Who cares what we believe, just as long as those with different opinions or alternative perspectives shut the hell up.
Comparisons between the riots in Urumqi and 9/11 are not quite right (a closer parallel can be found in the race riots which swept US cities during the 1960s), but even if we are to swallow hook, line, and spoon-fed sinker the CCP campaign to equate RK with Osama Bin Laden, it still does not justify the actions of those who are trying to get the film removed from the Melbourne Festival.
If, for example, Beijing hosted a film festival that included a puff-piece propaganda film celebrating Bin Laden (I’m not saying that’s what Jeff Daniels’ movie does with RK, but that’s the way it has been presented by the Chinese media), then I would jump at the chance to go. Why? Because who wouldn’t want to ask the filmmakers tough questions about how their narrative was constructed or how they justified certain positions? At the very least, some insight might be gleaned into the inner motivations of a man who clearly sees the world very differently than I do.
I’ve not seen Daniels’ movie, so I’m not judging it good or bad, but I do think the filmmakers and the organizers have the right to show the film without harassment or intimidation, and viewers should have the opportunity for critical, intelligent, and reasoned debate regarding the ideas expressed in the documentary.
