Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden ?

2008

Documentary

Director Morgan Spurlock

Icon Film Distribution

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

After his rather ridiculous attack on McDonalds (Supersize Me) Morgan Spurlock now decides to try to find Osama bin Laden. His theory is that he wants to make the world a safer place for his unborn child, but with no expertise whatever he seems doomed to failure before he begins. The film does have some interesting outcomes, however. By letting the people of many countries tell their stories of religious intolerance in their own words, he brings out some points that Americans should take notice of.

The United States is not a popular country. Many see it as trying to dominate the world. Others see it as developing wars in their country when all the people want is a quiet life. One Moslem makes an interesting point. He says that Osama bin Laden could not successfully fight a war in the United States, so he has brought the U.S. out into Moslem countries where a war can be waged on their home grounds. Spurlock is put in his place when he tries to convince an Afghani that the United States entered Afghanistan to establish peace. The old man asks gently “Did you come in an ambulance or a tank?”

Spurlock tries to get to the bottom of the human bomb terrorist phenomenon, and he is told that people are attracted to these organizations because they have nothing else in their lives – no education, no job, no prospects of getting one. They simply have nothing to lose.

On the other side of the argument are the partly educated people who will interpret the Koran or the Talmud to their own political advantage, and the similarity with looney fundamental Christians is unmistakable. It is not only the Christians and Moslems who show their own petty stupidities, either. In a fundamentalist Jewish neighbourhood in Jerusalem he is shoved and abused simply for trying to ask people in the area if they could answer some questions for him. Note that he does not get to ask any questions – just being asked if they will talk to him is enough to excite a frenzy of abuse, and he must be rescued by a policeman.

There are few voices of reason. A Saudi Arabian academic suggests that religious people are simply unsuited to run a country. They have no training in the administrative matters needed, and he feels that there should be a clear dividing line between religion and politics. He makes the point that the most peaceful Moslem countries are those in which Islam is kept in its place and not in the Government. In the same country Spurlock asks what senior students have been taught about the United States, and cannot get anything but a non-committal answer. When he asks what they have been taught about Jews, the interview is abruptly terminated. It appears that even in the more stable countries some topics may not be talked about, making it hard for young people to form an educated opinion. In spite of this, though, most ordinary people in most countries are willing to comment and their comments are much the same – leave us alone to get on with our lives. Help us rebuild our countries. Help us educate our children.

It would have been interesting if he had asked similar questions in America’s Deep South, where unreasoning religious belief is just as strong and just as irrational. It seems that all the major religions have their share of powerseekers and mindless believers.

As he moves closer to Pakistan, believed to be where bin Laden is holed up (if he is still alive), the quest becomes more dangerous. In Afghanistan he is kitted up for combat, just to enter a local village which is regarded as friendly. The villagers ARE friendly and hospitable. Their biggest complaint is that since a well was drilled to supply the nearby military camp, they have been suffering water shortages from their own wells. This is not how to win friends. They don’t care about the Taliban, the U.S., or bin Laden. They just need water.

Spurlock finally abandons his pointless quest at the entrance to Pakistan’s Tribal Regions. As a foreigner he is not allowed in, as a father-to-be he just wants to get home for the birth of his baby. The film as it stands is rather trivial, but it offers some useful insights into a worldwide problem from the “other side”.

This review will appear in Volume 2 No.3 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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