PRODUCTION SETBACKS

ACTORS
   At the beginning of my production I wanted to use a male actor to play the role of the radical Muslim whilst I play the role of the moderate Muslim. The first person that came to my mind to play the role was my cousin who agreed to it but due to his work commitments he became unavailable for rehearsals and eventually decided that he will be unreliable when it comes to the shooting times.
   Hence I still wanted the role to be played by a man, I decided to ask a schoolmate to play the role as he was the most befitting and suitable for it, he also agreed to play the role but as I hadn't seen him in school for over a week it occurred to me that he was also unreliable for the production and as I do not have much time left to complete my production, I decided to make some changes.
   I then decided to use a woman to play the role of the radical Muslims as lately on the news it has been reported that Muslim women have also been taking part in Islamic Extremist movements. I asked a school mate who seemed keen on the idea to play the role, she read through the script but then came to the conclusion that the film production needs a lot of time dedicated to it and due to educational commitments she will not be able to give it the time it needs, therefore she won't be able to play the role.
   My last resort to get an actor to play the role was to ask the drama department if they had any student suitable to play the role. The teacher affirmed that she only had year 10 students who might be reliable but they were too young to portray the character and the older year 11/12 students were all unreliable.
   Having exhausted my obvious options, I had to bring up a new concept for the film which will not delay my production any further or change the storyline of my short film, so I have decided to play both roles.  I believe that this will be a good concept for the film because it portrays the self consciousness of the character. I also believe that it portrays the dilemma Muslims go through which is either to let the pain and the hunger for revenge make them go astray or to follow the teachings of the Quran even if they are provoked.

LOCATION
As my short film will be shot indoors with only few props, I only needed one location which can be set up with a table, two chairs, lighting and black curtains. My school's assembly stage was suitable for this purpose because it had black curtains around it and it can be set up with the tables and chairs. I asked for its availability and it was only unavailable during assembly hours so I could use it whenever after those times.
However, I was unaware that there was a drama room which was a perfectly set up room for my cause. After been showed I then decided that I would like to shoot my short film there. The drama room's availability was limited to only after school hours as lessons are held there during the day but as I hadn't concluded who my actors were I did not set a date to use it but now that I am certain on the actors, I will be discussing with the head of drama department about the availability and come to an agreement on when I can use it.

HOLIDAY REHEARSALS SETBACKS

I planned to meet up with my cousin on Friday to rehearse the script. However he contacted me to inform me that he will be unable to make it because he was called in by his employer to work. His work commitments are important so we arranged to meet this coming week when he is free.
I on the other hand have been rehearsing my lines so that when we meet to rehearse it will be easier. I have been doing my rehearsals in front of my mirror taking it as a camera/ an audience that I have to focus on. I also timed my lines to know the duration so that it won't exceed the limited time allocated for the short film. 

REHEARSALS OVER THE HOLIDAYS

On Monday I contacted my cousin to arrange a time for us to rehearse. He came over today but as he has a busy schedule due to work commitments, he only had enough time to read over the script and voice his opinion on it. He admitted that it was well written and he said that he can play the role as he loves the character. As he had to leave for work we only had 30 minutes to discuss the script and he took a copy with him to memorise his lines so that when next we meet we will be able to rehearse easily. We have arranged to meet on Friday as that is his day off from work, we will have an intensive all day rehearsals in front of my parents to have their feedback on our acting. 

HALF TERM

SCRIPT-FINAL DRAFT

Script Final draft

A TITLE FOR MY SHORT FILM!!!!

After some deliberation, I have finally came up with a suitable title for my short film. I decided to make  my film's title a rhetorical question because rhetorical questions engulf the attention of the audience and keeps them thinking of possible answers. It also gives them the platform to discuss their own opinions so that when they actually watch the film and see the facts provided, they can either stick to their opinion or change their perspective on the topic. I chose to name my film 'Does Islam encourage bigotry?' because hence the film tackles the misconception that Islam encourages terrorism, it was best to introduce the audience to what the film will be about. I chose the word bigotry instead of extremism because this will  make the audience think as it is a rare word and will take the film more sriously.

COMMENTS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED ABOUT THE FIRST DRAFT OF MY SCRIPT.

These were the comments I received on the frist draft of my script. I personally believe that I must write a detailed and captivating script for my short film because it is where the message lies. I am happy with the comments that I have received so far, I will be taking the areas to be improved mentioned by my dad and school mate into consideration when making the modifications for my final script.

