Film
opens students’ eyes about Iranian
stereotypes
By Mellani Lubuag
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Middle East/Near East Committee showed students two films documenting Iranian
immigrant struggles Wednesday evening as part of International Education Week
(IEW).
This year the theme for the committee is the Middle Eastern experience in America.
Both films took a comedic approach when dealing with the hefty topics of immigration,
terrorism, prejudice, assimilation and the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Sherry Vatter, co-chairwoman of the Middle East/Near East Committee, said humor
is a technique used often to cope with difficult situations.
“
People who feel very vulnerable in society, I think have that kind of
humor,” Vatter said. “It is natural to make fun of the problems because
it helps people deal with it.”
The showing was prefaced by Vatter asking audience members to ask questions.
What are the challenges Iranians face? That all immigrants face? How is the Iranian
experience unique? How is identity expressed?
“
People can relate to this because they have similar experiences,” Vatter
said of Cal State Long Beach’s diverse student population.
“
One reason we chose this theme is because a lot of people from CSULB have an
immigrant background,” Vatter said.
“
They can relate to these
issues even if these are people from different places.”
IEW is a celebration of the diverse cultures at Cal State Long Beach and features
a variety of events including lectures, workshops, panel discussions and special
documentary screenings.
The showing of Tanaz Eshaghian and Sara Nodjoumi’s “But You Speak
Such Good English” and Marjan Safinia and Parisa Taghizadeh’s “I
Call Myself Persian: Iranians in America” was co-sponsored by the Middle
Eastern studies program, the Middle East/Near East Sub-Committee of the International
Education Committee and the Center for International Education.
Vatter said the committee’s goal was to open students’ hearts to
the Middle Eastern struggle by showing films with which many could identify.
“
We hope that [students] would understand and appreciate the problems that Iranians
and Middle Eastern Americans confront in the contemporary world, and hopefully
check themselves when they have reactions encouraged by the media.”
Vatter said she hoped the films helped students “become more self-aware
about how they might stereotype other people.”
At the films’ conclusions students lingered talking amongst themselves.
Some traded stories of the Iranian Revolution and some told of how their own
experiences compared to the ones shown in the documentaries.
“
It actually opened a lot of eyes and didn’t just stereotype Iranians,” Esmat
Ebadi, a human development major, said. “I think it’s wonderful.”
“
I though it was insightful,” said Sara Pilon, 23, a single subject credential
and history student. “It’s nice to see how every immigrant group
fights the same thing, which is trying to stay true to tradition while trying
to assimilate to their new culture.”
|
