I am going to comment on the long list of comments in the "Diaspora in Armenia" section, since I know Raffi is probably frustrated with people turning one log into a chat room. But the subject is an important one. How does one portray Armenian or Armenian life to and audience? Should we jazz it up and make being Armenian seem like the best thing there is? Or should be post honest reality of life so that people have a full understanding of what life is really like. People like Ara choose to share the harsh realities and truth of what goes on with hopes to inspire some of the readers to make a difference and to stop using lack of knowledge as an excuse. Others like Madlene or Raffi choose to focus more on the upbeat side of town with hopes to attract readers to Armenia. Obviously I'm over simplifying the situation.
In reality, you have readers that are interested in all of it, the whole deal. And the more opinions, the better. But the one thing we do so well is force our opinions on others. Being Armenian is great, but we have problems. I love all the volunteer work I've done all my life, but it doesn't change the fact that I think we mess up our own potential. Everyone is going to contribute what they know best or what they seek to do. Whatever we post is going to give them a better sense of what's out there, and that is why I appreciate this log forum. All you negative people, there are bright sides to life. All you positive junkies, people don't always want it sugar coated.
With that said, I'm having a pleasant week of stress!
Moving on, Atom Egoyan and Arsinee Khanjian were interviewed on WBUR yesterday about Ararat. The interview went well. Atom is very well spoken and gives the perfect responses to questions. Someone had called in to comment that the film does little to say exactly what happened and that it could play as a fictional one sided story that the audience may not read as truth. Atom responded well by saying that this was not a tutorial, rather a movie to inspire people to research more to understand. He very clearly states that there are documented eyewitness accounts, such as Clarence Ussher's book and recommends the read.
What disturbed me was that the final caller was a Turk calling in criticism, but there was no time offered to respond. Of course, she called to say that it was a time of war and the use of the word genocide is unfair, as there were few Turkish families helping Armenians. I'm not sure if she looked up the definition of genocide (as the word was coined and defined by the Armenian genocide), but the definition is that the government has a premeditated plan to wipe out an entire race. Joe Shmoe villagers are just props in the matter. Anyway, it was a sour ending to a good interview. There were getting calls from all over the US, so perhaps it was broadcast all over.
Regarding movie ratings, I believe the new update is that Ararat ranked 31 this week, possible made over 1 million, and that there is still no word on nationwide distribution. As far as Boston goes, they opened Ararat at a new theater because it's been doing so well, which will extend longer than expected.
In reality, you have readers that are interested in all of it, the whole deal. And the more opinions, the better. But the one thing we do so well is force our opinions on others. Being Armenian is great, but we have problems. I love all the volunteer work I've done all my life, but it doesn't change the fact that I think we mess up our own potential. Everyone is going to contribute what they know best or what they seek to do. Whatever we post is going to give them a better sense of what's out there, and that is why I appreciate this log forum. All you negative people, there are bright sides to life. All you positive junkies, people don't always want it sugar coated.
With that said, I'm having a pleasant week of stress!
Moving on, Atom Egoyan and Arsinee Khanjian were interviewed on WBUR yesterday about Ararat. The interview went well. Atom is very well spoken and gives the perfect responses to questions. Someone had called in to comment that the film does little to say exactly what happened and that it could play as a fictional one sided story that the audience may not read as truth. Atom responded well by saying that this was not a tutorial, rather a movie to inspire people to research more to understand. He very clearly states that there are documented eyewitness accounts, such as Clarence Ussher's book and recommends the read.
What disturbed me was that the final caller was a Turk calling in criticism, but there was no time offered to respond. Of course, she called to say that it was a time of war and the use of the word genocide is unfair, as there were few Turkish families helping Armenians. I'm not sure if she looked up the definition of genocide (as the word was coined and defined by the Armenian genocide), but the definition is that the government has a premeditated plan to wipe out an entire race. Joe Shmoe villagers are just props in the matter. Anyway, it was a sour ending to a good interview. There were getting calls from all over the US, so perhaps it was broadcast all over.
Regarding movie ratings, I believe the new update is that Ararat ranked 31 this week, possible made over 1 million, and that there is still no word on nationwide distribution. As far as Boston goes, they opened Ararat at a new theater because it's been doing so well, which will extend longer than expected.
posted by Arsineh at 7:02 PM
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