but what does it have to do with Syria?

Saw Syriana tonight. It was okay. About 80% seemed on target based on my limited knowledge of the topics & regions covered. However, in order to underline the point about how "America is always on the wrong side," there was a "right side" (in the person of an idealistic would-be crown prince) that was a little too shiny for my taste.

Sure, idealists of this particular liberal-nationalist stripe exist—this one was none-too-covertly modeled on Mossadeq (even compared to him by one of the characters in case you didn't get the references). They genuinely believe in their causes, because their Oxford (or wherever) education has taught them well—but their causes have a down side too. The neoliberal model doesn't save them or their people.

The other thing I didn't like about it was how it failed to really explore why America is on the wrong side... it took the "bad people in powerful positions" route, which suggests that if only we had good people in power, then all would be well. A good socialist movie on the same themes would show how ordinary Americans are woven into this and become complicit because of the economic structure of the country...

Well anyway, I do recommend the movie if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. It's a refreshing change of pace, which keeps you pondering the plot for a while after leaving the theater—although it's not, as Loopy noted, what you want to go see if you're looking for some mindless entertainment.

But my question is, why is it called "Syriana"? None of it took place in Syria—I believe Damascus was mentioned once. The unidentified emirate couldn't have been Syria as Syria doesn't have a royal family anymore. Most of it that took place in an identifiable "Middle Eastern" location took place in Beirut.

Maybe they thought calling it "Lebanesana" would bring in too many young studs looking for HLA.*

Syria	Anna

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*HLA = "hot lesbian action" - I heard that on the radio - apparently big with the youth (the acronym, that is—HLA itself is, as far as I know, big across all age demographics).