As we approach the third week of war with Iran, many of us are probably wondering how we got here. Here are four films offering a wide array of perspectives on the complex history of the Middle East.
Lawrence of Arabia
One cannot discuss the formation of the modern Middle East without acknowledging David Lean’s 1962 epic, Lawrence of Arabia. The film chronicles the life of Thomas Edward Lawrence, an eccentric British officer tasked with monitoring the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Instead, Lawrence becomes the revolt’s unlikely leader, uniting fractious tribes and orchestrating guerrilla campaigns against the Ottomans.
The film offers timeless insights into the art of war, illustrating how a smaller power can incite and organize irregular forces to defeat a conventional empire. The irony of the film is that the same strategy that T.E. Lawrence leveraged to build a network of allied proxy forces is currently being used by the Iranians through their funding and organizing of proxy groups meant to fight the United States. As war with Iran and its proxies draws on, I think it is vital that we remember the lesson of Lawrence: Outside powers can ignite a revolt, but they can rarely control its aftermath.
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical work Persepolis is something I have been thinking about since the protests in Iran began earlier this year. The film begins in Tehran prior to the 1979 revolution and features the account of a young girl who struggles to adjust to a radically different life of veils and oppression under Ayatollah Khamenei. As the situation in Iran worsens, especially for women, Satrapi’s parents decide to send her to Europe. Once in Vienna, Satrapi discovers that her newfound freedom comes with a constant sense of being an outsider, a feeling that persists even when she returns to Iran. In the end, Satrapi is rendered a permanent refugee, never feeling at home in Iran and always feeling like a stranger in Europe, a feeling no doubt shared by millions of Iranians who have been forced to leave since the 1970s.
The Battle of Algiers
In August of 2003, the Pentagon’s Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict hosted a private screening of Gillo Pontecorvo’s film The Battle of Algiers. A flyer advertising the screening was accompanied by a stark message: “How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas.” Five months prior to the screening, Former President George W. Bush had begun Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S. invasion of Iraq. By all accounts, military strategists underestimated both the roles of ideology and civilian resistance in the conflict. Just as French paratroopers in 1957 had faced stiff resistance from the civilian population while cordoning the Casbah, the U.S. had begun to face similar challenges in Iraq.
Before the screening, military strategists were asked to pay attention to the undeniable parallels between the two conflicts, since both pitted a technologically superior occupying force against a decentralized, ideologically-driven insurgency. After the screening, a dedicated portion of the ensuing discussion focused on the core paradox of counterinsurgency operations: Brutal tactics are often militarily effective yet ideologically fatal.
The French won the Battle of Algiers by breaking every moral and legal norm, such as their use of torture, executions and forced disappearances. These methods were brutally effective at countering the insurgency, yet they alienated the Algerian population and eroded France’s legitimacy in the region. Similarly, in Iraq, harsh interrogation techniques and prison abuses delivered short-term intelligence gains while providing insurgents a massive propaganda victory that would be used to recruit more fighters across the region. The movie’s deepest value lies in its warning: The ruthless tactics that can shatter insurgent networks in weeks will simultaneously poison the ideological battlefield; in other words, you can win every battle and still lose the war.
Exodus
Adapted from Leon Uris’ blockbuster novel about the founding of Israel, Exodus tracks the life of Haganah commander Ari Ben Canaan and his efforts to establish a Jewish state. The Israeli government played a large role in the coordination and filming of Exodus, with the goal of using the film to promote tourism to the region. While the historical accuracy of this film is debated, the novel and film’s effects on tourism were indisputable. Given its widespread popularity, the movie provides an important perspective on how the first generations of Israelis perceived themselves, their origin and their ongoing struggles within the region.
Luke Dolan is a member of the Class of 2027 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is a contributor for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at lpd39@cornell.edu.
