I found The Reluctant Fundamentalist to be a very intriguing film staring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, and Live Schreiber. The story is set in Pakistan in the midst of an investigation into the kidnaping of an American professor, who was teaching at the local university. The viewer follows the story of a young Pakistani man as he climbs the corporate ladder in New York City. This story is witnessed in flash back form while the Pakistani man Changez Kahn, played by Riz Ahmed, tells his story to an American columnist Bobby Lincoln, played by Live Schreiber. As I watched the movie I felt as if it were following two plot lines, the first the investigation into the kidnaping of the American professor, and the second Changez’s recollection of his life …show more content…
Bobby plays the role of the interviewer asking Changez to recount his life, and experiences in America. Bobby also makes it possible for the second plotline to exist because of his connection to the investigation of the kidnaping of the American professor. At the beginning of the movie Bobby sits down with Changez, and his intent is perceived to be only an interview, which happens to be taking place at this unfortunate time of unrest because of the professors kidnaping. The viewer later discovers however that Bobby is working undercover for the CIA, and Changez is suspected of involvement with the group who kidnaped the professor. The end of the movie reviles that Changez had no involvement with the kidnaping of the professor, but because of Bobby’s own opinion of Changez he does not trust his claims of disinvolvement. Due to this lack of trust Bobby accuses Changez of giving the order to kill the professor when he is sending an innocent text to his sister. Bobby’s act of distrust, and paranoia results in him getting shot in the leg, and the death of Changez’s teaching assistant. In the van when Bobby realizes what his actions have caused the viewer can see remorse on his face. I feel this movie has a lot to say about the practice of Christian Muslim
The film starts with an uprising after a white storeowner kills a black teenager. This incident Highlights Prejudices. The teenager was labeled a thief because of the color of his skin and the unjustifiable murder causes racial tensions that exist as a result of the integration of the high schools.
H.J McCloskey’s article, “On Being an Atheist,” is an attempt to show atheism as a more practical alternative to the Christian belief. McCloskey reasons against the theistic beliefs of the cosmological argument, the teleological argument and design. He references the presence of evil in a world created by God and the absurdity of living by faith. This article is an attempt to reason that God does not exist because He is perfect and the world is not perfect; evil exists therefore God cannot exist. McCloskey’s article labels these arguments as “proofs” and concludes none of these arguments would be evidence of God’s existence. I find McCloskey’s article to lack logic and coherence which only serves to invalidate his arguments. I find this little more than an attempt to justify his own atheistic worldview.
Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren't Fundamentalists, a book edited by Al Truesdale and published by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, examines two significantly different ways of understanding the nature and role of the Bible that mark different parts of Christ’s church. The first is represented by fundamentalism; the second by Wesleyan theology. The goal of the book is to help persons in Wesleyan denominations clearly understand the differences between Wesleyan theology and fundamentalist theology, and that even though both are of the Christian faith, how the theology between the two are incompatible with one another. “Without becoming divisive or claiming perfection in Christian doctrine, the various denominations hold theological positions that reflect their Christian experience, history and understanding of the Scriptures.” (loc 124 Kindle, Truesdale) Wesleyans believe that the proof of the gospel reside primarily in how a person lives their life and “not in logic and argumentation.” (loc 160 Kindle, Truesdale) They support the policy of that to get a better understanding of their faith, is the result of all fields of human exploration and research, from scientific to historical.
Religion and opinions are both products of humans. Our intelligence gifts us with the freedom of thought and capability to apply it to our views on deep life questions. Intelligence provides us the right to believe in any sort of God, afterlife, or way of living. Brad Gregory describes the Protestant Reformation’s effects on the present society’s Christian qualities in a book he wrote titled “The Unintended Reformation.”1 (After my awareness of the outcome of the western history of the Protestant Reformation, I gained an opinion on today’s religious views that do not completely agree with Gregory’s valuation.) The Protestant Reformation was vital to the progress in the knowledge about the Christian faith.
The first topic that is found in the movie that was taught in class is conflict. Conflict is expressed disagreement over perceived incompatible goals. Although it may seem it, conflict is not always a negative thing. Conflict is needed and can help growth of relationships. Many conflicts are started because people have different conversational styles. In class, we learned that there are guidelines that one should follow in order to help prevent conflict or help solve it. The guidelines include clarifying goals, helping others save face, using constructive criticism skills, using empathic listening skills, monitoring nonverbal be...
In the first chapter of Nathan Hatch’s book, The Democratization of American Christianity, he immediately states his central theme: democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity. In proving the significance of his thesis, he examines five distinct traditions of Christianity that developed in the nineteenth century: the Christian movement, Methodists, Baptists, Mormons and black churches. Despite these groups having diverse structural organization and theological demeanor, they all shared the commonality of the primacy of the individual conscience.
