The Kite Runner

[rolotomasi99]

Afghanistan doesn't have any film industry.

It may be difficult for the first-world elite to get, but there are degrees of poverty. India and Afghanistan doesn't compare.

And "figuring out the difference between fiction and real life" (if indeed that's what it is) hasn't stopped members of the Hindi community to riot, burn down theatres and make death threats with every new Deepa Mehta film. Perhaps films should be banned there.

Plus, we must take into account the reliability of the translation. Do they really mean the reality, or just the depiction of it? It really doesn't make a difference, because even if they can tell the difference between fiction and reality, the depiction of it might be enough to inflame anger anyway.

i think the makers of OSAMA and KANDAHAR would disagree that there is no film industry in afghanistan. it is very, very tiny, and slowly growing, but it exists. check out this website to see all the films shot and shown in afghanistan: http://afghanland.com/entertainment/movies.html

are you saying people in calcutta are more well off than every single person in afghanistan? living in the streets, eating garbage, and dying of dysentary...well, how much lower can you go than that? yet, even the poorest of the poor in india either have seen a movie or know what one is. i just thought it was an egregious statement to equate being poor with not understanding the concept of a fictional film.
yes, most afghanis are poor, but they are not "the people that time forgot." either they have seen a movie before or at least are aware of what one is. if they have never seen a movie before, why will they start with THE KITE RUNNER?

yes, people even in this country react badly to movies (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, DOGMA, etc.), but to attack a boy and his family because he is depicted in a movie being raped is:
1) stupid because it is fiction
2) cruel since he is a victim of sexual torture

that is what i cannot stand about the boy's statements. he is saying every single person in afghanistan is stupid and cruel. why does the actor committing the rape not have to worry, but the actor playing the victim does?
"this is unacceptable in our country." being a victim of rape is unacceptable and punishable? what a horrible country. what was the point of "liberating" these people from the taliban if they are all just as cruel and ignorant?

[Sonic Youth]

i know the taliban regime banned films, but these people have to be aware of what a movie is. i am just blown away at how stupid an entire country could be.

They could just be extremely poor, and don't take the same things for granted that we do.

what does being poor have to do with it? a large majority of the people in india are poor, and yet almost all of them have seen a movie at some point in their lives. they are poor, but gosh darn it, somehow they are able to figure out the difference between fiction and real life.

Yeah, so? Most people in India have access to a movie theater. Most people in Afghanistan likely do not. India has perhaps the most powerful film industry in the world. Afghanistan doesn't have any film industry. Two different cultures.

It may be difficult for the first-world elite to get, but there are degrees of poverty. India and Afghanistan doesn't compare.

And "figuring out the difference between fiction and real life" (if indeed that's what it is) hasn't stopped members of the Hindi community to riot, burn down theatres and make death threats with every new Deepa Mehta film. Perhaps films should be banned there.

I read a piece in a magazine years ago (I think it was the New York Times magazine section) where a Pakistani cab driver asked the reporter how he can stand the behavior of American women? When asked to elaborate, it turned out the cabby watched American porn films and then assumed that's how American women are in general. It happens.

Plus, we must take into account the reliability of the translation. Do they really mean the reality, or just the depiction of it? It really doesn't make a difference, because even if they can tell the difference between fiction and reality, the depiction of it might be enough to inflame anger anyway.

[rolotomasi99]

i know the taliban regime banned films, but these people have to be aware of what a movie is. i am just blown away at how stupid an entire country could be.

They could just be extremely poor, and don't take the same things for granted that we do.

what does being poor have to do with it? a large majority of the people in india are poor, and yet almost all of them have seen a movie at some point in their lives. they are poor, but gosh darn it, somehow they are able to figure out the difference between fiction and real life.

if a single movie could cause so much grief -- not just for the family of the boy, but apparently the entire country if it sparks racial feuding -- then maybe movies should be banned there...or at least this one.

[Sonic Youth]

i know the taliban regime banned films, but these people have to be aware of what a movie is. i am just blown away at how stupid an entire country could be.

They could just be extremely poor, and don't take the same things for granted that we do.

[rolotomasi99]

The parents are concerned that Afghans will harass Ahmad Khan if they find out his character is raped.

"The people of Afghanistan do not understand that it's only acting or playing a role in a film. They think it has actually happened," Mahmidzada said.

