By Ali Hamedin
TEHRAN- As the global film industry continues to captivate audiences worldwide, it is essential to assess the influence of the Zionist regime, its financial resources, and its political power on the production of movies.
Before the formation of the Zionist regime, some movies tried to provide the context for this event with the help of justifying public opinion. The Zionists started creating works such as “Birth of a Nation” (1915) that encouraged Jews to immigrate to Palestine. With the establishment of the Zionist regime in 1948, Jewish organizations and capitalists began to widely support this industry in the Israeli regime. Now that the first mission was accomplished, Israel's film policies changed. During this period, the majority of films promoting the Zionist regime revolved around several notions, predominantly portraying Israelis as embodiments of civilization while depicting Arabs and Muslims as uncivilized individuals and terrorists. Movies like “Samson and Delilah” (1949), and “The Battle of Sinai” (1968) are among these works.
In recent years, films promoting this regime have gained attention for their distorted portrayal of historical events and their perpetuation of propaganda. Among these films are three notable films - "Golda," "The Messiah," and "World War Z" - that attempts to shape public opinion on Zionist regime through Hollywood.
A propaganda full of smoke
One of the most recent Israeli films is "Golda," directed by Guy Nattiv and released in the United States around three months ago. This biographical drama focuses on the life of Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of the Zionist regime.
However, it is a one-sided, incomplete and biased narrative, which of course was expected from an Israeli director that disregards historical context. The movie fails to mention that the attack by Egypt and Syria on the Zionist regime in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war was an attempt to reclaim territories occupied since 1967, Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and Golan Heights from Syria. Instead, the film portrays Israel's position as one of self-defense, ignoring the larger political and social implications of the conflict.
Furthermore, "Golda" includes racist statements made by Meir, adding a concerning racist undertone to the film. By denying the existence of Palestinians and disregarding their rightful claims, the movie contributes to the erasure of Palestinian rights and perpetuates a biased perspective.
"Lackluster"; This was the description of the Los Angeles Times about the portrait of the fourth prime minister of the Zionist regime. Contrary to the advertisements, this movie could not attract the opinion of the critics in any way. This new propaganda of the Zionist regime, which was supposed to be able to increase the number of fences around Israel with its success, failed.
Reappearance of Jesus on Netflix
The Netflix 2020 series "The Messiah" presents a distorted narrative surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Combining the apocalyptic teachings of Abrahamic religions and presenting an unknown narrative, the series tries to support Israel in its propaganda war against Palestine.
In the series, the appearance of a Messiah-like figure from the Middle East worries the CIA and the Israel Security Agency. In the first episode, he is seen leading a group of Palestinian-Syrian refugees towards the Syrian border with the occupied Golan Heights. A CNN reporter declares that “as displaced Palestinians they claim they are entitled passage into the West Bank as rightful citizens”. Yet in reality, Palestinian refugees do not want to become West Bank citizens. Instead, they seek to reclaim their land.
By referring to Jerusalem as the "capital of Israel" and misrepresenting the intentions of Palestinian refugees, the series downplays the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people. The portrayal of Palestinian protests as "riots" and the idealization of the Israeli Security Agency further exemplify the series' biased nature.
“The Messiah” also uses the cliché of loyal soldiers with a troubled conscience to praise the Israeli Security Agency agent. The agency is represented as a virtuous organization that sometimes has to engage in "unsavory" activities to achieve benevolent goals.
Land of honey and zombie
The 2013 film "World War Z" stands out as a prime example of Hollywood's staunch support for Israel's security state and its propaganda efforts. The film incorporates references to historical events and fear of global terrorism to further strengthen Israel's status in the world. By portraying Israel as a fortress protecting humanity from external threats, the film reinforces the narrative of Israel's exceptionalism and justifies its strict security measures.
The film is about an epidemic of a disease that turns humans into zombies and threatens human civilization. The movie, which grossed more than $540 million against a production budget of $190 million, became the highest-grossing zombie film of all time.
The main character of the story is Jerry (Brad Pitt) - a UN investigator - who is looking for the cause and cure of this disease. Jerry realizes that two countries had started working to prevent the spread of this disease. The first one was North Korea; A country that used the strict method of pulling citizens' teeth to stop the epidemic. The second land was the Zionist regime; A country that surrounds its land with a huge wall for this purpose. Jerry then meets with a Mossad chief - Jurgen Warmbrunn. Warmbrunn speaks of the historical need for Jewish vigilance in the face of existential threats. He mentions the Holocaust, the Munich Massacre, and the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, all of which are linked to the zombie threat in this fairly clear conversation.
This Mossad chief goes on to reveal that the walls surrounding Israel have actually been redesigned to create a fortress to protect not only Israelis, but all of humanity from the zombie threat. Warmbrunn shows Jerry an open checkpoint where benevolent Israelis allow Arabs to enter Israel to remain safe.
The Times of Israel declared “World War Z” as “the greatest piece of cinematic propaganda for Israel since ‘Exodus.'”
“If it weren't for the zombies in the background, you'd think this was an engineered campaign of the Defense Ministry to strengthen Israel's status in the world,” Israeli movie critic Chen Hadad wrote in City Mouse magazine.
George Romero popularized zombies with his landmark 1968 film, “Night of the Living Dead.” His later films used the zombie apocalypse theory as a vehicle for social commentary. But these zombies are used in “World War Z” due to some references to September 11 (the initial heartbreaking scene in Philadelphia and the fight sequence on the plane) to arouse the fear of global terrorism in the audience.
Eric Walberg, Canadian writer and journalist, said in an interview with the reporter of the Student News Agency about the change in policies surrounding filmmaking about Israel: “‘Exodus’ (1960) was the only real Hollywood film about Israel. It galvanized U.S. Jews, who were not much interested in Israel until then… It is not important to expose Israeli life to the world. What is important is to hide Israel's crimes. So, after “Exodus” in 1960, no more Israeli films were necessary. What was necessary was to make sure all Hollywood ignored Israeli crimes and that all actors either ignored Israel or spoke in favor.”
This trend of Israeli propaganda in Hollywood is concerning. Films that should be platforms for artistic expression and exploration of diverse perspectives instead contribute to the whitewashing of Israeli crimes and the erasure of the Palestinian narrative. The influence of Israel on Hollywood must be critically examined to ensure that films accurately represent historical events and do not perpetuate biased ideologies.
The recent proliferation of Israeli propaganda films in Hollywood raises questions about the distortion of history and mythmaking. Movies such as "Golda," "The Messiah," and "World War Z" showcase the Zionist regime's attempts to shape public opinion through the global film industry. It is imperative for audiences to critically analyze these films, question their narratives, and strive for a more accurate representation of historical events and diverse perspectives in cinematic works.
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