SCRIPT-FIRST DRAFT

Script first draft

RESEARCH ON THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE MODERATE MUSLIM AND THE RADICAL MUSLIM

In order to write the aspect of the script which is the dialogue between the Moderate Muslim woman and the radical Muslim man, I had to do some research on the reasons for Islamic extremism using facts to support them and research on verses from the Qur'an which counter these arguments. As my short film won't be biased, I will be writing the script to support both the arguments of the moderate Muslim and that of the radical muslim man. I have decided to use facts from the 'Why We Fight' study guide to write the script for the radical Muslim's dialogue as it provides evidence for some of his arguments. After some doing some research, I was able to find verses from the Qur'an which will be used by the moderate Muslim to counter each argument provided by her opponent.

RESEARCH ON THE SPEECH OF THE OMISCENT CHARACTER.

The omiscent narrator in my short film will have an opening speech and the closing speech of the film. Hence the conversation between the moderate Muslim and the radical Muslim tackles of the negative impacts Islamic extremism has on both the morals and ethics of Islam and the world in general, I decided that it will be more appropritae to use a quote by a legend which is related to the entire script as the opening and closing speech instead of a quote from the Qur'an. I made this decision because I realised that using quotes from the Qur'an will give the short film a biased stand on the argument and give the audience the impression that the film supports only the ideas of the moderate Muslim. After doing some research on quotes by famous leaders such as Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and Albert Einstein, I chose to use the quote in the first image on the right as the opening quote and the one on the left as the closing quote.

I chose to use Albert Einstein's quote as the introductory speech because it informs the audience that the dialogue between the moderate Muslim and the radical Muslim is a way of solving Islamic extremism as Islamic extremism is an evil which must not be ignored. Using Nelson Mandela's quote as the closing speech informs the audience that these radical Muslims must not be condemned but instead must be talked to and taught to love. 

WRITING THE SCRIPT

FINAL PRODUCTION NOTES-DIGITAL FORMAT

PRODUCTION NOTES-FINAL DRAFT

PRODUCTION NOTES-SECOND DRAFT

'MY NAME IS KHAN' ANALYSIS

'My Name is Khan' , a full length movie directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija, is a Bollywood movie shot in both America and India which centres on an Indian Muslim man with Asperger's syndrome who migrated to America after the death of his mother to live with his brother. He then fell in love with a Hindu single mother whom he later married and after their marriage both she and her son started using his last name. This film covers the journey of their love but most importantly the journey of the man's Muslim faith and how it strengthens even during the most challenging situations and his inspiring dream to meet the President and say "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist". As 'Khan' is a muslim surname, his speech connotes that he is a muslim and not a terrorist.

THE MESSAGE

After the 9/11 event in America, Muslims were forced to abandon and denounce their faith in public out of fear of being hurt or violated. America believed that the bombing of the twin towers was an act of terrorism my an Islamic terrorist group hence all Muslims were then labelled as terrorists. This film follows a man who amidst  all the chaos and hate towards Muslims after the 9/11, never denounced his faith or belief and how he single handedly motivated people to help the stranded. In the left picture below, the protagonist is seen praying in public which was a risky act during the period of 9/11 as he could have been tortured or killed but nonetheless he showed that his faith as a Muslim was stronger than his fears and any situation. In the image on the right, he is seen helping people through a flood in Georgia, this act shows that even though the American people condemned Muslims, their is still that one good Muslim who believes in helping people and not killing them. From these scenes, the main message of the film can be decoded to be an inspiration to Muslims all around the world by showing them that no matter how dire your situation might be, you must not forsake your belief. It also tackles the dominant Islamic misconception in the world that all Muslims are terrorists by presenting the protagonist as a Muslim who helps others, even those who had condemned his belief. 

TARGET AUDIENCE
The primary target audience of this film can be said to be Muslims who are facing tough decisions concerning their faith. After losing his step-son when he was killed because he had a Muslim surname, the protagonist unlike most Muslims would had, did not forsake his religion or his belief instead he used this tragic situation as a motivation to show the world that muslims are not terrorists. This representation helps Muslims identify with their faith and gain the inspiration to stand up for their religion despite the amount of backlash they recieve.
It can also be said to appeal to Americans with the misconception that all Muslims are terrorists as it addresses this topic by presenting a Muslim man as a helper, a hero and a role model.

