Dark Knight was smart, sophisticated, with the closest thing to a plotline we have seen in a number of summers., and als very entertaining. but it also followed a pro-America path much like in any other summer blockbuster made in Hollywood. look at the plot:

A terror wreaks havoc in civilization (the Joker), and we cannot understand what drives it. law and order was not able to tackle it (Harvey dent) and it thus requires the righteous vengeance of the Dark Knight to really bring it down. nothing else but righteousness and violence. sounds like a movie financed by W Bush’s adminstration.

Loved the movie though.

lol

Secondly, this film is playing in cinemas. I’m sure Hammudeh will have it in a bit, but if that’s the argument then I would argue there is more movie piracy happening within america’s borders than in downtown amman.

That being said, these movies are made for American audiences, produced with American money, and played by American actors. Most Americans don’t notice the themes, since they are so prevalent in action movies that have came out in the past 20 years.

I’m not advocating the ridiculousness, but I wouldn’t at all say that they’re shoving “USA # 1″ sentiment down anyone’s throats. No one forces Jordanians to go to Hamudeh’s, buy an illegally produced rip-off of an American funded production, and watch the DVD.

“I’m certain that someday it will be acknowledged that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is like the most totally awesome artifact ever of the end of the American empire. It’s so us, a preposterously perfect reflection of who we are: loud, obnoxious, sexist, racist, juvenile, unthinking, visceral, and violent… and in love with ourselves for it. […] What we have right here is the Easter Island statue of our legacy.” — MaryAnn Johanson, FlickFilosopher

http://www.movieline.com/2009/06/the-9-most-scathing-critical-responses-to-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen.php

Natalia: one of the most interesting america-shits-on-the-world scenes i’ve ever seen in a micheal bay movie is in Bad Boys II, when, what are essentially american police (no, not military or navy, but police)…tare up the cuban country side with a bunch of big hummers, crushing homes and people as they chase the villain all the way to Guantanamo, reaching safety on “american soil”. oh, and this comes moments before they pretty much blow up havana just to get one girl back.

Umm Daoud: while i agree that these sentiments were alive and well in american blockbuster flicks in the past, what i’m pointing to here is there abundance in the post 9/11 era, and era that should actually see them toning it down as opposed to going in to overdrive.

movies, as silly as it may seem, are a modern way to bridge cultural gaps and address real-life issues. millions and millions of people are watching them all over the globe and they have a far greater reach than anything else I can think of at the moment.

these movies that involve plots where there is an enemy common to the entire human race, should be an opportunity to bring nations together instead of apart.

I’ve yet to actually see the film, but I glimpsed Petra very briefly in the trailer on TV. Having been there recently I was quite excited to see it. (I’m from New Zealand). But admittedly, had I not been there I’d otherwise have no clue on where it was.

I promise you, this has been a theme in American movies WAAAAYYYY before 9/11. Case in point: Independence Day. The evil aliens are going to take over the world, and just when all hope is lost, the Americans figure out how to get through the alien’s technology and start alerting the rest of the world via Morse code. And everyone is like, “Oh, boo-hoo, we were just going to sit around and wait for the aliens to get us, but THANK GOD the Americans are here to save the day!” I laughed at that part even when I was an American student in an American in high school (when the movie came out), incredulous that we were so egocentric.

I could not agree more with you guys that the attention was not given to the very last details, which is somehow disappointing for comic and cartoon movies hardliners.There was an obviuos link missing between fiction and reality and i think that most of the thrill in watching fictional movies comes from bridging that gap as much as possible,giving you a make believe sensation that what you are watching could be taken for real.

It was great seeing Salt, Wadi Rum, Petra, Aqaba appear or get mentioned in the movie, do you think that this would be an advantage for Jordan, somehow….? I hope!!

and at last, Hats off to our beloved Jordanian military forces for their guest appearance while fighting the evil decepticons.

And re: the Jordanian helicopter. Having people from two countries fighting together against an alien menace would have made the movie better; they did that (to a point) in Independence Day, and it heightened the drama there.

In the end, the movie felt like a combination of a recruiting ad for the US military (the must have shown every bit of cool hardware they have), an ad for GM cars (I don’t recall seeing a single non-GM car or pickup in the whole movie), and an ad for transformers toys themselves.

Which is not surprising, given the original tv show was just a marketing gimmick for the original transformers toys.

I want to see it so I can glimpse Wadi Rum and Petra on the big screen, but honestly, it just seems like so much schlock. Foxy Megan Fox or not.

Michael Bay’s style in particular is nauseatingly “America America über alles,” if you know what I mean. It got old years ago. I thought “Armageddon” was a lot of fun, but come on. A director needs to know when to move on.

anyway love your post and cant wait to see the movie

I think even the average American will get confused. For example, in the scene where they decode the message of the three kings, you can obviously tell that they’re going to a place that’s very far from where they are (ie. to Petra from the Pyramids). Then, for some reason, they decide to make the drop point the pyramids themselves, and all of a sudden it only takes a few miles to get from Petra back.

But of course there’s an explanation in the filmmakers’ minds; these pyramids are different. They’re some pyramids near Aqaba, not the ones in Giza.

But then why would they show the Sphinx in the last scene in the movie, suggesting that they are indeed in Giza?

And I echo your sentiment regarding the Jordanian helicopters scene. As if we don’t have American F-16s!

I loved the action, but the way this movie was made was more than irritating, it was downright insulting!

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