Palestinians from other cities think of it as gloomy and are often surprised to hear a foreigner went there. ”Why would anyone do that?”. Its residents (Khalilis) are of few words and even the sweetest ones are wrapped up in a rough peasant accent.

It opened up every morning with the sound of azan and shopping was something you did by casually negotiating over a cup of Turkish coffee or tea. This, however, changed once Western ideas came to the East. The bazaar look has changed forever.

The spectacular illusion hides the community divided between ‘us’ and ‘them’. No-go zones of the poor were suppressed by the no-go zones of the rich. All in the name of ”modern age”. And Roma, where are they today?

Today’s smoldering anti-Asian sentiment is bred on distrust and disgust with so-called ”wet markets” and unhygienic conditions that life in China and the Far East is usually associated with but covered up by the mystic authoritarian communist government. Even though scientists are trying to find the exact cause of the problem, these attempts are covered with blankets of media’s created repulsion with Chinese ”culture”, supported by already mentioned videos and rumors.

As long as activism is a field to play for celebrities like Bono Vox, who are not fighting against capitalism, but its ”side effects”, and as long as they fit within the frames of anxious provincial taste (nice gestures, stylish clothes, civilized manners), the media will gladly accept and Emma Watson, Beyonce, Cynthia Nixon, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Eva Longoria, Alicia Keys… But, the same rules are not applied to Pamela, whose political views are immediately discredited by downplaying her persona as ”a bimbo”.

In the current militaristic framework of „us vs. them“ and War On Terror that dominates the political discourse and media, humor is the main weapon that boosts the discourse in which Islam can’t tolerate our humor and satire, and therefore, can’t tolerate our freedom. On the other side, more and more Muslim (but also non-Muslim) comedians and public people use that same humor as a diverse strategy to expose stereotypes and make them visible and laughable.

Caramel was directed by Nadine Labaki from Lebanon. She dedicated the movie to women and their everyday life in Beirut. The plot is presented through the lives and dreams of employees and customers of a local beauty salon. A movie about women, female friendship and warmth of human relationships below the chaos and clashes.