A few weeks ago, I watched quite a cute flick about Ukraine “Everything is Illuminated,” which is now available on DVD in the United States. I bet some Ukrainians would argue that this movie falsely represented their country, but still Hollywood paid at least some attention to Belarus’ southern neighbor. Another movie I’ve recently seen with some reference to Ukraine was “The Lord of War,” with Nicolas Cage as Ukrainian expat and the world’s leading arms dealer.
Indeed, when you look at the global scope of Hollywood productions, you are bound to find almost any state under the sun, represented in one or another way. However, there are few unfortunate grey spots, still untouched by the mastery of the American cinematography. One of them is Belarus. And I’m baffled why the heck we’d been left behind? Belarus has been coined “the last dictatorship in Europe.” This is a modern-day totalitarian state, where about a thousand protesters were arrested at the peaceful rallies. This is a land of mystery, where the time practically runs counterclockwise and the scholarly works seem to be reiterating one chorus-like message – there is lack of strategy towards it, lack of understanding, in fact, limited possibilities for field research. But where researchers lack empirical data for their studies, there is a huge unexplored world of fantasies, fiction, stereotypes about, and prejudices against this enigmatic land in the geographical center of Europe.
These days, as the election is over, think tanks, foundations, governments try to analyze the recent events and lay out possible work plans for the future. The key question is what could be done to help Belarus’ civic society deal with its toughening dictatorship. There’s been much disappointment among Belarusian oppositionists about EU’s very mild sanctions – just 31 persons are now denied entry to the EU. This is, indeed, like trying to scare off a mobster with a firecracker.
I don’t want to argue what kind of sanctions would be more efficient, but I guess more targeted investment is needed to spread free information to Belarus. I suggest a satellite TV channel is a good idea. But it should not be an encrypted one like RTVI, but should broadcast free-to-air from a popular transponder (for example, Hotbird or Sirius). This investment could come from the foreign governments and foundations, and I can’t say this kind of investment would eventually pay back.
But revolution or, say, democratization could be somewhat profitable, if some guy like Steven Spielberg decided to make a movie about it. Let us face the facts – we are interesting. We are an odd one out in Europe, and a lot of fascinating events happen in our country, just you need to pay a little bit more attention to them. This is a nation either beloved or forsaken by God. Maybe it is a test, or I don’t know what, but hey, we’ve been occupied by hegemons for centuries, millions of our nationals were killed in most major wars on the continent. We are torn between two civilizations, two geopolitical choices, and God knows where on earth we as a nation will end up in a century.
We are interesting. And by producing a film about us and our struggle, you would not only help us raise our social awareness, form our dusty national identity, resurrect our self-questioning, and maybe help our democratization, but you would also secure a investment that would pay back and even be quite profitable. Of course, you need to make it big, like you can, like you always do. Yeah, right, we need that big Hollywood star portray a Belarusian freedom fighter, and another big one playing a hateful dictator. This would be a smash hit. I can feel it. Can you?
You need a crowd scene, some Belarusian speakers? Our US Diaspora is not that small. Certainly, some guys would agree to contribute to this project. I assume somebody would come up with brilliant scripts, and some consultants, for example from Belarusan American Association, would help you picture everything more or less right and truthful.
This season has started as a rather mediocre one in terms of Hollywood film production… Lacking ideas? Well, then try looking closely at the baffling country between Russia and Poland.