My Name is NURLIYANA.... and I am NOT a Terrorist...

Well, DUHH!!! Such a cute ME could NEVER be a terrorist. I am much too bratty to be one!! Lols

Yes... It's an old story, undoubtedly, and yet I am blogging about it today. First and foremost, let me stress here, I am and will NOT be commenting on the 9/11 incident. It is history - and let it stay that way. this is also NOT a racist post and NOT a movie review post.


I watched My Name is Khan. A very much controversial movie by Karan Johar, and despite whatever the review said, I loved it! The story is basically about Khan who travels to meet the U.S President to convey his wife's message. All the way he fought through stereotypes. As a fight against it, what Khan did when people are cussing the Muslims in anger, he calmly said,

" My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist"

Official Website - here

I love Shah Rukh Khan. his acting is superb - and the pairing with Kajol was fantastic. The shots taken was beautiful, its technicality was exceptional. Despite all that, it WAS NOT the reason I loved the movie.

What I loved the most about the movie is how they portray the Autism-diagnosed- Khan as a person with pure heart - the heart of a child that has not been tainted by what the adult mold them into. When everyone was focusing on the racial issues addressed in the movie, what I noticed the most is the fact that it is the ADULTS - the PARENTS - the so called mature, and always right - are the ones that causes all the misery in the world. Most of us might not realize it that in the name of  "PROTECTING" our children, we were actually "TEACHING" them on how to behave and think - which could ultimately means teaching them how to hate.

Example, when Khan heard a bunch of men discussing and using hate words that evoke much more anger and distrust, he repeats the word again and again. Had his mother did not interfere, he would have repeated the word until he memorized it and believe in it. His mother then took a piece of paper and drew him a picture. Two person, one representing him, the other a person holding a stick.

 

The mother ask "This person here is holding a stick and are hurting you, Is he good or bad?"

Khan answered, "Bad, hurting people is very bad"

The mother said, "Yes, hurting people are a bad deed"

And then, she drew him another picture,

 

The mother said "Now this person is giving you sweets, is he a bad person?"

Khan said "He is good"

And then The mother ask, " Which one of them is Hindu, and which is Muslim?"

Khan looked at the picture long and hard and finally said, "They look the same."

The mother then said, "Good. There are only two kinds of people in this world, Good people and Bad people. Remember, the only thing that differentiate people are whether they are GOOD or BAD. Nothing else."

I couldn't agree more. Skin color, nationality, race, religions, height, weight, school, etc are details, description of a person that men created to make familiar of a people - and that is all there is. It is NOT a determination of what kind of person that person is. In the end, it is our conduct that will decide who we are.

Back to the topic, Khan's mother teaches him to love, against all odds, and that - he carried it through his whole life. In the story, after 9/11 when a Caucasian male sat his son on a bench next to a guy who looks like a Muslim, he quickly moved his son away, in an act to protect his son. This simple act teaches the kid that if a person look like that, they should be avoided - even though the person did absolutely nothing! (and people wonder how a person grew up into stereotyping others).

If all parents thought their child the way Khan's mother did, maybe, just maybe the world won't be too screwed up. Stereotypes, creates hatred, sparks anger, and ultimately spells disaster. That's why I prefer to judge a person as an individual and always try to avoid judging by group. I pray and I wish and I hope I would always be able to do so, and perhaps others will too.

Again, these are just examples.  Although this is not a movie review post, I strongly suggest anyone who hasn't watch it, to watch the movie. I think it has good values that we all could extract and learn from it. Thumbs up!!

Again some random thoughts from a brat with opinions :)

p/s: dialogue is based on brat's feeble memory. Might be slightly different than in the movie, but ultimately means the same.