I love movie days!

Today we watched a documentary called Mechina. This film was made by two of our very own ICS graduates: Matal Guttman and Madeleine Sackler. The film documented a group of Israeli students who had the opportunity to take a gap year after school before entering into IDF. I’m not going to lie, this movie was pretty emotional. It tackled some tough issues and really opened my eyes to what kids my age are like in Israel. When I think about the decisions I make on a daily basis, picking classes or deciding how and when to go to the library to do work, it makes me really appreciate what these kids are going through. At age 18, both females and are required to serve for two to three years. This is a huge responsibility and risk. At 18, I was nervous to leave home for college, and these kids have to leave their families to learn to hold and shoot a gun and they are trained to kill. I have never held a real gun before (and don’t intend to) and I can’t imagine shooting one, let alone shooting one with the intention of killing.

I was extremely impressed by the group of students of the Mechina. Each displayed an exceptional maturity. I really enjoyed the conversational tone of the documentary that gave us real insight into how these kids were feeling. I felt a personal connection to Amitai and I must admit that I did get a teary eyed when the Mechina year was over and Amitai boarded the bus with his family surrounding him to see him on his way.
I think the point of this film was to show different ways of discussing global issues. Matal made the movie because she was “frustrated with the way Israel was portrayed on campus, as a place of conflict and violence and wanted to show the human story, beyond the headlines.” The film helped to expose this global issue in a more personal way.

Maybe this is what ICS is all about: creating a personal connection with global issues. I can’t solve all the problems of the world, I cant even solve some of the problems of the world, but maybe if I could just pick one that I feel a personal connection with, I could have a real tangible impact. Hey, maybe I’m getting somewhere with this now?

Check out the facebook page for the movie. Talk about globalization and getting connected....