Categories
Politics
Reflections
Arts & Culture
Consumer
HomeAboutContact

Subscribe for updates

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
HomeAboutContact
Politics
Reflections
Arts & Culture
Consumer
Twitterfacebooklinkedinemail
print

'The Kingdom' Stirs Controversy Before It's Even Released

Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
December 28, 2006
March 19, 2022
'The Kingdom' Stirs Controversy Before It's Even Released
Share this:
Twitterfacebooklinkedinemail
print

UNIVERSAL Studios is releasing a movie on April 20 in the US called The Kingdom which is about a team of FBI special agents who get sent to Saudi Arabia to infiltrate a terrorist group before they bomb a Western compound that houses many Americans. (Click here to watch a trailer.)

Starring Jamie Foxx as FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury, Alias' Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, among others, the film has already managed to get blogger Fedo the Space Cowboy, who is a Saudi studying in Texas, all excited about what the film promises to be.

“I checked out the movie's page and watched the trailer; I did not like what I saw at all. Don't we have enough self-indulgent attempts out there aimed at depicting the United States as the global messiah? Do we really need more movies like Independence Day, Navy Seals, and True Lies?” asks Fedo.

I too watched the trailer and found nothing objectionable. In fact, the Saudi policemen’s uniforms look authentic and the blurb describing the movie says: “…a sympathetic Saudi police captain helps them navigate Riyadh politics and investigate the true cause of the attack.”

At least the film seems to make the distinction that not all Saudis are extremists or terrorists, which in my book is a good thing. And let’s not forget the deadly Al-Qaeda attacks on housing compounds in Riyadh in 2003 and the attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah in December 2004. These are not figments of our imagination. The truth is that there are still some Saudis who reject modernity and progress and who want to take us back to the Middle Ages. I’m sure Fedo would agree with me on that. I think he’s just having a knee-jerk reaction to the film.

Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
Tags:
Saudi Arabia
terrorism
US
Share this:
Twitterfacebooklinkedinemail
print

Comments

Rasheed's World
1/3/2007 10:57 PM
3/16/2022 7:04 PM

Hi Fedo,

For your information several Saudi terrorists used security uniforms and work IDs in their attacks both in Yanbu and in the Eastern Province a few years ago on oil related installations and offices in which several Western managers and Saudi security forces were killed, so showing terrorists in the movie using police uniforms is not a stretch of the imagination by any account.

I just think we should watch the movie first before condemning it out of hand. Who knows, you might even like it! :)

Fedo
1/3/2007 5:36 PM
3/16/2022 7:04 PM

Dear Rasheed,

Initially, I do agree that some Saudis want to take us back to the Middle Ages. However, if you read carefully between the lines, you'll see that there's more to the movie than you think.

First of all, they show the terrorists in police uniforms; police uniforms were never involved in terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia. It is an illicit stab at the way the police and other Saudi authorities handle security.

Second of all, there the scene in which Jamie is -supposedly- talking to a royal, who is most likely the King. Notice his condescending tone when saying "let us do our job." This is one of the things that irritate me in the way Americans depict themselves in movies.

These are just some of the many things I noticed, and didn't like, about the movie.

categorically imperative
1/3/2007 9:26 AM
3/16/2022 7:04 PM

Why isn't Jennifer Garner wearing an abaya? :p

Leave a comment

Name
Comment
Your comment has been submitted! Refresh your page, it will appear shortly.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. Try again!

Other posts

·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Latest Posts
·
Starving Palestinians and American dissonance
Politics
July 1, 2025
July 1, 2025

Starving Palestinians and American dissonance

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
America is being dismantled
Politics
June 28, 2025
June 28, 2025

America is being dismantled

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
My thoughts on Gaza, Trump and illegal imigrants in the US
Politics
February 11, 2025
February 11, 2025

My thoughts on Gaza, Trump and illegal imigrants in the US

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
Jeddah's New Airport
Arts & Culture
January 24, 2024
January 24, 2024

Jeddah's New Airport

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
Next
1 / 71
Politics
December 19, 2014
March 24, 2022

Minha entrevista com a Radio Sputnik sobre a tortura da CIA

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
Politics
October 17, 2014
March 24, 2022

Jovens do PSDB repudiam ataque de militante pro-Dilma

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
December 20, 2013
February 18, 2023

Os estrangeiros descontentes

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
June 17, 2012
March 16, 2022

Síria: Um silêncio vergonhoso

By:
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh
Next
1 / 85
RW Logo
HomeAboutContact
Categories
Politics
Reflections
Arts & Culture
Consumer
Subscribe for updates
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

© Rasheed's World 2021. All rights reserved.

Site by