Image via Wikimedia Commons History is more complicated than you think. It isn’t just some quarrel between different countries that started WWI. It was much more than that, and Lawrence of Arabia showcases this theme perfectly. I started watching the beginning of this movie, but I was very worried about the pacing and storyline, since it’s nearly four hours long. I tried avoiding it, but I couldn’t keep myself from doing so. I only watched about thirty minutes of it on a plane flight to India, and after that, I couldn’t get rid of it. My mind was obsessed with scenes from the movie, and kept on telling me the same thing: You have to watch this movie. You HAVE to. So after a long six months, I watched it all — in one sitting. My mind was blown away. Lawrence of Arabia is a true story of a British soldier named T.E Lawrence, who is assigned to protect Arabia in WWI and help Prince Feisal, the leader of Arabia, defeat the ruling Turkish Empire. But his journey to get freedom for Arabia is a bumpy one. He makes many friends, and many, many enemies. The thing that sets Lawrence of Arabia apart from other movies is that T.E Lawrence is not a hero that solves ALL the problems for Arabia. He realizes he can only do so much as a human being. For example, after he rallies the Arabs to defeat the Turks, he realizes that the Arab tribes are still fighting amongst each other, and cannot put their differences aside to unite as a common people and form a nation. By the end, Lawrence realizes he is just a mere pawn – used by Arabs for their own purpose (defeat enemy who is stealing their land), and used by the English/French and the Western countries for their own needs (to gain more land and control in the Middle East). This taught me that nothing in history is really solved. Problems creep up over and over again. For example, remember when we had WWI and Germany lost? Sure, the US and other countries got some relaxation for a while, but then Germany got revenge back in WWII! By the end, T.E Lawrence wants to get away from the desert and just live a normal life. T.E Lawrence also has many different aspects to his personality. Sometimes he’s good, sometimes he’s bad, but he never has one fixed personality! This leads to some really tense moments, because you’re scared about what he’s going to do! Lawrence also stands out from the crowd. He talks in a very strange way. Like in one part of the movie, Lawrence and his guide are traveling to Arabia, and they stop at a well. But just as they’re about to drink, a stranger comes and kills Lawrence’s guide! When the killer comes up to Lawrence and asks for his name, he says: “My name is for my friends. None of my friends is a murderer!” He also does some pretty crazy things, some resulting in near death. He also has some really memorable lines. One of the greatest lines he says is: “Nothing is written.” That one line captured the whole spirit of the movie for me. Lawrence is trying to say this when he tries to rescue a lost friend in an empty desert. Everyone is saying he would likely die from the heat, but Lawrence says that there’s still a chance, and he’s going to take it and obviously, he’s successful! The acting is just as perfect as everything else. Peter O Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn – all these actors play out their roles perfectly, and create very memorable characters. For example, Prince Faisal (played by Alec Guinness, aka Obi Won Kenobi) is very wise and kind as the Arab prince, but Auda Abu Tayi (a tribal Arab leader played by Anthony Quinn) is very quick-tempered and rough. The music is downright amazing. After I heard it, I started going on YouTube and playing the soundtrack over and over again. It truly fits the theme. The final thing I love is how this film captures history. Some of the battles and meetings are staged in a unique way, making this war with the Turks truly different than others (that’s also another reason this film is so good!). This is because this war is not just two different sides fighting each other. It showcases the stand-off between different tribes and countries, and some are fighting for different reasons than others! The imagery is awesome, like when Lawrence is shown on his camel traveling through the desert. The camera captures the shape and color of the mountains and sand and paints the whole scene in a beautiful sunny light. This is also one of the only movies I’ve watched that I seem to have no problems with! No wonder it won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture in 1962. I’m sure I can see it fifty times and I would still not be bored with it. Lawrence of Arabia completely surprised me. It truly captures the spirit of a simple, smart man that changed history, and trust me, he is more interesting than any superhero! He is the kind of protagonist I’ve always wanted in a movie.
