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Spurlock, famous for the hit documentary Super Size Me, is back. This time he is looking for America’s most wanted man. But how seriously is he looking for Bin Laden, and what message is this film giving seven years after 9/11?
Morgan Spurlock is an affable, if sometimes narcissistic, everyman. He is able to talk comfortably with most people and his style is very much of a man bringing simple messages in a light-hearted, entertaining way. When his girlfriend is expecting their first child, therefore, he decides that in order to make the world a safer place he must travel through Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan to seek the world’s most dangerous man.
The documentary is obviously meant to be taken with an entire shaker of salt; if proof of its facetiousness is needed wait until you see Bin Laden dancing like MC Hammer.
The documentary is obviously meant to be taken with an entire shaker of salt; if proof of its facetiousness is needed wait until you see Bin Laden dancing like MC Hammer. The point is not to find Bin Laden, but to emphasise why people like Bin Laden exist and what needs to change. This film has been subject to much criticism: Spurlock acts the uniformed American whose naivety prevents the film from becoming credible. Yes, Spurlock may not be a journalist, but is he trying to be? The message may be anachronistic, but has it sunk in yet?
His pre-travel survival training is superfluous; the computer game animation gag gets a bit tired; and his session of shooting American weapons in Afghanistan is a bad image for Spurlock. Declaring “That was awesome!” after firing a rocket launcher disappointingly highlighted the gung-ho nature of American foreign policy, which he later condemns.. The greatest fault I saw, however, was the fact that he continued the search for Bin Laden too long. The strength of this film is his interviews with normal people in the countries he visits. His passion is clearly with improving the world for everyone, not for claiming the $25m reward. The very fact that Bin Laden is an enigma (who may never be found) emphasises how Spurlock was not looking for him, but for the problems surrounding fundamentalist people like him.
Terrorists come not from the barbaric countries they live in. This is emphasised when he visits Saudi Arabia (America’s ally) and is shocked by the oppression and corruption there. School children seem to be programmed with correct responses to his questions. Terrorism comes from the desperation of people with no economic opportunities of chances to politically participate and violence and extremism is the only voice they can have. US-propped authoritarian regimes help create this poverty and hopelessness that fundamentalism feeds on.
Where Super Size Me was able to tell its audience something we already know (fast food is bad for you), Where in the World… tells us something we know but seem to bypass: that not every Middle Eastern person is a terrorist and improvements need to be made to socio-economic structures if the world is ever going to change. A simple message and one Spurlock tries to make more accessible to the rest of us. He may have made his conclusions before he even started his travels, but he is not trying to discover new issues, but understand the old ones. It inspires hope and humility and I for one can not help respect his efforts.
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? directed by Morgan Spurlock, is playing at City Screen.
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