Apart from The Crown, Netflix hasn’t really had anything which piqued my interest for a few months. Perhaps this is partly down to me going a bit streaming service crazy since getting to the States. Then within a week or so, a couple of things popped up which have been good. First was the Norwegian war film Narvik which was a good, solid WW2-based movie. Then there was the fourth season of Fauda.
I’ve always enjoyed this action-based shows which all share some DNA with 24. I liked Designated Survivor albeit got a little tired by its identity crisis, constantly trying to balance its split personality, part West Wing, part 24, although this time Kiefer Sutherland wasn’t the gun-toting terrorist-killer. I enjoyed Shooter, albeit like Designated Survivor, the plot required increasing levels of suspending disbelief. While a little more espionage-driven, the John Le Carre adaptations such as The Night Manager and Little Drummer Girl still share plenty of the genre’s tropes.
Fauda definitely traces some lineage back to 24. The main character, Doron, could easily pass for an Israeli Jack Bauer. Set in a CTU-esque team within the Israeli security forces, the show follows various efforts to uncover and stop Palestinian terrorism against Jewish targets. Given the sensitivity around the subject matter, I’m sure the show wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It has attracted criticism for its simplification and one-sidedness of the very complex politics behind the show’s plots. My question, which is perhaps quite naive, is just how realistic is Fauda?
Underground Israeli operatives, driving around Palestinian territories, randomly grabbing people off the street. I’m fairly certain this does happen. Probably with a level of frequency not unlike that portrayed on screen. I guess that is what makes it a sad watch. The fact that this is going on is sad. I wonder what the everyday person’s attitude, on either side, is towards this seemingly never-ending campaign of terror/counter-terror.
Are there parallels with the changing perceptions towards sectarianism in Northern Ireland? I appreciate the socio-economic and political realities are more stark in Israel and Palestine. Do young people on both sides of the divide share the feelings, and with the same strength, as their parents and grandparents generations? What appetite is there for peace and reconciliation? And what possibility is there for such peace and reconciliation? Certainly to pay even the slightest attention to Benyamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric and policy on Palestine, it is hard to see any hope for a more peaceful future.
Not having to witness the daily reality of life in Israel and Palestine makes it easier to perform the required suspense of disbelief. Take away the politics, if it is possible to take them away, and you’re left with a fairly good TV show. The characters are interesting, the dynamics between them are compelling and the plot gives you enough wanting to keep watching. It’s a shame the show doesn’t have to be more fictional.
Commonplace 