Epic in the Works
Obama on his favorite Hollywood epics and plans for the Obama story. The ears will play a key role.
Amazing how he can namedrop about a vanity flick and not come off sounding at all full of himself. Oddly, he gets a pass on that in this article. He truly is the anointed one. He cites Lawrence of Arabia as one of his top three faves, along with teh Godfather flicks, but actually seems more interested in the role of MLK Jr for himself, which may be why his people are worked up because some critic’s circulated this shot of him done up like Gandhi, maybe aiming for more of a Manchurian Candidate analogy.
Interesting, ironic tale, Lawrence of Arabia, while we’re on the subject … it’s about how a bunch of Arabs are aided in gaining their freedom by a starry-eyed idealist, but the hated Crusaders, for their own political reasons, end up shafting the lot of them. It’s kind of like the Obama story, only double reversed, with a bunch of hated Crusaders who liberate a bunch of Arabs, but the starry-eyed idealist, for his own political reasons, wants to shaft them. Of course, it’s also about a guy with a soft spot for Wahabis.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:30 pm Comments (6) on Monday, February 25, 2008
6 Responses to “Epic in the Works”
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February 25th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Cruel Jules…Hey that kinda ryhmes…But a damn good ear shot…LMAO.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
SHIT! rhymes
February 25th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Jules: the Lawrence of Arabia connection to Saudi Arabia is more complicated that that.
Wikipedia Hashemite:
From the 10th century onwards, the Sharif (religious leader) of Mecca and its Emir was by traditional agreement a Hashemite. Before World War I, Hussein bin Ali of the Hashemite Dhawu-’Awn clan ruled the Hejaz on behalf of the Ottoman sultan. … In 1908, Hussein bin Ali was appointed Emir of Mecca.
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Hussein bin Ali had five sons:
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* Abdullah, later became the king of Transjordan, and whose descendants rule the … Kingdom of Jordan.
* Faisal, was briefly proclaimed King of Syria, and ended up becoming King of Iraq. …
Faisal was portrayed in the Movie by Alec Guinness.
Wikipedia Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
When Hussein declared himself king of the Hejaz [the province on the west side of Arabia that includes Mecca], he also declared himself king of all Arabs … . This aggravated his conflict with Ibn Saud, with whom he had fought before WWI on the side of the Ottomans in 1910. Two days after the Turkish Caliphate was abolished … on March 3, 1924, Hussein declared himself Caliph … he was soon ousted and driven out of Arabia by the Saudis, a rival clan that had no interest in the Caliphate. Saud defeated Hussein in 1924. …
Though the British had supported Hussein from the start of the Arab Revolt …, they elected not to help Hussein repel the Saudi attack, which eventually took Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah. He was then forced to flee …
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The Wahabis were clients of the family Sa’ud. Even if the Hashemites still controlled the Hejaz, the Sa’uds would still have the oil because it is on the east side of the peninsula, which they controlled before the Arab Revolt.
But, Lawrence did not do anything to bring the Wahabis to the world.
February 26th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Thanks for the sketch of the history, Robert.
One thing the movie pointed out is the bane of tribalism that has held these people back. The intrigues are truly Byzantine.
February 26th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Of course, my mistake, Robert. Thanks also for reminding me about Alec Guinness in blackface. I had him confused with the sheik in Ben Hur, so did not pursue that line of snark. Also opted not to explore 7 Pillars of Wisdom’s ground-breaking GLBT issues.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
“Also opted not to explore 7 Pillars of Wisdom’s ground-breaking GLBT issues.”
There is no homosexuality in Islam. Amadrasdinnerjacket told us.