Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hockeyguy109]

Sitting here watching Lawrence of Arabia at work. By the way, if you are bored and have a whole day of desk warming like me, check it out :

Part 1-10 on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap8RXBpE9wQ&feature=related

It makes me wanna leave Korea and go teach in the Middle East. Anyone ever work in Saudi Arabia? Any places you recommend in the Middle East? Can I get a job? I'm 25, BA, 1 year Korea experience, TEFL, white and very handsome. Any luck for me? Would I want to?

"Why do you like the desert, Lawrence?"
"Because it's clean....and far from Korea"

[itaewonguy]

NO PRISONERS! NO PRISONERS!

Classic movie... And peter O tool is awesome in this...

[samcheokguy]

White and very hansome...oh yeah you can be the camel and they can be the rider...Niq!

[hockeyguy109]

[samcheokguy]

Do you not...know...what bored Saudi guys do ? and wait...what part of Lawrence of Arabia did you like best?

[hockeyguy109]

[kabrams]

[NovaKart]

Continuing with samcheokguy's train of thought, did you see Peter O'Toole in Caligula?

[The Gipkik]

I was never a Lawrence of Arabia fan. Movie is one long snoozefest to me--and I'm a big David Lean fan, so go figure. I always appreciated the great panoramic vistas and the brilliant musical score, though.

[samcheokguy]

[bucheon bum]

[Anthem]

Its been a while since I studied this in university, but I remember T.E. Lawrence being highly criticized as an actual historical figure and remember the movie giving him the same treatment. I took away from the movie that the Middle East is not something you can bring change to, the desert has shaped these people and their way of thinking and to try is foolish. If I remember correctly, he also introduced road-side bombs to the Saudis...slippery slope. A family that I am very close to is from Jordan. Beautiful country, beautiful people, but the culture is *heavy.* Now I need to re-watch the movie...

[Bearach]

Deskwarming eh?

Colonel Brighton: Look, sir, we can't just do nothing.
General Allenby: Why not? It's usually best.

[Hindsight]

Lawrence of Arabia on youtube?

Now I've heard everything.

This is David Lean!

I gather there are different versions, and the newer director's cut is the way to go. Better yet, you need the commentary track. It's very interesting. Omar Sharif was a big star in Egyptian movies, but this was his first Western job. His intelligence and hard work as an actor instantly gained him wide respect.

Very few historical movies are 100 percent accurate, but I think Lawrence of Arabia is reasonably close and certainly provides an important historical perspective to the current situation in the Middle East. Alec Guiness's role as Prince Feisal is the key to understanding what came next, historically. Anthony Quinn, as always, was wonderful.

The acting, alone, makes it worth watching. But the incredible cinematography makes it perhaps the most beautiful of all David Lean movies.

As I hope you understand, T.E. Lawrence was a British mystic, which, in addition to knowing the language and culture, was why he was able to gain the Arabs' trust, through his deeper understanding of Islam. There were more than their share of mystics in Britain. The colonial stereotypes do not do justice to the great interest many Brits had in the deeper religious traditions of the countries they ruled.

People like Allenby were not fools. That's why Lawrence was given so much rope.

I might add that being in Korea has given me greater sympathy for the British colonials, and colonials of other nations, in spite of the less sympathetic portrayals.

Say, is Lawrence of Arabia even available on DVD in Korea? I've never seen it here, and no Korean I have talked to has ever watched it or even heard of it.

[Privateer]

According to the wiki article there are a number of inaccuracies, O'Toole's portrayal of Lawrence was criticized by people who knew the man, and Allenby's relatives felt he was given rough treatment as well.

Just another reminder that movies are movies and history is history.