We have to be alive. Wouldn’t Little Bobby rather be alive than be remembered? Wouldn’t he be sitting in the park than the park named after him? I wanted to watch the new. Not be in it. The more I thought about it, the more I had my answer. We were staying home tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. We certainly weren’t going to be in no rally.” After Delphine reads the newspaper, she learns about Little Bobby. He was a member of the Black Panthers and fighting for his rights, caused his death. This leads her to be concerned about going to the rally for the Black Panthers. The fact that someone died makes her worried about her sister’s safety than anything else and to avoid all risk. Although Delphine got frightened quick, Sister Mukumbu, a teacher at the center tells Delphine, they must unite together. Nevertheless, Sister Mukumbu and others still fight for their rights despite the
Based on the effects and aftermath of the World Trade Centre bombings, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) by Mohsin Hamid uses an engaging monologue to tell thought provoking story of a young Pakistani man’s journey to self discovery and addresses the ramifications of the controversial nature of nostalgia inflicted upon characters and nations. The novel explores the notion of nostalgia in various ways. Through the characterization of Erica, Hamid conveys the self-destructive nature of nostalgia. Hamid furthermore uses Erica as an allegory for America; both entangled in a web to recreate the past due to the unpleasant dilemma of the present, and further present a comparison between the two contradictory adoptions of nostalgia in the lives of Changez and Jim. Through the individual approaches of nostalgia, Hamid successfully manages to convey to the reader the hazards of holding on to the past and its traditions and the inevitable change that must be embraced.
This movie is filled with shocking details and scenes; it shows that each character, whom all are residents of L.A. is different, but shares the same assumptions, fears, and hopes. While watching the movie, I was feeling sorry for the couple who were car jacked, but then later saw how the lady assumed that the Hispanic man was a criminal. Peter is involved in carjacking a vehicle, but is later shot dead by Officer Hansen. Shaniqua was belittled and yelled at by Officer Ryan, but later shows her yelling and berating another driver involved in an accident, at the end of the movie. The two black males who feels mistreated and discriminated against in a restaurant and on the street are the same two who car
Religion is a symbolic representation of society. The sociological approach to religious belief looks at how society behaves on a whole, to answer the question, “Why are people religious?” We express our participation in religious events through plays, acts of confession, religious dances, etc. To begin to understand why we have such term, let’s understand the common elements of religion. There are different types in which people believe in or follow and that is: animatism, animism, ancestral spirits, god and goddesses, and minor supernatural beings. Beyond these different elements, such one is to have religious leaders to follow.
Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods, a particular system of faith and worship or a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). From religion, many new groups, communities and further derived religions have formed. Closely related to religion and with endless controversies surrounding it’s classification as a religion is the concept of Atheism- which is defined as the disbelief or rejection of a deity. Descending from this is a social and political movement in favour of secularism known as New Atheism. Understanding the historical content concerning the emergence of atheism, this essay will then address how various aspects within the field inclusive the goals, structures and approaches have emerged and developed over time in comparison to the original atheist ideals.
Moshin Hamid’s purposeful ambiguity forces the reader to consider various point of views. A viewpoint that stuck out so dramatically to me while reading his novel, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, was the strong parallel between Eric’s character and Changez’s relationship with the United States of America. Changez first moves to America as a college student on a scholarship he received from Princeton University. After graduating college he moves to New York City to accept a prestigious job offer with a company named Underwood Samson.
We crash constantly. We crash into the cultures and lives of those that surround us in our society. We judge because we do not know or unwilling to understand the differences that surround us. The director wants the audience to make an unfair judgment on Officer Ryan because of he inappropriately searches Christine, however, as the movie progresses our judgments crashes as we begin to identify with Officer Ryan. When Graham states ?We are always behind metal and glass,? it is not the metal and glass we are behind, but the fear of understanding and trusting someone that is different from us. This fear is where our preconceived notions and racist habits come from. It is the fear of trusting that in which can cause us to crash.
In the 18th century to 19th century, there were many great influential leaders of Christianity that influenced many individuals belief systems. During this time period three great movements included the relevance of liberalism, Neo-orthodoxy, and Evangelical views. These views in particular had great influence over how individuals applied biblical scripture to their everyday life.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a taut and engaging piece of fiction, exploring the growing chasm between the East and the West. Mohsin Hamid has used a rather unique narrative mode- the dramatic monologue –and used it skillfully to weave an account of a young Pakistani’s class aspirations and inner struggle in corporate America. Throughout the novel, Hamid maintains a tense atmosphere, an atmosphere of imminent danger and radical violence. What results from the two devices is an allegorical reconstruction of post-9/11 tensions, and an inflective young man’s infatuation and disenchantment with America.