Media Mindfulness

So many movies, so little time. Staying informed is serious work. Still, looks like there’s another excellent documentary on the war, Iraq in Fragments. Judging from the trailer it appears beautifully shot, which makes me a little nervous. I’m coming to believe that images that spectacularize war tend to make it more palpable, as if its another entertainment experience to be consumed. True enough, I remain fascinated by war and its destruction. There is something very primal about it. I wonder if my obsession, even if it’s predicated on ending war, somehow perpetuates its existence. Still, what is appealing about this film is how it appears to view the conflict from an Iraqi perspective which is totally absent from our national media. We often tend to think of how the war hurts us, meanwhile we annihilate from our thoughts the people who have suffered the most from this travesty.