WSCC to show Iranian film ‘A Moment of Innocence.’  

WSCC to show Iranian film ‘A Moment of Innocence.’  

MANISTEE — The final event in WSCC’s Humankind series, “Philosophies of the Middle East,” to be held on April 16, at 12:30 p.m., at the college is canceled. However, the movie, “A Moment of Innocence,” will be presented on April 16, at 6 p.m., at the Vogue Theater in Manistee.

The Iranian film, which was banned in Iran, is a semi-autobiographical account of Makmahlbaf’s experience as a teenager when, as a seventeen-year-old, he stabbed a policeman at a protest rally and was jailed. Two decades later, Makhmalbaf made the decision to track down the policeman whom he had injured in an attempt to make amends. “A Moment of Innocence” is a dramatization of that real event.

It will be followed by a presentation at 7:45 p.m. by Dr. Matthew Sanderson, professor of philosophy at WSCC. The original speaker, Professor of Philosophy Lucian Stone, from the University of North Dakota, is not able to be present.

Sanderson will address the topic of identity in the 21^st century in the Middle East and draw parallels with lives here in the United States of America. He will look at how “living in a global world changes how people think about who they are and how we define ourselves in relation to others with whom we have nearly everything and almost nothing in common.”

Sanderson will also discuss the emergence of “cosmopolitanism,” a way of thinking that teaches us how to balance the local, national, and international/global elements of identity.

“Knowing one’s-self is a key ingredient in attaining wisdom, and yet answering the question, ‘who am I?’ has arguably never been an easy question to answer,” Sanderson said. “It has become even more complex as we increasingly live in the global world. We can no longer understand ourselves in isolation from the rest of humanity.”

“Particularly interesting is how we understand the ‘identities’ of people from the Middle East given that ‘Middle Eastern’ is not strictly speaking, a racial, ethnic, national, geographical, or even cultural identity. I am really looking forward to a lively discussion on these and related matters as informed by this wonderful, interesting film.”

This is the final presentation of the second year in WSCC’s Humankind series. Next year’s series will focus on Cuba and will explore parallels and differences in economic, political, and cultural sectors between Cuba and the USA.

For more information contact Brooke Portmann at 231-843-5866, bportmann@westshore.edu or Thom Hawley at 231-843-5803.