The documentary focuses on the uprising, but the film provokes thought beyond the Pearl Roundabout. It's a study of power, it's a study of resistance against that power, and discussion of US regional interests is invited. Worth watching.
A NOTE ON THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
Cancelled last year due to the country's unrest, F1's governing body (the FIA) recently decided that the Bahrain GP would go ahead as scheduled. In response, protests have taken place in country, and both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have issued statements critical of the FIA's decision.
Being a fan of F1, the upcoming event has my heightened attention - more so than if it were some other kind of sporting event, none of which I follow. On the one hand, I see and don't disagree with HRW and Amnesty's positions on the matter. There is a human rights situation in Bahrain, it demands international attention, and maybe the race should be pulled. Though there have been protests in Bahrain calling for its cancellation, there is no telling where the majority of Bahrainis stand on the issue (see BBC link below). Arguments by Bahrainis for and against the race have appeared in the news (see both BBC and LinkTV links below).
Formula One events take place all over the world, and occur in a list of countries guilty of human rights violations. The most recent race was in China, certainly on that list. This year there will be a Grand Prix in the United States, which occupies an entire country (not so long ago two of them).
A major concern over having the race in Bahrain is the ruling Khalifa family using the event to create the illusion that all is well. All is not well.
There are also benefits. Discussion of the GP has already shed increased light on the situation in Manama. If the race goes ahead as scheduled, journalists will be allowed in the country, which could have a positive effect. The Bahraini economy could use the boost. And, as some Bahrainis have remarked, the event is a much-needed distraction, and might aid in easing Sunni-Shiite tensions.
In any case, the Grand Prix is scheduled; but we should not be fooled. I plan on watching the race. And when I'm done, I will go right back to my work, which includes underlining US and Western hegemony in the Middle East, and the byproducts of that hegemony such as the suffering of the people of Bahrain who want democracy but are denied it by the country's rulers, and their patrons and guarantors in Washington. This is where our attention is better concentrated.
documentary: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/2011/08/201184144547798162.html
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17705615
LinkTV: http://news.linktv.org/videos/bahraini-youth-vow-three-days-of-rage-during-f1-race?start=0
