What I learned at the Middle Eastern Film Festival

In addition to the Capitalism movie I attended a movie about the underground music scene in Tehran and a documentary about endangered chameleons in Greece.

In the Iranian movie there's a scene that should be required viewing for anyone coming to live in the middle east. A man selling bootleg CD's and alcohol was caught and brought before a judge. Here's a summary:

Man: I don't sell CD's. I have no job. I have to beg for scraps of food. I didn't do it.

Judge: What about the alcohol?

Man: It was not mine. It was... (long convoluted story)... I swear on Allah's name it was not mine.

Judge: Don't swear on Allah's name.

Man: On my mother's name...

The judge imposes a steep fine with many lashes. Then the groveling goes into high gear.

Man: I'm a peasant. You can't do this to me! I'm lower than a dog's belly. I have nothing. I try to be a good Muslim. I'm doing the best I can. I have to provide food for my mother, she is sick...

This goes on for a good five minutes and he eventually wears the judge down. The fine is reduced to mere change and the lashes dropped altogether.

As the man leaves he brags to the friend, "By the end the judge wished he could give me money!"

When I arrived I was woefully unprepared for students' ability to put on a show like this. They wore me down and I gave in left and right a year ago. If I had seen this scene before arriving I would have thought it was done for theatrical reasons. Nobody really grovels like this, right?

Ha! I laugh at my formerly naive self.

*****

In the Chameleon Beach movie I learned quite a bit about chameleons. Their ability to change color quickly is impressive but they don't do it for camouflage as much as they do it to express mood. Dark spots show anxiety and they turn pure black when they are enraged. A pregnant female almost glows green to signal to males not to waste their time.

Outside of mating chameleons don't like to hang out with each other. Males will fight for dominance and whichever one wins he'll lie on top of other. He'll slowly rub his chin up and down the vanquished chameleon's back. Quite clearly he's saying, "I own you, bitch."

That's been your National Geographic lesson for the day. Tune in tomorrow to learn about the courtship rituals at a Filipino hooker bar.