The Reluctant Fundamentalist--Melissa Hurley

The film, more so than the book, gave me this huge realization of just how complicated affairs between the US and the Middle East really are. Of course I understood that nothing in regards to our involvement in the Middle East was black and white, but I guess I never thought deeply enough to bring it to a personal level. Immediately in the beginning of the film, I was drawn to Changez’s character. He is portrayed as being intelligent, attractive, exotic and of course he fits comfortably into the American culture. This was obviously intentional by both the author of the novel as well as the filmmaker. Clean-shaven and ready to take on the world, it seemed like the obvious choice to leave behind his Pakistani culture for this new western life. At first, as a viewer of the film, I wanted him to. With no previous connections to his culture, staying in America seemed like an obvious choice to me. However, as the film progressed and I caught more glimpses of Changez’s homeland, I could see the reasons why he loved it there. Especially after the 9/11 attacks, Americans united and felt a strong sense of patriotism. However, as was graphically demonstrated in the film, anyone who looked foreign was immediately cast under suspicion. There’s that metaphor that America, and especially New York City, is a melting pot. As I watched the acts of xenophobia, all I could picture was the melting pot in reverse, everyone drawing back into their own cultural comfort zone, leaving zero tolerance for others. Changez felt this change, so naturally his instinct would be to draw back to his familiar territory of his Pakistani culture. This was symbolically demonstrated by the growth of his beard and dressing in less formal attire (ie: sweatshirt and jeans in more scenes). By the very end of the film, as Bobby is trying to get him to reveal the information, you can see the cultural struggle that Changez is battling. It is hard for him to distinguish where his loyalties lie. I was questioning, what is his identity? American or Pakistani, or a mix of both? Is it possible to have different cultural viewpoints for different issues, or must one choose one side or the other? For me, at the end of the film, I could see him struggling with these questions, and it made me realize just how complicated the entire 9/11 tragedy and fallout is. Comparing the novel to the book, I know I heard some of my classmates saying how much better the book was than the film, but my personal opinion is that I enjoyed the film much more. Maybe it is because I am a visual learner, and I definitely connect with characters I can see on the screen more than those that speak to me through words on a page.