The Role of Cinematic Elements in Creating Sympathy for the Hero in Palestinian Narrative Films “Paradise Now Film” as a Model: Analytical Study

Hamza Mohammad Alkhatib; Ezzat Mohammad  Hijab

doi:10.35516/hum.v52i1.6106

Authors

Hamza Mohammad Alkhatib Digital media Export and filmmaker, UNICEF contractor, Amman, Jordan. https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4155-3178
Ezzat Mohammad Hijab Journalism and Communication, Middle East University, Amman, Jordan. https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4332-4994

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v52i1.6106

Keywords:

Role, cinematic elements, creating sympathy, Palestinian feature film

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to explain the role of cinematic elements in creating sympathy among the audience with the hero in Palestinian feature films by studying the film “Paradise Now” as a model.

Methods: Employing an analytical approach, the research utilized content analysis—a form of scientific research—to describe the explicit content of the media material being analyzed.

Results: Cinematic elements significantly contributed to crafting a realistic cinematic illusion, incorporating plot, image, sound, and landscape design to complete the realistic picture and create a sense of sympathy for the audience with the martyr hero. The study identified eight issues in "Paradise Now," comprising six social and two political issues related to Palestinian rights and resistance to occupation. The film employed conflict, human concerns, and values frameworks to present these issues. The role of cinematic elements in generating sympathy for the hero was underscored, emphasizing cinematic language as a tool to convey the message..

Conclusion: The studies concluded that cinematic elements play a major role in creating and simulating the cinematic illusion of reality. The study called on research centers and researchers interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict to conduct more media studies that present the details of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in an impartial manner, and realistically document the violations and oppression practiced by Israel in the Palestinian territories against the Palestinians.

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