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/>.
