Machinima

Have you never heard of the word? Neither had I until tonight. According to the Urban Dictionary, Machinima is

The art of using a pre-rendered gaming engine and making it into a film. The word is derived from: Machine and Cinema.

Its an interesting new medium that is chiefly the result of a video game called The Movies. The game revolves around the concept where the player takes control of a movie studio and produces box office films to succeed and beat the game. Although you don't actually need to create any films in the game, as you make your way through, its grants you access to certain features that permit you to do so. The game allows you to create films with animated characters that are reminiscent of The Sims.

So what's the point of this blog entry you may ask? Well, the point is a certain film that was created using the game. A 27 year old Frenchman named Alex Chan has created a 13 minute film about last years French riots entitled "The French Democracy". The movie has garnered so much attention that even The Washington Post did a piece on it.

I'm not sure about you but I didn't know much about the riots in France last year. Either the media didn't cover it well or I didn't pay attention. Regardless of which it was, I only knew that there was a riot in France and that its participants were mainly young adults.

The film, or rather machinima feature, is the direct result of Alex Chan's experience. He lives in a suburb of Paris, very near to where some rioting took place. According to The Washington Post article, Chan said "the main intention of this movie is to bring people to think about what really happened in my country by trying to show the starting point and some causes of these riots."

The film deals with the growing racism that is developing out of this "War on Terror." It primarily features the racism against blacks, and in particular, French-born black Muslims. It highlights France's techniques for fighting terrorism that have restricted civil rights and liberties, especially for those who look like "suspects."

The reason I bring this up is because of the direct correlation between this situation and the present one in the US. Our civil liberties are continually being threatened for the basis of "preserving" freedom and fighting terrorism. Whether it is the Patriot Act or illegal wire tapping, we are allowing the reduction of our liberties in the name of safety. In my opinion, this isn't good. Benjamin Franklin put it best when he said, "they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I believe in what he said and I think supporting his idea is needed more today than ever before.

Watching this film, and recognizing the racial discrimination, I'm reminded of the growing situation at home in Detroit. For those who don't know, Detroit has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations outside of Arabia. During my time at home, I've noticed the growing hostility and racism against people of Arab decent. But, it’s not only in Detroit, it’s everywhere.

Through the acts of the current administration and the media, our society has been scared into fearing Arab people, unjustly. I remember the question that circulated many discussions directly after 9/11: would you feel comfortable sitting on a plane next to an Arab? My answer: yes I would completely feel comfortable. You simply cannot judge an entire race by the actions of several dozen suicidal maniacs.

If we are going to do that, why not go all the way. Lets start hating white people who attended the University of Michigan because of the Unabomber (ok, lets just hate University of Michigan graduates). Lets hate the Irish because of the IRA. Lets hate all Germans because Hitler was Germ... um, Austrian. See, it sound ridiculous when it’s a white person, but yet our society doesn't seem to see the connection when it's people of a different race. We think we're colorblind, that the race card shouldn't be thrown anymore, and that affirmative action is no longer needed, but we are only fooling ourselves. Racism is alive and thriving in our country and many others.