loud in the library that people around me were surely annoyed.
Reading through the posts of my classmates just now, I am reminded again of how Karmouty really represents much of what is going on in the Arab world. On the one hand, he’s the “dictator” a la Qaddafi. He keeps on lying and exploiting his subjects. He wouldn’t mind if his son jumped from the roof, he doesn’t pay his philosophy-degree-holding waiter, he detests America but co-operates more than willingly with John (love him) if he sees a personal advantage for himself, he has a detailed perspective on how his surroundings should behave (while ignoring that rule himself, such as hugging John’s girlfriend and watching porn).
Yet, on the other hand, he stands for the struggle of the people against the regime as well. He organizes a party for the unemployed, revealing the honest frustration of the Egyptians to not being able to work and not being given the opportunities to do so. He constantly has to deal with the omni-presence of the security forces. He tries to make at least a little money by selling a truck of Mangoes in Iraq….
The movie is quite wonderful in exposing both the problems of the people as well as the behaviors of the regime. The greatest lesson I take away is the extent to which people are aware of the regime’s ways to oppress them and the skill with which they find their way around it. People are not clueless of what is going on around them and they are just waiting to find a way to finally be able to breathe again.
This was my first Egyptian film, and it was definitely a shock to the system. I was really surprised by how slapstick it was, while at the same time making some very good points. I think an adequate comparison might be made between Karmouty and President Ahmadinejad of Iran. When we were talking about Ahmadinejad earlier in the year (and reading his speech to the UN), we concluded that he was wildly ranting, off-topic at times and making ridiculous statements, but if you read what he actually said, he made some good points here and there. The rational things that he said just got lost in the irrationality of the overall speech, and I think it might be the same for Karmouty. He just says so many ridiculous things and makes outrageous exaggerations that couldn’t possibly be true, but overall he makes some good observations about America.
I thought the portrayal of America’s war being produced by them was particularly accurate. Especially after having seen Control Room, I personally feel like the war in Iraq was in some aspects produced, with the real motives being hidden and the reality of the situation completely shrouded in a cloud of deception.
If, in the spirit of the question posed by Professor Mecham in class yesterday, I had to pick a single American TV show to approximate the approach of Excuse Us, it would be South Park. This might seem like an unconventional choice, due to the film’s lack of crudely animated fourth grade protagonists, however, the similarity I see is instead the relentless satire that they share. In both South Park and Excuse Us, no aspect of society is free from comedic dismantlement. The film takes on everyone from Saddam Hussein to George Bush to the Egyptian mukhabarat. Perhaps most of all, Excuse Us, in true South Park fashion, targets its own main characters, with Karmouty so ridiculously self-centered that you can’t help loving him for it as he offends all the wrong people and gets away with it.
Like South Park, the satire of Excuse Us is not always brainless and in fact illuminates relevant issues in Egyptian and Arab society. As David noted below, unemployment is a recurring topic. Wahid’s inability to find work is the butt of many jokes, but at times his desperation goes beyond humor and it’s not hard to pity him in between his bouts of immaturity. The underemployment of Karmouty’s college-educated cafe employee also comes up, and the rally of Karmouty’s political party for the unemployed further raises this issue. The seemingly bumbling and arbitrary nature of American foreign policy in the region gets the same treatment, as do the police states in Iraq and in Egypt. The fact that serious issues are raised amid, and even through, the over-acting and rampant caricatures in the film is what makes it relevant to our class.
I will admit now to being one of those people who hates slapstick comedies. Hates them. As such I had a hard time with this film in general and have had an even harder time trying to settle on something to say about this film that hasn’t already been said. We all seem to agree that the portrayal of gender roles and Americans were the two main themes that stuck out to us as a class. Like those before me, I too spotted those moments in the film. Additionally, I thought that the mother was an interesting character. She was always being ignored and yet didn’t seem horribly uninformed. For instance- the scene in which she takes over the viewing of a speech when the male family members were attempting to watch porn. Understandably they didn’t want to sit with her but they were content to let her watch something political in their absence. It was a strange contrast. I’m not sure how realistically this portrays things but it stood out to me.
