How is terrorism represented by different national cinemas?

[Yankolee18]

Specifically focusing on the films: World Trade Center, United 93, The Baader Meinhof Complex and Four Lions.
Need primary research for my film coursework, so go nuts :)

[Steve Crook]

Have you thought of doing any primary research then?

Steve

[Wolfgang]

I think these films are mis-representative: Four Lions is comedy, and not based on real events, so terrorism is obviously represented very differently to as it is in World Trade Centre.

[Moor Larkin]

No Wind That Shakes the Barley then?

[Heinrich]

No Wind That Shakes the Barley then?

Indeed, state terrorism is well dramatized by the Auxiliary Constables of the Royal Irish Constabulary in this movie.

[GRAEME]

Specifically focusing on the films: World Trade Center, United 93, The Baader Meinhof Complex and Four Lions.
Need primary research for my film coursework, so go nuts :)

The Baader Meinhof Complex and Four Lions, although wildly different in tone, have a good number of striking similarities. Check out the sequences in each where the naive western wannabes head off to a terrorist "holiday camp" to learn at the feet of the pros. In both cases the outcome is farcical; and they are lucky to get home alive. In contrast to the PLO or Al Qa'ida, respectively, these guys are just "playing" at it - they go back and invent a war in which they are significant and the main players, but in reality they are self-deluding, irrelevant and incompetent. Both depictions are very unsettling because the terrorists themselves appear to be very normal people on some levels and we can empathise with them - and yet they want to do violent and "crazy" things.

[agutterfan]

Specifically focusing on the films: World Trade Center, United 93, The Baader Meinhof Complex and Four Lions.
Need primary research for my film coursework, so go nuts :)

A big problem you're going to have is that there historically have been two types of "terrorists".

The first, and much better represented, were the anti-colonialist wars by freedom fighters/terrorists who eventually succeeded in liberation. The most famous example is the Algerian coproduction with Italy, La Battaglia di Algeri (1966 dir: Gillo Pontecorvo). This is a brilliant film, and I highly recommend it. It shows the torture techniques used by the French paratroops (mostly waterboarding), but is non-judgemental. To show how other countries feel about films dealing with their terrorists, Godard's Le Petit Soldat (1960) shows Algerian agents waterboarding a far right French agent. Though it's set in Switzerland and the Algerian conflict is only mentioned, the French government still banned it for 3 years, whilst Pontecorvo's film was released without problems. Also see The Day of the Jackal (1973 dir: Fred Zinnemann) for how time and a different country can turn one nation's terrorism into another's entertainment! The fact that most of these wars were against Britain and the US means that very few, if any, of those nations films that sympathetically deal with their liberation struggles get distributed in the west, where they were regarded as "terrorists". An interesting aspect touched on by others in this thread would be the way that the IRA/Sinn Fein are represented, especially by British films (e.g. Odd Man Out 1947 dir: Carol Reed) which in the past treated them as criminals, and US films, which are often sympathetic (many Irish immigrants escaped hunger and persecution from Britain by going to the US).

The second type, represented by the films you've chosen, is terrorists not fighting for national liberation but for an ideology. Traditionally the ideology was Marxist, either Leninist or Maoist. Go the IMDb site, select search for Plots and type "Baader Meinhof" or "Red Brigade". A list of films appears. The best fictional look, both sympathetic and critical, is Claude Chabrol's excellent The Nada Gang (1974 France) which deals with Anarcho-Syndicalist and Marxist French terrorists. It's available in the excellent Chabrol Collection Vol.1. The most modern "terrorist" threat to UK/US is of course Islamic Fundamentalism, as represented by Al-Qaeda, covered in 4 of your films (again, do a plot search at IMDb). It is extremely unlikely you'll see any foreign films dealing with this touchy subject distributed in the UK/US, especially if sympathetic (if not actually supportive) or understanding. In the US & UK 'democracies' such an approach is probably illegal (and in US treason under the Patriot Act) - so much for freedom of speech! Iranian films are released in the West, but only those that tend to be critical of the regime there. If a film was made that called suicide bombers heroes it is extremely unlikely to find distribution in the West. For Western films critical of the official line, see My Son the Fanatic (1997 UK-France) or Extraordinary Rendition (UK).

For primary sources try contacting the cultural sections of embassies of Islamic nations and asking for film suggestions. Also, Wikipedia is good. Try the search "Palestinian films", it will take you to an alphabetical list. Actually getting to see the films is another matter! Good luck.