HOW IS THE MESSAGE CONVEYED?
The Director of this film uses narrative techniques such as flashback and sound effects like sad instrumental soundtracks combined with great actors to convey the message of the film. The flashback to when he was a kid who lived with his mum and had her as his teacher helps us understand the foundation of his strength in his faith as in one scene we see his mum teaching him that in the world there are only two kinds of people:- the good and the bad. Using sad instrumental sound effects in conjunction with emotional scenes, helps the audience connect with the actors by sharing their emotions thereby having a passive effect on them.

REPRESENTATION OF RELIGION
Using a narrative style which can be explained by Claude Levi-Strauss's Binary Opposition Narrative theory, the director presents Muslims as both weak and strong. Throughout the film after the 9/11 event, we see some Muslims forsaking their religion and conforming to social pressure and on the other hand we see the protagonist who refuses to follow the crowd or conform to the social pressure. This connotes that there are Muslims who can stand up to challenges and those who prefer to take the easy way out.
Challenging the common stereotype and representation of Muslims in the media after the 9/11 event, the film presents Muslims as heroes by making the protagonist a helper and a role model. This condemns the common ideology that Muslims are only good at terrorising states and killing innocent people but not helping make the world a better place.

REPRESENTATION OF DISABILITY
The protagonist of the film is a man who suffers from Asperger's syndrome. Society normally presents disabled people as vulnerable and weak people who depend on others for support. In this film, this stereotype is challenged by presenting a hero who despite his health condition goes to extreme lengths to help people and to have his voice heard. He persisted until he met the president and delivered his message. This represents disabled people as determined, strong willed, compassionate and caring people contrary to the negative stereotypes that they are usually associated to.

WAYS IN WHICH THIS FILM HAS INSPIRED MY SHORT FILM'S IDEA

After watching this film, I was inspired by the director's encoded message. He was conveying the message that not all Muslims are terrorists as the world thinks so therefore people should get to know each Muslim more personally before passing any judgement. This inspired me to produce a film which reveals that there are good Muslims who do not support terrorism or Islamic extremism and that there are radical Muslims who share the idea that violence is the key to success.

WAR AND THE REPUBLIC

 

WHY WE FIGHT-FILM INSPIRATION

'Why We Fight' is a documentary on America's foreign policy that tackles the debate on wether it is dominated by the idea of military supremacy. This documentary covers America's millitary involvement in Middle East countries which date back to the 1940's, providing substantial facts and accurate information on vital details of this especially the invasion of Iraq. Comments from popular leaders such as John McCain, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Dwight D.Eisenhower(some which were derived from archive footage) were used to present a clear argument on America's Millitary supremacy. As I will be doing a short film on Islamic extremism, this film is important because it provides adequate information on the invasion of Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. These invasions can be seen as the foundation for the anger exerted by Islamic extremist groups who terrorise Western countries. I t is also important because it provides facts and quotes from reliable sources which can be included in the script of my short fil.

CONTROL ROOM- FILM INSPIRATION

Produced in 2004, 'Control Room' is a documentary which was written by Julia Bacha and Jehane Nujaim and was also directed by the latter. It is a documentary on Al Jazeera's relations with the US Central Command(CENTCOM) and other news organizations on the coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion by America. This documentary does not only examine the frenzy of broadcasting on such a delicate matter but also scrutinizes the issue of biased broadcasting amongst different news organizations due to political influence. It reveals the omition of vital facts about the invasion of Iraq by many European and English news organisations under the influence of America and shows how an Arab news organization such as Aljazeera covers all of the information. I found this documentary important to my project because it provides facts on America's invasion of Iraq which I was previously unaware of, and hence my short film tackles the topic of extremism, I need these facts to understand the reasons why some of these Islamic extremists resorted to violence, when the invasion began and why it happened.

'JESUS CAMP' ANALYSIS.

'JESUS CAMP':- A BRIEF ANALYSIS.

I was given this documentary to watch by my teacher. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachael Grady, 'Jesus Camp' is a documentary film about Christian summer camp in North Dakota(America) where evangelical children go to fulfil their "prophetic fate". They are led by a charismatic teacher,Becky Fischer who trains them to be God's soldiers. In the documentary, some children are home schooled because their parents believe in teaching them the bilble as they perceive the idea that the Bible teaches everything there is to know about the world hence their children do not need to attend schools to be educated . The film represents children as the foundation for evil, therefore at a tender age they must be taught to dispel the evil within, to be pure and also to preach and live the word of God in order to prevent a dark future with their evil deeds. The documentary also reveals means by which American politics uses christianity to gain votes by using the advisor to the then President as a preacher. The film was met with controversy on the aspect of preventing children from going to schools which then led to the closeure of the camp.