September 11 this year marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and commemorative activities have been held in many parts of the United States.
The disaster of 2996 people killed was recorded by directors in movies, such as "Flight 93", "World Trade Center", "From the Heart"... But what impressed me was an Indian movie, My Name Is Khan.
Poster of "My Name Is Khan". Source: Douban
The tragic film is directed by the famous Indian director Karan Johar, with Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan and five-time actress Kajol playing the male and female protagonists. After its release in 2010, the film broke the box office record of Bollywood at that time, as well as the box office record of Indian films in the United Kingdom, Pakistan, the Middle East and other countries.
Needless to say, the director of this excellent film has a very deep understanding of terrorism and has perfectly interpreted the harm that terrorism brings to people through the art form of film.
"My Name Is Khan" director Karen Johar Karan Johar. Source: Douban
The film tells the story of Rizvan Khan, the male protagonist with mild autism, who immigrated to the United States from India, met and married a beautiful single mother, Mandira Khan.
After 9/11, anti-Islam broke out in the United States, with frequent incidents of discrimination, abuse, beatings and even killings of Muslims. Khan's stepson was not spared, and was brutally beaten to death by several classmates just because his name bears the typical Muslim surname "Khan.".
After that, Khan packed his bags and traced the whereabouts of the president of the United States, hoping to say to him: "My name is Khan, I am not a terrorist." During this period, Khan was repeatedly suspected of being a terrorist, discriminated against by ordinary Americans, and searched, beaten, and even imprisoned by the police. But he did not change his original intention and insisted on completing his mission.
Khan on the road. Source: Douban
Stills from "My Name Is Khan". Source: Douban
I liked this film not only because it profoundly explains the harm that terrorism can do to people, but also because it still reflects our real lives today. For example, the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: After 9/11, Indian-Americans of Islamic descent suffered a terrible experience. The destruction of mosques where they pray, the looting of shops they run, and the bullying of their children are like the attacks and stigmatization of Chinese people after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in the United States.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Chinese in the United States have actively strengthened self-protection, wearing masks long ago, maintaining social distancing, and not going out unless necessary, setting an example for all ethnic groups to fight against the epidemic. Therefore, of all ethnic groups in the United States, Chinese are the group with the lowest infection rate. However, they have become the only group in this epidemic to bear the stigma. Moreover, this attack is not limited to words, and the "hate crimes" against the Chinese, especially the violence, are even more heinous.
Scenario two: While praying in a mosque, Khan saw a radical believer preaching terrorism and enticing the masses into violent resistance. He bravely stood up and accused this man of being a liar, for he had violated the teachings of the Allah, Allah would not let his followers die. Immediately afterward, khan also called the police to punish this demon who used religious beliefs to seduce believers to break the law and discipline.
Khan was not wrong at all! Whether it is Christianity with a Bible in hand, Islam that embraces Allah, Hinduism with a thousand gods, Taoism that is bent on seeking immortality, and Buddhism that takes the purification of sentient beings as its mission, although the gods they believe in are different, the basic purpose is to persuade people to be good.
And there are always people with ulterior motives in this world, who, in order to achieve their own goals, use the piety of believers to seduce them into illegal activities, and even sacrifice their lives to carry out terrorist attacks.
Scenario Three: In the film, U.S. police arrest Khan without any evidence, imprison him, and torture him to admit to having ties to al-Qaida.
Khan was arrested. Source: Douban
Seeing this, I can't help but think of the clichéd question of the origin of the new crown virus. Although the United States has no evidence, it insists that the new crown virus comes from a Chinese laboratory. Even though WHO has twice sent expert teams to Wuhan, China, for field visits and research, and has released authoritative joint studies that prove China's innocence. However, the United States still has not given up its presumption of guilt, and has tirelessly carried out a public opinion war to smear China and politicize the origin of the virus.
In fact, these operations of the United States are the same as those of the United States in provoking the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States launched a war in Afghanistan in the name of counterterrorism and took the opportunity to enter Central Asia. The result? But the more anti-anti, the more fearful! It has also brought deep disasters to the Afghan people.
As for the causes of the war in Iraq, it is even more outrageous. The United States bypassed the United Nations Security Council and unilaterally launched a military strike against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction and secretly supported terrorists. However, the war lasted more than 7 years, and the United States never found the weapons of mass destruction in its mouth, and finally had to put an end to the war.
In fact, in the movie "My Name is Khan", there are many intriguing situations like this, waiting for you to taste it carefully. Finally, we just want to sincerely thank the Indian director for making such a film that is both historical and realistic. Revisiting this classic on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 is a testament to the emotions of everyone.
This article is the original manuscript of China-India Datong Network, please indicate the source when reprinting