Noora Faraj: Let Them Eat Cake, or Zenga Zenga

I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie, while all I have been exposed to lately is the news. So when I decided to unwind a couple of nights ago by watching a flick, I settled for Marie Antoinette.

I used to hate period movies, and thought it was a drone. Even if I watched this particular movie when it was released 3 years ago, I still wouldn’t have focused on the angle in which I have done so now.

Every minute of that movie was oozing luxury, from color to costume to settings and storyline. After all, Marie Antoinette was infamous for her excessive spending habits, and arguably the instigator of the French Revolution. But she met her fate at the guillotine station.

Even in my leisure time, I gravitated toward entertainment which had political subtext, or maybe I’ve just become attuned to it. However, that said, centuries may have passed by, but the methods of most leaders remain archaic.

By the end of the movie, I couldn’t help but wonder what is different from the French Revolution with the Arab Spring uprisings? Why can’t the uncaring leaders meet similar fate to that of Marie Antoinette? After all, the guillotine was an icon of the revolution, as brutal and blunt as it was.

That aside, the French Revolution bred inspiration for the revolutions that traipsed in its shadows from Russia to China. The Arab Spring was an event that only time would be able to tell, and hopefully it sets a new precedent in world order and political regimes.

Noora Faraj, Senior Producer at Web TV of Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: [e-mail]