Monday, September 24, 2007
Afghan Boy's Family: Maybe You Should Take Out The Rape Scene
I haven't read The Kite Runner because it's bullshit tailor-made for upper middle class white girls who think they're intellectuals. But since it was written by an American author and intended for an American audience in the 2000's, the story culminates in the rape of a tween boy. Twelve year-old Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada who stars in the movie and plays the boy who gets what all men deserve has come out saying that he didn't really want to do that scene and he wishes the producers would take it out. His family, of course, agrees and fears that they will be ostracized or even attacked if the scene is included in the film. The producers--who did not provide Mahmidzada with the script of The Kite Runner prior to shooting, informing Mahmidzada and his family about the rape scene only days before the scene was shot--are just sort of like "Why?"
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4 comments:
Leaving to one side the fact that an opinion has been expressed without knowledge of the facts, I always thought it was illegal to depict underage sex for whatever purposes. The book itself does not describe the scene in lurid detail, merely the events leading up to it and the aftermath. One must question the filmakers need to go into such depth, much in the same way one must question the parents' lack of curiosity in allowing their child to partake in an event without checking into it's background, the book has been translated into Afghan for sure, or were they blinded by the lure of the greenback ?
Given that the family is most certainly poor, and quite possibly functionally illiterate, it was the absolute responsibility of the filmmakers to make sure the parents and child were aware of the content of the scenes he was required to shoot. It is unconscionable to put this child in danger for the sake of a film - and I say that as a filmmaker myself. However, simply posting this story on CNN has probably endangered the child already.
The fact that he is in any danger at all says a lot about the Afghan mentality.
Or lack thereof.
I think it is more along the lines of the family sees a way to get out using this. I think they are running with the perceived ignorance of their country to be moved to another one. I find it hard to believe people there dont know that movies are fake or at least faked representations of real events, even my 4 year old knows this is the case. If they really had the boy raped on film, that would be pornography and it doesn't sound like that kind of movie. There are rape scenes in quite a few movies where you know what is going on but aren't actually shown like in Pulp Fiction or Deliverance.
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