Ahmad Khan worried that his schoolmates will make fun of him.

"It's not one or two people that I have to explain to," he said. "It's all of Afghanistan. How do I make them understand?"

If the film is screened in Afghanistan, Ahmad Khan said his family will lose its dignity. "We won't be able to walk in our neighborhood or in Afghanistan at all," the boy said.

this article has single-handedly convinced me that everyone in afghanistan is an idiot. i knew they were never technologically advanced, but i am not the type of person to equate that with stupidity. however, not being able to distinguish a fictional film with what happens in the real world is a sign of mental development problems.
i know the taliban regime banned films, but these people have to be aware of what a movie is. i am just blown away at how stupid an entire country could be.

either way, i saw the trailer for the film and it was rated "r" for the "rape of a child." so i am guessing the scene is not going anywhere.

[Akash]

Thanks for the directive Sonic. Your review was spot on. TOO MUCH DAMN FORESHADOWING.

[flipp525]

And I hated it so much, I quit reading when I had only one chapter to go. It was only one chapter, I could have skimmed through it, it would only have been 10-20 minutes of my time. But I couldn't take it any more.

I had almost the same exact reaction to Donna Tartt's, The Little Friend, her sophomore effort which came out about ten years after her incredible debut The Secret History (one of my favorite novels and based, in part, on Middlebury College of which I'm an alumnus). Anyway, The Little Friend opens up with the murder of a little boy. After meandering for 500+ pages, I still couldn’t believe that we hadn't learned who the killer was. Up until the last fucking page, I was still wondering how she was going to pull of the reveal. And then...nothing. The book was over and you never found out who killed him. It was the most infuriating thing I've ever read. I literally threw the book across the room.



Edited By flipp525 on 1190822238

[Mister Tee]

The last time that happened was with Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance", a novel that went on for 900 pages! I lasted 800, and then gave up. Not because it was bad, but because I had enough of the relentless misfortune heaped upon the characters. And then to my astonishment Oprah chose it for her book club six months later.

I really liked A Fine Balance. Though, if your problem with it was its bummer-osity, you made a wise call stopping: things go even further under the bus in the closing pages.

It did seem an odd choice for life-makes-us-suffer-but-then-we-reach-for-the-stars Oprah.

[Sonic Youth]

Check the book thread. My review is in there somewhere. I couldn't stand it.

And I hated it so much, I quit reading when I had only one chapter to go. It was only one chapter, I could have skimmed through it, it would only have been 10-20 minutes of my time. But I couldn't take it any more. I've quit reading books 75-100 pages in, but almost never when I'm at the very end of the book do I say "I don't care anymore." If I make that much of a commitment, I'll usually see it through. That I couldn't with "The Kite Runner" is saying something.

The last time that happened was with Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance", a novel that went on for 900 pages! I lasted 800, and then gave up. Not because it was bad, but because I had enough of the relentless misfortune heaped upon the characters. And then to my astonishment Oprah chose it for her book club six months later.

[Akash]

Fine Sabin, you can join in too. Classy enough?

And just to keep this somewhat on topic, did anyone else think this book was bafflingly overpraised and obvious?

Edit: Oh I guess Mister Tee implies as much by calling it "unimpressive." I couldn't agree more Mister Tee!

[Mister Tee]

For the benefit of those who haven't read the unimpressive book...saying you expected the rape to be cut from the film is like saying you expected the gay relationship to be eliminated from Brokeback Mountain: the whole plot hinges on it. The man saying this is either delusional or a con artist.

[Sabin]

Incidentally, I'd like to act out an ass fucking scene with Julie Delpy and then move to France with her.

NO! You treat her with respect! She's a classy lady and you will have intercourse with her in a fashion befitting the goddess or I will fucking shove a bottle up your ass and break it off! Do we understand each other?

[Penelope]

In Afghanistan, rape is not acceptable at all.

But it's acceptable elsewhere?

[anonymous1980]

Is this a real concern or a ploy to get the actor and his family out of Afghanistan?

I'm inclined to think, a little from column A, a little from column B.

[Akash]

Well he's smarter than Elian Gonzalez, that's for sure.

Incidentally, I'd like to act out an ass fucking scene with Julie Delpy and then move to France with her.