Like others I could see the humor in the scenes about Karmouty as a terrorist; shipping “mangoes” to Iraq, attempting to film a confession, having the beard be the thing that set him off at the interview. It’s good to know that other countries see some absurdity in the situation rather than intense loathing. Even during all the events nothing “violent” ever really happened, not even slap-sticky. Karmouty readily agreed to pretend to be a terrorist. He walks out of a building with a rocket launcher and is gently taken away. I found the lack of even silly violence to be telling. Indeed, the most violent moment I can recall is when the father of the fiancee is holding the hair of the daughter/fiancee. What does that say about women?
Lastly, my favorite scene? The agents running after Bush’s limo.
Watching this film, I kind of paid less attention to the political themes and portrayals and ended up focusing more on the way that the actors and actresses portrayed their characters, and how the way that they interacted differed from what we’d see in a movie here. The body language of the characters, especially Kharmouty, fascinated me. I don’t know enough about Egyptian society to know if this was typical, but all of the male characters moved their bodies in a way totally unlike what I’m used to. There was a lot of rapid arm movement, violation of personal space, and jabbing fingers into the air and at others for emphasis along with rapid speaking. Encountering this as an American tourist, soldier, or diplomat would be totally overwhelming and confusing.
It was interesting to notice the accents of the “Americans” in the film, most of whom were clearly from other countries. I couldn’t place the nationality of the soldier who helps Kharmouty – was he South African? It gives one an idea of how Middle Easterners or other non-Americans must feel about their portrayal by other nationalities in American films. While the actor playing Bush was clearly American and was actually a decent look-alike, I found myself wondering where they dug him up. He didn’t exactly do the best Texas accent. . .
I was a bit horrified by the casual belittling of and violence against women in the film. At least in this case, women just don’t seem to be treated seriously or given much respect by male figures. Likewise, I was alarmed by the sudden and casual portrayal of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Had I a closer connection to them or lost a family member on that day, it probably would have made me physically ill to suddenly see the towers collapsing on film and have it played as a joke.
Well it is safe to say that Egyptian film makers are no match for Hollywood. That movie looked like something that was done in the 70’s in the US. I do have to say that Karmouty was an absolutely ridiculous human being and a hilarious character. The American actors that they had in the film like the tourists and the guy that they used as Bush were atrocious actors and actresses. I do have to say though that the Bush guy looked almost exactly like the real Bush. I promise I have not even read the other posts yet and I’m sure that I won’t be the only one who writes about the portrayal of America and the relationship between men and women in the movie, but they stuck out as the two most enticing themes to talk about. The movie was certainly very male-dominated to begin with. What I thought was absurd was the fact that the girl that Karmouty’s son was trying to kiss in her home was the first one that her father reprimanded and beat up when he came home. If I was a father and there was a guy in my house forcibly trying to kiss my daughter i think my initial reaction may have to to, I don’t know, maybe beat up the guy? And then after that deal with the daughter. But in the movie, the father went straight to the daughter as if she was some incredibly untidy and deviant woman. Also, Karmouty’s wife didn’t seem to be particularly cared for or listened to at all. it was clear to me that the women were portrayed as inferior and the daugher was portrayed as very deviant and guilty when she wasn’t really at fault, at least not by our standards.
The portrayal of the US and its foreign policy was actually pretty funny. I think it highlights an important fact that much of the Arab world is very critical of the US and their foreign policy, with good reason I think. But what is more vital was the portrayal of confusion as to the motives of the US, particularly pertaining to their invasion of Iraq. I think that many Americans as well as many Egyptians and others of the Arab world are simply not sure what the real motives were for the war in Iraq. This complicates our role and mission there and it certainly does not facilitate anything that we are doing in Iraq. Public opinion there and throughout the Arab muslim world will be crucial for any kind of success.
