The Taliban doesn’t show up in most cartooning. For instance, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen any mention of the Taliban in Garfield or The Family Circus. Just between you and me, I think the Taliban are dicks. Shh. Don’t tell anybody. There’s just something about that combination of angry, violent, intolerant, religiously dogmatic, and heavily armed that’s a real turn-off. Lucky for me, I’m pretty sure this film was of the same opinion. So while it wasn’t exactly Shrek or Snow White, The Breadwinner has its sympathies in the right place and I’m pretty sure it will be banned in several countries, which is often a good sign for non-pornography.
Afghanistan is, unfortunately, one of those parts of the world where it can be hard to tell what year it is. The best clues for the current epoch are 1) what weapons are being carried around? And 2) what western power is conflicting with locals today? The evidence we have at hand is: hand-held automatic rifles, war on the horizon, and loved ones lost to a previous conflict. Did you guess, “any time within the past 100 years?” YES! I did, too. The last two are red herrings. Afghanistan attracts war like candy attracts children. The real clue is peppered talk of Russian conflict. I still had to look up the year, which turned out to be 2001. I guess we also could have known by when parts of Afghanistan succumbed to Taliban rule.
Eleven-year-old Parvana (voice of Saara Chaudry) and her one-legged father own five things and sell them by the roadside. As nobody ever buys anything from them, theirs seems more an all-encompassing hobby than a profession. Who knows how old dad really is, but it seems like’s 50 going on 75. As a result, Parvana compensates for her old man’s frailty, which attracts the Taliban. When in the Middle-East, never attract the Taliban. Heck, I knew that one and I’ve never been there. The Taliban’s stance on women is as follows:
I do not like them in the square
I do not wish they show the hair
I do not like them to make noise
I do not wish they talk to boys
I do not want them to be read
I want them to stay home instead
I only want to see a man
I hate females; I’m Tal-I-ban
When you attract the attention of the Taliban, it’s just a matter of time before somebody is murdered, beaten, jailed, or all three in that order. Unfortunately, when dad gets his involuntary vacation, that leaves, mom, elder sister, Parvana, and a toddler. In other words, the only one among this group allowed to go outdoors can only do so on all fours. Naturally, Parvana takes up cross-dressing. Sure, a boy is welcome in the marketplace. Best part of this gambit is Parvana’s discovery that she’s not alone; it reminded me of the part in Life of Brian where the women buy fake beards to go to the stoning. Thus, boy-Parvana takes up being The Breadwinner to provide for her family all the while seeking to spring pop from the joint.
The main tale about Parvana’s quest to provide is peppered with her own parallel story-in-a-story about a mythical quest. While the Parvana action is free hand artistry, the inner story is told in cardboard cutouts, not unlike “South Park.” Personally, I like the story-in-story better, even
though it was told in eight different segments by three different narrators to four different audiences. Nobody but us heard the full tale, and this is a good thing as the ending didn’t make any sense. The inner story parallels the main plot itself — I can’t say I loved The Breadwinner so much as I enjoyed the idea of The Breadwinner. We rarely get the perspective of an eleven-year-old Afghani girl, and perhaps we ought to.
You know, I really dislike going here, but, my fellow Americans, until we realize in unison that bigotry is something to be ashamed of, not something to rally towards, you’re going to keep getting my observations in rant form. Today’s is: what, truly, tell me, is the difference between the bible belt and the Taliban? Yes, I am serious.
- Heavily armed
- Intolerant
- Obsessively patriarchal
- Insecure
- Extremely religious
- Ridiculously narrow, and -to be frank- often wrong interpretation of the dominant religion
- Strong desire to kill or jail any perceived political opponent
Yeah, I’m the intolerant one cuz I think the Klan sucks. Remember that time we all chanted “LOCK HIM UP!” a full year after John McCain lost the election? I’ve indulged in a bit of straw man with the above; the Venn diagram intersection of armed bible belters and zealot bible belters is not necessarily are large one, but am I really wrong here? I don’t think so. When you vote for Trump and cite religion as the reason, you are dangerously misinformed. As for the movie … The Breadwinner was neither a great film, nor an important one, well that is unless you see the parallels in the Taliban-run city of Kabul in parts of the United States today, which I do.
Hollywood will have a second take
Whenever gender roles are at stake
And yet, there is fail
With this Afghani tale
Amanda Bynes is too old for the remake
Rated PG-13, 94 Minutes
Director: Nora Twomey
Writer: Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis
Genre: Cartoons for when you need a depressed child
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: The oppressed girls of the world
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The Taliban
