NEWS
LIVING
DINING
ENTERTAINMENT
TRAVEL
CLASSIFIED
A D V E R T I S E R S
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B A C K T O E N T E R
T A I N M E N T
Art Peels Old Wounds
New York's Israeli Film Festival Rediscovers Rap¹s Role
By Ronny Winston
"As I take my sword by the nape, drawing out its form so fine
There is no escape; for tonight, Valvert - you are mine!"
A few extra 'yo's' and Œman's' later, and the poetry Cyrano De Bergerac was reciting prior to killing his adversaries in the 1600's (or at least that's how Edmund Rostand's play and legend has it) was not all that different than the battlebreaks born in the South Bronx in the 70's. Historically speaking, poetic battles date back to biblical times and were often precursors to violent battles rather than resolutions in themselves. Likewise, when director Anat Halachmi's film Channels of Rage was screened at New York's Israeli film festival, it begged the question Œcan rap music become a bridge to further understanding between Palestinians and Israelis or will it only inspire more heated forms of rage?' Here, one must be careful not to fall into the PC trap that concludes that art brings people closer. In the case of Israeli rapper Subliminal and Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar, one gets the definite sense that rap has returned to its ancestral roots it has once again become a means of expressing dissatisfaction, hatred, and even a rousing cry to arms. And, this is just what makes the portrait of the two artists so brutally honest.
Early on, both rappers are quite delighted with the idea that they will be doing that wonderfully progressive thing bringing diverse youths (both Arabs and Israelis) closer. In fact, Subliminal who is both a consummate musician and a savvy lyricist seems, at first, to desire no more than having a worthy rap-opponent. It is clear from the onset that Subliminal is looking not for political triumph but the kudos which results from winning rap battles, the likes of which brought Eminem renown (at least, if we go by the history told in 8 miles). Even his patriotism smacks of the Œbadboy groove' while his iconoclast posturing caters to a niche audience that is bored to tears with all the mind-numbingly dull if well intentioned - left wing peace songs. Of course, like all true performers, Subliminal sings his lyrics with conviction and has, perhaps, even grown to believe them over time.
Is Tamer Nafar any purer of heart? Hardly. This wanna-be-star that director Halachmi portrays is opportunistic enough never to confuse reality with credibility. He is a Palestinian young man who will do what it takes to make it in music riding any political venue given. He not only speaks Hebrew (albeit, a muddled form) but clearly wouldn't mind being less radical if there would be a payoff with a large audience. Luckily for art, not even the hordes of Peace Now Israeli youths - who want nothing more than to have a good Palestinian rap-spokesman - have the necessary amount of deafness to listen to Nafar's atonal rasps or wait for his garbled repartees. Instead, Nafar decides to go for a crowd that listens to Arab Fundamentalists. This he does at the cost of having to deliver a more radically Islamic point of view than he actually shares. Soon, we see Nafar on the Jihad bandwagon, thus successfully adapting his old material to suit his new target audience. One odd aside: Nafar tries to rap in English however, his desperation for global success comes off farcically as he rhymes the village of Lod with Œpart of the hood'.
Beyond career considerations, Tamer's difficulty in getting a good reception in other Muslim countries sheds light on the particular dilemma of most Palestinians. For Israelis under siege they are Arabs, whereas for other Arabs they are far too western (an obvious by-product of their proximity to Israel). In truth, this is the one inadvertent point the film does make: it is exceedingly difficult for even a discerning outsider to register any difference between Palestinians and Israelis. It is not a country reminiscent though often compared politically to Apartheid. If we go by the world evoked in the film, it is more like Northern Ireland, a place where only those who live there can tell the difference between the Catholics and Protestants while outsiders haven't got a clue.
By the end of the film, we notice that both careers are doing exceedingly well. Subliminal is selling stronger than ever and has even incorporated Arabic motifs into his music. Nafar is also gaining a larger audience thanks to the help of a Jewish former rock idol Gefen Aviv, a man whose liberal sympathies seem to be with his wallet. Aviv has not only improved Nafar's repertoire but has injected enchantingly lamenting melodies into the brew. As this left wing Israeli coaches Nafar in making his lyrics sound more oppressed and more desperate than the artist himself would ever dream, one wonders just how much of Aviv's motivation is political and how much of it is an attempt to exploit the Œrising from the depths of the ghetto' rap experience. While Aviv may have the effect of a government-sponsored rebate on all vehicles used for the explicit purposes of suicide attacks, the final images we are left with are in keeping with the art form. Rap has not managed to bring the two stars closer. It has furthered the rift. If this sounds a lot less like an Israeli/Palestinian issue, than it does an East Coast VS West Coast (in this case, Tel Aviv VS West Bank-scene thing) the reason is likely to be in the fact that truth doesn't necessarily make for good hiphop while speaking in hyperboles often does.
When I first saw this film at Helsinki's Love and Anarchy Festival late this fall, the audience just like the one at the New York screening - seemed to be more interested in the politics than in the music. How ironic that politics is the very last thing that seems to be on the mind of either these two rap-ploitation artists. As the sacred who's who of Music once prophesised: In the name of Alah, Moses, Puff Daddy, Tupak, and all that is top 10, let there come peaceŠ. and if not, then at least, a profitable war.
|
|
|
|
|
|
L I S T I N G S
|