MOVIES and music can certainly entertain us but they have another noble purpose – they bridge the world that separates the academic from the students. However, not all movies, music and novels educate. Some of them are stepping stones by criminals to emulate. Writers who pen song lyric, movie screenplays and novels are great thinkers but criminals ultimately use them. So writers must have a great social responsibility – that their product’s purpose is to solely educate for the good of society and not the reverse.

Let’s now review at some of the good movies released this week and how they have educated us in some way. It is notable to state that not all movies at the top of the box office fall into this category. Consider Fool’s Gold, The Eye and The Hottie and the Nottie. What redeeming factor can American audiences have when watching these movies? The answer is zero. There’s one movie released this week in the United States which particularly interests me. It’s The Band’s Visit. The Band’s Visit is all about the official police band of Egypt rendering a concert in Israel. They are supposed to play in Tel Aviv but due to a misfortune, they end up in a nowhere town where only the Jewish Israelis are found. In short, they look like aliens from outer space, mingling in with people from another culture, because they are Muslims. This movie tries to explore the successful formula that has already worked in past movies – Babel, Lost in Translation and Crash. What’s surprising here though is this movie isn’t a Hollywood production. It is an Israeli production. The movie is trying to educate us to be culture-tolerant.

Since I have already mentioned Babel, Lost in Translation and Crash, I may as well tell you why I like these three films too. Although Babel is a Hollywood production, its director is Mexican. And its cast are Moroccan and Japanese and movie scenes are really shot in Morocco and Japan. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu introduces us to the reclusive Moroccan and Japanese cultures. In the movie, there is a Japanese hunter who goes to Morocco and has befriended a Moroccan hunter. To seal their friendship, the Japanese hunter gives his rifle to his Moroccan counterpart. The rifle is being used to accidentally shoot an American lady by the Moroccan hunter’s son. This sparks a Moroccan-American diplomatic row. And then there are subplots of the movie – the toddlers of the shot American wife are being kidnapped by their Mexican nanny who sneaked them illicitly across the border to Mexico. The second subplot involves the daughter of the Japanese hunter who is struggling in her own coming-of-age stage vis-à-vis the strict Japanese culture. Morocco, Tokyo and Mexico – we can learn lots of things with what is really happening in these countries just by watching the total of 90 minutes in the movie. For Lost in Translation and Crash, rent it at your nearest Blockbuster outlet. You will surely have a wonderful and entertaining weekend ahead.