Young Bloggers
A Brief History of Pasta
Pasta is one of my favorite foods. For years it has been an easy, convenient meal for me and my family. Recently, I was boiling some pasta and I was wondering, what was exactly the history of this tremendously tasty food. I did some research and discovered the long, complicated past of noodles. Pasta is traditionally made from wheat, water, eggs, and salt. The first pasta dish was made in Sicily and dates back to 1154. Historians have noted that this first recipe was closer to a lasagna than to what we know today as our traditional noodles because it had a meat stuffing. Another difference of this dish from modern day pasta is that it is not cooked like either fresh or dry pasta. With that said, there is no concrete evidence of pasta up until the 13th or 14th century. The first pastas were made by boiling a big sheet of dough, but as time progressed people decided that was not efficient enough. According to Greek mythology, the first mention of a pasta maker was when the god Hephaestus make long strands of dough and compressed them through two rotating tubes. In the 14th and 15th centuries, pasta became extremely popular for its easy storage. This allowed people to easily transport pasta with them on their journey to the New World. Once voyagers made landfall, pasta was spread across the world. Pasta manufacturing machines have been made since the 1600s on the coast of Italy in a city named Sanremo. This over time made the Sanremo area one of the world’s most famous food destinations for tourists and locals alike. If pasta was good before, things were just getting started with the introduction of sauces. You could have pasta with tomato sauce, or with three-cheese sauce. You could have it with alfredo sauce or barbecue sauce if you are into that. A fun fact about pasta is that an average Italian person consumes about three times more pasta than an average American a year. Another fun fact is that pasta is so beloved in Italy that individual consumption exceeds the average production of wheat in the country; thus Italy frequently imports more wheat from other countries to make pasta. Pasta was originally only part of Italian and European cuisine, but immigration caused the food to spread to the U.S., Canada, and many more countries. The food was also taken so far away that it was an essential part of South African cooking. Thank you for reading this article and I hope after reading it you can know and remember the history of pasta every time you have it for dinner.
My Jewish Lens
I first came up with the idea of writing this in Civics class. We were discussing how the people and media around us affect our views of the world. This intrigued me because, of course, this is totally true, and I was interested in these subconscious things that influence our opinions. For instance, I would not be the person I am if I didn’t read a lot of fantasy fiction or if I wasn’t raised in a community that valued education. And of course, my faith impacts who I am. As you can tell from the title, I am Jewish. These things, the things that shape our beliefs in life, I call lenses. Like a lens in a camera, it frames the world in a specific way, and maybe even filters it, so that everyone sees the world in a different way. My “Jewish lens” is very important to me. Judaism, like all other religions, provides guidelines for how to treat the world and the people in it. These are the morals I have grown up with: at temple and going to religious school and Jewish summer camp. They are things like חסד (chesed: kindness), צדק (tzedek: justice), קהילה (kehillah: community), and עולם תיקו (tikkun olam: repairing the world). Now, you’re thinking, okay, I believe those things too, but I’m not Jewish. How can they be Jewish values? That’s what I wonder, too, sometimes. And if you’re thinking that, you’re right. Most cultures and religions follow these morals and have them in their “lens.” However, the fact that I do them because of my faith, to me, makes them Jewish; I am kind because in the past (and present) people have discriminated against Jews: they blame us, or hate us for being “different.” I value justice because since Jews have been treated unfairly, I believe everyone deserves to be treated fairly. Community is monumental because, in the past, Jewish communities have been forced apart, and so the ability to be together and to be united is very meaningful. Lastly, Jews repair the world because we have been told that we have a job as a people to take ownership for the Earth and protect it. It is these values that create my Jewish lens. Now you know that my faith impacts my view of the world. But what effect does my Jewish lens actually have on my world views? I believe that all people should have equal treatment and opportunity without discrimination or judgement. Immigrants and refugees are often treated horribly, turned away at borders, and sent back to where they came from, back to the violence and hatred they fled. They deserve better than this. They deserve a safe place to call home. I value having a community, and so it pains me when communities are torn apart due to human violence. Finally, I believe that we need to take care of the Earth. I recycle when I can, and most definitely believe in the power of renewable energy and defeating climate change. Of course, there are many other Jewish values that create my Jewish lens and influence my life, but these are some of the prominent ones. Now you know about my Jewish lens, what makes it up, and how it impacts my life. We all have lenses with which we view the world. I have many more; the view of a poet, a student, a girl, and a photographer along with others. But my Jewish lens is undoubtedly one of my most important ones; for the most part, it is the birthplace of all my beliefs. I can thank it for making me who I am today, and I know I couldn’t imagine being different. What things influence how you see the world? Think about it. What are your lenses?
