The Muslim and Jewish Traditions in Arranged Movie - Essay Example

Full Against the Great Divide Rochel, an Orthodox Jew and Nasira, a Muslim; meet as grade school teachers in Brooklyn, New York in the movie Arranged. They are parts of two religious sects which are known to have been fighting against each other for centuries and the students as well as their colleagues are concerned about them. However, in the midst of such uneducated views, the two teachers form a bond which grew stronger each day. As they get to know each other well, they find out that they have a lot in common such as being paired with prospective husbands. Nasira deals with her situation positively, hoping to find a man she really loves. Rochel on the other hand gets tired of her family pushing her to their tradition and moves out of their house only to see how the liberated women dance and sleep around with men they do not even know well. She returns to her family and continues with the matchmaking, unknowing that her Muslim friend helped slip her dream man’s resume to her aunt who was in charge of the finding her a husband. Consequently, the two women get married and they bear their own children. Their friendship continues and they still find time to fellowship with each other. The Muslim and Jewish traditions were strict in arranged marriages. Both parties did not have the right to choose the person they are going to marry because they have to honor their parents who worked hard to find the best partners for them while they were still young. However, in the film, some modifications were made in order to adapt to the modernization of cultures. When Nasira told his parents that she did not like the man who went to ask her hand in marriage, they tried to understand her and consider her feelings and choice. They waited for the right man to come along. Similarly in the Jewish tradition, marriages are arranged even while the parties are still unable to understand the concept of marriage so that when they meet for the engagement; that would most probably be the first time they are going to see each other. Before, they would not be able to say no to their parents because they do not like to shame their families. However, as portrayed in the film, the Jews have adjusted to the modern concept of freedom to choose. Matchmakers find probable prospects for the woman who is to be married and the family gives their blessings for a date until the woman is able to find the right man to marry. The strong Jewish family bond is used to manipulate an uncooperative daughter like Rochel. Her mother threatened her with her father’s health conditions which Nasira mentions to be common in other cultures as well. In addition, Rochel’s mother pleaded with her conscience, asking her to consider her younger sister’s situation. Jews cannot marry the younger sister even if she is already at the right age if the older sister is still single. Perhaps the strongest theme of the story is the great divide in religions. Being of conflicting religions, Nasira and Rochel met problems as they developed their friendships. As Jews, Rochel’s family was not open to the notion that she is a friend to a Muslim. They experienced prejudice not only in their families but in their community as well. Their friendship was tested but they both stood strong in their principles of treating each other with respect as individuals. The result was a long-lasting friendship where love, trust, understanding and respect are its foundations. Serving Angels Entertaining Angels narrates the true story of a woman who changed the world by changing her life. Dorothy Day was exposed to the political struggles of her time as a child. Consequently, she grew to be a journalist who wanted to change the world for the better. However, despite the rallies and efforts exerted for such change, the world did not change. Instead, it seemed to get worse as Day experiences difficulties in her life. As a liberated woman, Day gets pregnant but eventually has an abortion after her boyfriend leaves. As she tries to seek her soul, she again falls in love and commits the same mistake of getting pregnant. However, this time, she bears her child and raises her even of the child’s father abandoned them. Burdened with her various troubles, Day traces back her faith. Then, she sommits herself to roman Catholicism. She meets the man who is to change her life, Peter Maurin. Together, they set out to work on a seemingly impossible task. They established feeding centers where the hungry can go and eat and housing where the homeless can be based. By helping the less fortunate, Day discovers the joy of living a life of service. Dorothy Day knows what hardship is all about. She did not learn about it in school or in some textbook. She experienced it. When she had her abortion, she was devastated and confused. There was no one to help her. She felt so alone and forgotten. Things changed when she met the man whom she thought would seriously consider her. She was wrong and she travelled the same path of loneliness and depression once again. This time, she has a baby to think about. This made her think and reconsider her choices. She had a change of heart and returned to the faith which was impressed in her by her Episcopalian parents. She finds her answer in Roman Catholicism and gets devoted to the religion. As she continues to actively participate in the social and political realm, she discovers the unimaginable situation of the citizens on the streets. Impassioned by the sights of poor children sleeping on the streets and hungry people lying helpless, she searches her role in the play. She is instructed by a preacher who knows her capabilities. Understanding what she has been through during her personal struggles, Day can just imagine the difficulties of the paupers on the street. She selflessly gives her services to the needy and finds absolution for her sins in the works that she does. Day started entertaining angels the day she lent a helping hand. She learned that in giving, she receives. She practically stripped herself of the wealth of this world and stored up her riches in heaven by helping the helpless. She fed the hungry, clothed the naked, housed the homeless and brought them off the streets. Her faith in God was strengthened and her God-given role in the community is confirmed. As she served the less fortunate, she knew she was dealing with angels which consequently meant she was serving God Himself and that alone became a driving force for her to continue her dedication. As a result, she continued her task until the day she died. A Journey to Change Reluctantly, Reda drives his father from France to Saudi Arabia for the older man’s pilgrimage in the movie, Le Grande Voyage. As a young man who is a foreigner to his own father’s religion and having other priorities in mind, Reda obeys his father with a heavy heart. On their way, the educated young man insists he should at least decide on which road to take because his father in contrast cannot even read. Nevertheless, his stubborn father demands he should be respected and obeyed as the older person. The contradicting characteristics of both father and son gradually show as the story unfolds. Reda reveals how naïve he was, easily trusting people on the way and getting drunk on a foreign land. He even tried to bring to their hotel a woman whom he met at the bar. On the contrary, his father shows his cynicism toward the people they meet, strictly watching for their welfare. With such opposing characteristics, the father and son argued a lot. However, through such disagreements, the two tried to understand each other until they have learned to tolerate and accept each other’s differences. Reda’s father is able to perform his religious duties as he wished before he died and Reda in turn learned the values of Islam. Le Grande Voyage is a transforming journey not only to the characters but also to the viewers. It simply follows the trail of the father and son who are not in good terms and along the way, the film teaches the young man and the audience the important values of Islam. First and foremost, the father demanded respect from his son which the latter slowly learned to give. Since Reda knows that his father is not able to read, he wanted to be in charge of their trip. On the contrary, the father who believes he should be obeyed being the older man, he commands the respect he believes he deserves. As the two travel and Reda commits mistakes, he learns to humble himself before his more experienced father. However, as they are still far from their destination, the young man’s lessons are also far from over. When Reda’s father misplaced his money, they had to survive on bread and eggs which were the cheapest food available to them, using the money they were supposed to use on their trip back to France. When they parked at a well for some water, a beggar asked help from Reda who simply ignored her and her child. When the beggar went to his father and the old man spared some money for them, Reda got angry and demanded the money back. Nevertheless, his father forcefully took it back and gave it to the beggar. Reda complained about their sustenance and demanded some meat to eat. It was so comical for the father to trade their camera for a sheep in order to give his son’s demand. However, it shows how the father tried to be extremely tolerant toward his son. Eventually, the father and son learned to communicate their feelings and started to understand each other. The father finally, sees his son’s struggles and learns to be sympathetic toward him. Reda on the other hand sees how his father is endeavoring to practice the doctrines of his religion and learns to respect him. The two men verbally acknowledge that they have learned a lot in their journey. For the father, he obviously portrayed tolerance and charity. For Reda, he learned his father’s religion through what he saw him practice. In the end, the young man had a change of heart. Read More