Contestant No. 2

Wide Angle's documentary Contestant No. 2, follows an Arab-Israeli 17 year old, Duah Fares, on her journey to the Miss Israel pageant. Fares is a member of the Druze minority, a relatively small monotheistic religious community found primarily in Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan mainly characterized by an eclectic system of doctrines and loyalty among its members. Fares is participating in the Lady of All Arabs, in which she could the title, a monetary prize and be photographed for the cover of Lady Magazine, however she longs to compete in Miss Israel, which could take her to the Miss Universe competition and begin an international modeling career for her. She finds this to be a more prestigious accomplishment and wants to enter a life of Hollywood stardom. 

This documentary takes place in Israel, as is made clear by Duah’s participation in the Miss Israel competition. The Lady of all the Arabs competition is in Israel but all its participants come from a variety of different cultures as the pageant is open to women of all religions in all areas of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. It seems that many of the young women in these pageants aspire to becoming a Hollywood celebrity and even Duah changes her name to Angelina, inspired by actress Angelina Jolie. Even in a completely different country, young girls in Israel seem to have similar fascinations as those in the United States.

It seems that, at least in Fares’ family, money is relatively tight. When Duah is contemplating leaving the Lady of all The Arabs competition for the Miss Israel pageant, the main factor holding her back is a penalty fee of $5,000 that her family cannot afford. An extra $1000 is needed for her to travel to Thailand and money becomes so tight for their family that Duah’s father commits a robbery with a toy gun, as well as stealing $200 from a gas station and ends up in jail. While $6000 certainly is not pocket change, it seems that people in their community feel that they need to go to dire straits like stealing and attempting to murder a family member so as not to shame the Druze people.

Culture is a very important aspect throughout this documentary. It is displayed in the various degrees of support coming from Duah’s family. Her parents try to support her participation in these contests, although her mother is quite unhappy about the fact that in a Miss Israel pageant, the contestants must wear a revealing bathing suit on television. Her disapproval is likely because of the backlash she knows Duah will receive from the Druze community. Religious Druze leaders say that beauty queens and models are forbidden. Just days before the Miss Israel pageant we find out that Duah’s uncle and two accomplices have plans to murder her on the grounds of violation of family honor. Even the sheikh, Muahak Tarif, became involved and forbid Duah from partaking in Miss Israel. Women in Druze culture are expected to behave in a traditional manner, live in Druze villages, marry Druze men and have their children and behave modestly. When they don’t abide to these standards there are often strict consequences as Duah has come to find. Many of the Druze people would rather see her dead than have her dishonor their community.

Contestant No. 2 tells Duah Fares’ compelling story of her journey to the Miss Israel pageant as a member of the conservative Druze religion, which looks down upon beauty queens and certainly the prospect of one of their own being on television wearing as little as a bikini. It documents how far one young women will go to fulfill her dream, even if it completely goes against her culture. Honor is a very important factor in this community and when someone of Druze culture disobeys their traditional standards it becomes a large issue. 

"Video: Contestant No. 2 | Watch Wide Angle Online | PBS Video." PBS.org. N.p., 2 Aug. 2009. Web. Nov. 2012. <http://video.pbs.org/video/1203517070/>.

The Most Hated Family in America

            The Westboro Baptist Church is widely known for its extreme values and beliefs; namely those against homosexuality. The church is led by former civil rights activist and lawyer, Fred Phelps, and mostly consists of members of his own family. Journalist Louis Theroux’s documentary ‘The Most Hated Family in America’ follows the organization and sheds light on the beliefs that they have. Since the start of the war in Iraq, they have been protesting at funerals of U.S. military killed in action as a protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality. Their began their picketing protests over twenty years ago in places they thought that gay people might be meeting up, as well as gay pride parades and marches.

              According to the Westboro Baptist Church, just about every tragedy in the world is God’s punishment for homosexuality and the growing acceptance of the gay community. Even the church’s website is named “godhatesfags.com”.  Some of the “bible words and sentiments” in which the church writes on large signs and brings to protests include “GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, and FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS”. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps, is the most well-known spokesperson for the church. Phelps-Roper has been highly criticized for her beliefs and how she chooses to express them, as well as how she is raising her children to demonstrate hatred. When Theroux asks the younger children of the church what they are protesting against, they can’t even answer the question.

              The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood in Topeka, Kansas, close to the Kansas State capitol. The WBC is tax-exempt like all other incorporated churches in the United States. This is due to the fact that they avoid direct advocacy and are allowed to hold opinions on public issues. While they don’t accept any outside donations, the church ends up receiving a lot of its money from winning lawsuits and legal fees. This helps pay for their almost $200,000 annual travel cost.

              When it comes to politics, founder Fred Phelps and the church tend to make their views pretty clear. Along with their many protests at American soldier’s funerals, they also enjoy protesting marriage equality, which comes as surprise to no one. However, they insist that they disapprove of racism and physical violence of any kind. President Obama recently signed a new law to help restrict picketing at funerals of soldiers. Under this law, protests must be held at least 300 feet away from the funeral sight and are absolutely prohibited two hours before or after the service. If this law is violated by the Westboro Baptist Church or anyone else, significant penalties and civil lawsuits can be enforced. Fred Phelps feels that Obama is disregarding the first amendment with this law and apparently has plans to challenge the new law in court. The entire group has referred to Obama as the “antichrist” and that he is working with Satan. Margie Phelps, attorney for the Westboro Baptist Church and Fred Phelps’ daughter, told fox news that Obama’s presidency is “a sign of the apocalypse”.

              In the documentary, they also show protest against such people as Elizabeth Taylor, activist and retired Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu, tennis player Martina Navratilova and Princess Diana saying, “anyone who’s in the news and who supports the filthy fag agenda, we’re gonna make a sign about.”

              I thought that that Louis Theroux did relatively a good job of representing the Westboro Baptist Church and Phelps family as who they really are. It is sad to see the younger members of this church basically being brainwashed by their elders and most likely being ostracized by their peers for the horrible things they’ve been forced to believe in. Some of them even seem like they know the things they are preaching are silly, which hopefully means that someday they can turn their way of thinking around.

              ‘The Most Hated Family In America’ documentary chronicled the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family of Topeka, Kansas. They see gays as their biggest issue to tackle and are on a crusade for righteousness. Their pickets and protests have caused a big stir and they are widely criticized by just about everyone who has heard of them.

Works Cited

About Westboro Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2012. <http://www.godhatesfags.com/wbcinfo/aboutwbc.html>.

Klapper, Ethan. "Westboro Baptist Church To Obama On New Funeral Protest Law: There's 'Prime Real Estate At 301 Feet'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Aug. 2012. Web. Sept. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/westboro-baptist-church-obama_n_1752534.html>.

Louis Theroux: Most Hated Family in America | Watch Documentary Online Free - Documentary Heaven. Louis Theroux: Most Hated Family in America | Watch Documentary Online Free - Documentary Heaven. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2012. <http://documentaryheaven.com/louis-theroux-most-hated-family-in-america/>.

Lowder, J. B. "Why the Westboro Baptist Church Remains Tax-exempt." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2012. <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/03/subsidized_hate.html>.

"Southern Poverty Law Center." Westboro Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/westboro-baptist-church>.