4.27.2011 Tuesday April 26th's Community Cinema opens my eyes once again.

Yesterday was yet another fantastic Community Cinema and this time around we viewed "Bhutto" about Benazir Bhutto, the first elected Muslim woman to office. Bhutto was the Prime Minister for the republic of Pakistan, and ultimately was assassinated by the country's corrupt presidential regime. Before this film I knew virtually nothing about Benazir, and had only heard her name a handful of times. What I received most from this film is just how much Pakistan has suffered politically for virtually its whole existence. Benazir Bhutto was so inspirational, regal, beautiful, intelligent; and just like all other great leaders who have been assassinated, her life was ended way too soon. The film was the longest one that we've viewed so far (an hour and fifteen minutes), however, it seemed to move quicker than some of the others just because of how captivating and intriguing it was. It was 40-plus years of Pakistani history, but overall the other viewers (and I agree) believed it was done excellently for how much information needed to be included. I knew absolutely nothing about Pakistan before watching "Bhutto", and just as "Pushing the Elephant" enlightened me on the struggles in the Congo, this film instilled a new sense of awareness within myself about the country of Pakistan. I loved the strong sense of culture illustrated in the movie whether it was the traditional music being played as background audio, or hearing one of the languages Urdu being spoken; I feel this film was created FOR Pakistan, not ABOUT Pakistan. This movie allowed for me to learn about a totally different world outside of my comfy Urbana life, and how the struggles Bhutto and her nations faced/are facing are real. I don't know if this is the motive, but every Community Cinema film I've viewed has really tugged at my heart! Probably the thing I loved most about the movie is being able to hear and see Bhutto talk. She was so powerful yet beautiful at the same time, I was just in awe. Although Bhutto was an educated woman in politics (something absolutely unheard of) she also believed in maintaining traditional values. She kept her hair covered, never shook hands with men, and was arranged to be married since she was in such a high position of power within society. Her headscarves and traditional clothing, jewelry, and makeup only added to her regal appearance, and seeing her transform throughout her life I would say Benazir Bhutto remained one of the most beautiful people I have seen. We had a great discussion after the film, and two of the audience members were of Middle Eastern descent. One woman was from India, and a man was from Pakistan. They both provided expertise, experience, and enlightenment towards the film and their personal opinion of Benazir Bhutto. The major reason I love these Community Cinemas is for interactions like this. Overall I feel kind-of upset that Bhutto's life was ended before I was really old enough to understand and have an interest in world politics. This film was a small glance into the renown Bhutto family and their legacy with Pakistan. My only hopes are that I can learn more, and that this film will touch others when it airs on tv as it touched me.