Kingdom Of Heaven

1001 Words3 Pages

From 1095 to 1291 C.E., the Crusades spread across Europe in the name of Christianity. The high tension between the Muslims and the Christians was caused by the want of the city of Jerusalem. The Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims believed Jerusalem was theirs, and went to violent efforts to achieve it. In the movie, Kingdom of Heaven by Oliver Stone, the main character, Balian is thrown into the fight between the Christians and the Muslims. Kingdom of Heaven is a portrayal of one of the Crusades, and although the movie was based from real people, the film makers decided to change aspects about the characters and situations to relate to current events and audiences. In history, Balian was a native born citizen of Jerusalem, who was born into a high esteemed family. However, in the movie, the filmmakers gave Balian a poor life living in France. Different theories of why Balian was placed as a blacksmith in France vary according to point of view. To familiarize with current audiences, film makers may have made this
While the movie was released after the event of 9/11, the film made a bold move to show equality. The movie portrayed the Christians and the Muslims being one of the same. Balian made a point to the people he was protecting during battle, that the Muslims where no better than the Christians who took Jerusalem from the Jews. The movie made the point that both the Christians and the Muslims were the same, looking for the same prize as one another. The only difference between the two was they were on different sides of the battle. The film showed how there can be differences in the multiple kinds of religions, yet on a simple, basic level, there are many familiar traits. It is important to come to the mindset of learning of the different cultures, and hold onto the humanity of treating others how one would want to be

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