Israeli Star Trek fansite Starbase 972 interviewed Sid about his role in Miral, currently showing at various festivals, as well as his days as Dr. Julian Bashir and a bit about some upcoming projects. Here’s an excerpt:
Starbase972: What reviews did the movie receive so far?
Alexander: Mostly terrible reviews – one or two have been quite dramatic or hysterical. A lot focus has been on the casting of an Indian woman to play a Palestinian. I find it hard to understand the obsession some critics have with this kind of racial authenticity. In Star Trek we had to cast hundreds of aliens, we were never criticized for casting ordinary humans in these roles.Starbase972: Is the movie balanced, in your opinion?
Alexander: Balance is often boring and movies have to take a position, usually siding with their protagonists. In this case the movie was about a young girl who became politicized after witnessing so many of her fellow youth losing their homes. She was educated in what was essentially an orphanage. There is no balance, just the truth as she saw it.
Comments
5 responses to “Israeli Star Trek Site Interviews Sid”
Great interview! Looking forward to the mentioned new projects. 🙂
And that made me laugh (and it’s so true):
“I find it hard to understand the obsession some critics have with this kind of racial authenticity. In Star Trek we had to cast hundreds of aliens, we were never criticized for casting ordinary humans in these roles.”
I also couldn’t agree more with the comment on how balanced “Miral” is.
As usual, 😉 I have to disagree somewhat with Sid. Some of my favorite characters (and the more memorable ones) from Trek, besides Bashir of course, were ones that had a sense of their culture (i.e. Martok, Kira). I’m not saying that culture/religious based wars are right (God no!) Followers of my blog know I recently wrote a blog inspired by Miral’s politics. I think sense of one’s culture is important, as long as one doesn’t get a sense of xenophobia or ethnocentricity.
Off my soapbox now, interview was great (on a side note, loved that it was in
Hebrew!!!). I think it’s great that you were able to go to so many historical places,even if it was for work. I’m so jealous!
I don’t think this is about having a sense of ones culture or not. It’s more about that you are not just only defined by your culture or religion (as it is (often) the case nowadays). As in, it’s not important to other people what you believe in or where you are from but who you are as a person, what you do etc. Bashir certainly had a cultural background but no one talked about it because it wasn’t important for the definition of him as a person.
Yes, that certainly makes sense. I recently had an experience where I was judged in that way. A old friend who happens to be pagan contacted me and she asked if I was still writing. When I replied, I gave her my blog addresses. I haven’t heard from her since. Obviously if I had an issue with her religion I wouldn’t have replied. But she, judging me on much of Christianity, though that I as a Christian would disapprove of her beliefs and try to convert her to tell her she’s going to hell or something crazy like that.
For the most part, I think using one’s culture/religion as PART of your identity, definition of yourself is fine, as long as it doesn’t completely encompass it and is detrimental to yourself or others.
Sorry for the rant, I just believe we have a connection to the past and thus our culture/ancestors/ethnicity is a part of us whether we like it or not.
Sorry about the bad review Sid .. but no matter what anyone says, your job is top-notch, and you are always so handsome & beautiful! Wish I could clone you so I can be a friend of your clone (since I know the real you will only be available in my dream) …. props!!