Word: beirutization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Ziad Doueiri grew up in Lebanon. He is the director of the award-winning West Beirut--a film set during the Lebanese civil war. He has also worked on Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and From Dusk Till Dawn
There is something enigmatic about Beirut. It is the tension between old cultures and new ideas, the contrast between the chaos from an absence of government and the day-to-day freedom that results. Beirut has never had an adequate infrastructure or careful planning. Fifteen years of civil war did not help either. Yet things limp along--how, no one really knows. The country has tax laws but no effective collection system, yet all government workers get paid. Street signs and numbers are erratic. If you ask, "Where is the IBM shop?" you will hear something like this: "Find...
...Beirut is trying to outgrow these "quaint" imperfections. The country's tumultuous civil war brought invading armies, marauding militias and enough political intrigues to make Watergate seem demure. But the country has a new chance now with an Israeli withdrawal on the horizon. It is a moment to watch...
...American news, Lebanese have never stopped finding ways to live their lives. To withstand the punishments of centuries of invaders and civil wars, the Lebanese have evolved into a species that not only adapts to but takes advantage of all that is broken. The rebuilding of shredded downtown Beirut is a testament to the Lebanese will not only to survive but to do it in style...
...have lived in some quite frenetic cities, yet Beirut is the only place where chaos is the order of the day. There is no privacy in this city. For one thing, friends and family drop by unannounced. You will always bump into someone you know, whether at a bar, in a shop or on the streets. A couple of years ago, while scouting a location for a film, I got stuck at a very busy intersection. I considered making a U-turn to avoid gridlock. I asked the traffic officer...