Colleges wrestle with screening 'American Sniper'
In recent weeks, two films being screened on US college campuses,聽鈥�"听补苍诲听鈥�,鈥� and聽have become catalysts for both protest and debate about the portrayal of Muslims.
鈥淗onor Diaries,鈥� a documentary about nine Muslim women, victims of abuse including genital mutilation and honor killings, is聽scheduled to be shown聽Wednesday night on the聽聽campus as part of April鈥檚聽聽But screenings of 鈥淗onor Diaries鈥� were聽聽at both University of Michigan at Dearborn and the University of Illinois in Chicago following protests.
This Oklahoma State screening comes over the objections of the聽聽(CAIR), according to CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
"In fact, whenever we object to a screening of this film [鈥楬onor Diaries鈥橾, the first thing we say is 'Don't cancel the event. Just cancel the film,鈥� Mr. Hooper says in an interview. 鈥淗ave the event to discuss domestic violence, female genital mutilation, whatever issue you want, but bring representatives of the Muslim community, bring other people, other experts, and have a legitimate discussion. Don't just have a propaganda film that hijacks a legitimate issue."
The film 鈥淎merican Sniper鈥� has also been protested and temporarily cancelled on various campuses, then brought back with the addition of post-screening forums.
Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated adaptation of Navy Seal Chris Kyle's Iraq聽war memoir has drawn praise across the political spectrum, from聽Michelle Obama聽to Sarah Palin.
"While I know there have been critics, I felt that, more often than not, this film touches on many of the emotions and experiences that I've heard firsthand from military families over these past few years,鈥� Mrs. Obama said in January聽during the launch of 鈥�6 Certified,鈥� an initiative toward accurate portrayals of veterans and military families in movies and television.聽
But the film has drawn criticism from others for its apparent dehumanization of Iraqis.
"I think a lot of the controversy about the movie [American Sniper] is not about its actual content, but more with the life and the views of the actual sniper, who had who had written a number derogatory things about Islam and Arabs ... so that seeps into it beyond even the content of the movie itself," says Hooper. "This movie has elicited a wide variety of emotions from a kind of the super-patriotism reactions to the reaction that it perpetuates anti-Muslim stereotypes and even violence. So, there's a broad range of opinions about the movie and it's good to have those opinions aired and discussed."
One excerpt from Mr. Kyle's聽聽is widely聽聽for his belief that everyone he shot was a 鈥渂ad guy,鈥� and his comment that he聽
Hooper adds, "Here's a film that there's a wide variety of opinions about, good and bad, and let's discuss it and see if we can come up with any conclusions about it or use it as a teaching tool. But don't just slap it up there 聽鈥� where a guy is shooting Muslims down and shooting Arabs down 鈥� and take it as some sort of patriotic emblem."
After the Muslim Students Association at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York complained about 鈥淎merican Sniper鈥� negatively stereotyping Muslims, the planned screening, set for last Friday, was cancelled, according to published reports. However, it will play with an educational forum in the future, according to聽.
Similarly, last week, the University of Michigan announced the cancellation of a screening of the film "American Sniper" after nearly 300 protesters spoke out, saying the film advances "negative and misleading stereotypes" against Muslims according to the university website聽.
Twitter reacted strongly to the potential cancellations of American Sniper at the University of Michigan.
However, according to an interview with University of Michigan spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald, 鈥淭he movie did end up being shown at the original time and venue last Friday night.鈥�
鈥淭here was some concern raised by some Muslim students originally,鈥� Mr. Fitzgerald adds. "But it was shown at the school's UMix Late Night program, which is a very inclusive social event that drew over 1,500 students last Friday night.鈥�
In a U of M聽,聽supplied by Fitzgerald, the cancellation of the film was called 鈥渁 mistake.鈥�
鈥淭he initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters,鈥� the release states.
Fitzgerald adds, 鈥淗owever, in deference to Muslim students, we also showed the alternative movie 鈥� 鈥樷�欌赌澛�
[Editor's note: The original story was removed because it contained inaccurate quotes, which have been corrected. The story has been refiled and includes additional information about the movie "Honor Diaries."]聽
