Samira Makhmalbaf, Michael Moore, and Other Matters!

During the peak power of the Soviet Union, a joke circulated: an American and a Russian were debating 'democracy.' The American claimed that their democracy was so strong they could chant 'Death to Reagan!' right in front of the White House (at that time, Reagan was the President of the United States) and no one would bother them. The Russian calmly replied, 'That's nothing. We can chant 'Death to Reagan!' in the middle of Red Square in Moscow!' Now, this is the story of Miss Samira Makhmalbaf. She took the stage at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Festival in the style of Michael Moore and hurled insults at George Bush. Of course, I do not wish to praise or condemn George Bush here; the American people know how to deal with him. Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, Sean Penn, and others, as American citizens, have the right to criticize their 'bad' president. However, if they were to target leaders of other countries, they would no longer be Michael Moore and Oliver Stone! Ms. Makhmalbaf (who undoubtedly has talent in filmmaking) would do better to start with her own. When she calls Bush a Taliban, she should at least name a dozen of her own officials who openly admire the Taliban and long for them before turning to Bush. Today, at the festival, Ms. Makhmalbaf repeatedly pulled her scarf forward by a couple of centimeters. She wore a relatively low-cut dress to blend in with the crowd, but she was dressed in black! She seemed terrified that her scarf might slip back by two millimeters. Samira's fear was of the homegrown Taliban in the Islamic Republic, not of George Bush! At 23, Ms. Samira Makhmalbaf has learned a lot and may have brilliant talent. However, it seems she has lost her honesty and sincerity.