I never really know what to do with these flamboyant, slapstick Egyptian movies that are so popular throughout the Middle East. I guess they work as exaggerated cultural snapshots, but I also find them pretty difficult to watch. That being said, a couple of themes in this movie were especially interesting to me. All of the ridiculous scenes with George Bush, including Karmouty’s forced confession, were pretty true to the average Egyptian’s idea of post-9/11 American foreign policy, I think. Conspiracy theories about the invasion of Iraq and the 9/11 hijackings have gotten so popular in the region, or at least in Egypt, that they are really just theories at this point. America’s blunders, lies, abuses and Bushisms have been splashed across Arab media for the past decade, establishing a reputation for bumbling ignorance and suggesting a penchant for evil deeds. Karmouty’s tape fits right into this pattern.
The desperation of Karmouty’s son was also telling. Wahid wanted to find a job to pay for a house so that he could marry his girlfriend and settle down, but the utter lack of employment in Egypt had a domino effect on the rest of his plans. Karmouty was forced to scrounge up some money and send his son to Iraq for a job, just like the hundreds of thousands of other Egyptians who head to Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States in search of work.
Once I got over the initial shock of the extremely loud, fast dialogue and ridiculous acting in this film, I found that it made some interesting points. Excuse Us clearly made fun of both traditional Arab and American ways. Stereotypical family connections, elaborate story-telling / fabrications, strict moral codes and blatant fraud characterized Karmouty’s community. In contrast, Americans were portrayed as inappropriate, ignorant, blind followers who lacked morals completely. Although both images were clearly exaggerations, they contained some truth. Bush’s accusation that Karmouty’s “mango story” was really an attempt to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into Iraq was funny because it was completely baseless, but somewhat similar to his accusation in real life. Likewise, the complete dysfunction in Karmouty’s society seemed ridiculous but wasn’t that far off from how some Middle Eastern governments and communities function.
Over the backdrop of this parody, a few serious moments in the film stood out. One of the only rational characters was Wahid’s Iraqi uncle. At one point, while comforting Karmouty over Wahid’s disappearance, Wahid’s uncle makes the comment, “both sides are terrible” in reference to the Americans and armed Iraqi’s. This comment was uncharacteristically serious, and likely reflected the producer’s opinion on how terrible and irrational the war was. Another moment that stood out was when Wahid returned from jail. In this scene Wahid showed true fear. There was nothing funny about his reaction. This portrayal also pointed to the true consequences the war had on people. This film successfully used humor and contrast to address some poignant opinions on the post 9/11 situation in the Middle East.
An interesting part of the film, Excuse Us, is how they portray Americans. When Wahid wants to go to America, his dad’s first response is basically making fun of 9/11. He says that his son cannot go to America because there are buildings falling everywhere and a balcony may fall on his head. The casual manner in which they discuss 9/11 is slightly offensive. The movie portrays of American morals though the young American couple who gets pregnant before they are married. They make a joke saying that people in America get pregnant first and married afterwards. This scene is saying that American’s have no morals, just have sex, and don’t believe in the sanctity of marriage. However, as the movie goes on we begin to realize that the movie is really making fun of all countries. They claim that all men in Scotland wear skirts, they make a joke about the many Saddam’s in Iraq, and the earth quakes in Japan. The movie pokes fun at the condition of the whole world.
Another interesting aspect of the movie is the portrayal of the dynamic between women and men. The relationship between Wahid and his girlfriend is interesting because Wahib, a seemingly unattractive failure of a man-child is dating an attractive women who he treats horribly. He calls her a tramp for smoking a cigarette and stupid for asking him to marry her and take her with him to Iraq. In addition, Rawhiya’s father is forcing her to marry in order to pay off his debts. All of the men seem irrational and it is difficult to take them seriously.