BAGHDAD
(AFP) - Their city besieged by coalition troops, Baghdadis lucky
enough to have power pass the time watching movies. One of their
favorites is about a militiaman who reluctantly takes up arms
for his country after seeing brutality by British forces.
The film is "The Patriot," and Mel Gibson
is fighting for America's independence.
Even though Baghdadis can look out the window every day and
watch US bombs and missiles raining down, ironically their top
choices on the small screen are war films -- Hollywood war films.
The best-selling movies for merchant Abu Abbas are "The
Patriot" and "Ticker," the 2001 thriller
in which cop Steven Seagal searches frantically for a
bomb planted in San Francisco.
"The films I sell are mostly the ones where there's some
action," explained another movie seller, Ali Hassan.
"During an evening of airstrikes, provided there's electricity,
customers want to wind down and be taken in by a story in which
the good triumph over the evil, like us against the Americans,"
said Hassan, 46.
Seagal is an especially popular actor in Baghdad. For
people who have been through decades of war and economic sanctions,
there is something attractive about a muscular special agent
who can always save the day through his impeccable fighting
and exceptional audacity.
Besides Seagal, favorite actors include American action
hero Wesley Snipes, Chinese martial-arts master Jet
Li and James Bond, the smooth spy in service of Britain
-- whose forces are part of the war aimed at toppling Saddam
Hussein.
Other popular films in Iraq include Jean-Claude Van Damme's
1996 action drama "Maximum Risk" and just about
anything starring Sylvester Stallone.
"Customers really like these types of films because of
the quality of the story and one shouldn't mix that up with
politics," said another movie seller, 23-year-old Fellah
Hassan.
"Look at our fighters. They're the ones who most resemble
Wesley Snipes or Jet Li, not our enemies,"
he said.
In another sign of US media influence in Baghdad, two boys
enjoyed themselves at a hotel computer club playing a videogame
of urban tank battles. The American tanks, of course, are the
good guys.
"First I like action, war, detective and kung-fu movies,
and then Arabic music videos," said Ali Hussein, a 21-year-old
who before the war worked for a computer company.
Just being able to watch a movie at home is a small luxury
in Baghdad. With days of blackouts, the only way to watch television
for most people is by using a power generator.
And there are few video shops to choose from. Most have downed
their shutters since the start of the war, with the owners storing
their merchandise at home for safe-keeping.
For those desperate to get something new, movies are sold from
the wooden stalls of the Bal al-Shorjah bazaar.
Another option is state television which offers a regular menu
of patriotic films, particularly those about Saladin, the Kurdish
warrior who led the historic Muslim victory against the Crusaders
in 1187 -- and who was from Saddam Hussein's hometown
Tikrit.
"I also sell lots of Arabic music videos and Egyptian
films, which Iraqis love, along with cartoons for the children,"
said movie merchant Ali Radi al-Zuweri, 47.
For many, movies provide a needed escape from the war, as schools
have been closed since its start and children are staying at
home.
"Films soothe us. For a moment we can forget war is around
us," said Ibrahim Abu Jabbar, who has been indoors with
his family for nearly a week.
-
Craig Zablo
