The famous Iranian director Jafar Panahi is currently on house arrest in Tehran and forbidden from making movies. So he plants a hidden camera in his car (you will spend the entire movie wondering if his passengers are actors or not!) as he drives around Tehran posing as a taxi driver. The pseudo-documentary he creates is as much an act of defiance against the censoring of the state, as it is a piece of art. Panahi portrays the insouciant and the devout, the young and the old, the smuggler and the moralist who somehow manage to poke fun at the overbearing Iranian regime and speak out although they are being silenced.
Hindi [Beginning Resources]
Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language given the status of being the official language of India, although other dialects may be more prevalent than Hindi in several areas. It currently has over 540 million speakers, with 425 million native speakers. Hindi is written using the Devanagari writing script, in which fourteen characters are vowels and thirty-three are consonants. There are several dialects of Hindi, including Khadiboli, Haryanvi, Braj Bhasha, Kannauji, Bundeli, Bagheli, Awadhi, and Chhattisgarhi.
Resources [For Beginning Students]:
Learn Hindi with HindiPod.com: This YouTube channel is based off of a separate website (https://www.hindipod101.com) , but it has tons of really helpful videos.
Omniglot Website: This website contains a brief overview of Hindi, including the writing script, and also has several links to other resources.
Kanopy: free access to award-winning films
I’m a senior at Reed, and I have one recommendation for you during your time here — visit Kanopystreaming.com. This is really one of the hidden secrets of Reed that will change your life when you find out about it. I didn’t discover Kanopy until this year and I am sad to have missed so many opportunities to watch films in foreign languages for free. Kanopy offers films in 28 languages and almost all films have English subtitles available. This is one of the best features and sets Kanopy apart from most other streaming sites.
To use Kanopy on or off campus, just add Reed College as your institution. Next, you can customize Kanopy by creating an account, which allows you to access features like creating playlists. Or you can just watch the films without logging in.
We are privileged that all members of the Reed community have free access through the institutional subscription. Kanopy is only available through libraries and academic universities. Check it out today and you’ll see a hugely diverse collection of award-winning films! The first Arabic movie I watched on Kanopy turned out to be one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. Take a look, or log onto the site to find your next favorite movie!
Tickling Giants: Uniting Egypt Through Laughter in Tumultuous Times
This documentary follows the rise and fall of Egyptian talk show host Bassam Youssef, the Jon Stewart of Egypt. But where Jon Stewart has 2 million views per episode, Youssef typically has 30 million. The film depicts the consequences of political comedy in a country where retribution is swift and harsh for any journalist who criticizes the government. When free speech is not a guarantee, people need space to laugh and relieve their fears. Youssef becomes a necessary and beloved outlet for an entire country of people under repressive rule. He faces threats, protests and lawsuits in his quest to keep comedy alive in Egypt. This movie is funny, emotional and informational about recent Egyptian politics since the 2011 revolution.