1. Four Lions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/may/09/four-lions-human-
face-terrorism
Terrorism
- Four Lions challenges the way audiences look at terrorist, they are no longer seen as
being evil, intelligent and cunning, they are being shown as almost foolish.
- The main thing that is funny about the terrorism in the film is, that as individuals and as a
group they make really bad terrorists because they are all idiots.
- Like it says in the article above they are shown as terrorist wannabe’s i think this an
important message because
- ‘Neither excessively moralizing, nor entirely amoral, “Four Lions” seeks to show its
audience that terrorists are people too’ - This is a direct quote from an article i think it is
really interesting what it is saying because i think it is a very important message, that
terrorists are people too.
- The idea that terrorists are people too is interesting because stereotypically they are seen
as bad and dangerous, they are also hated, but Four Lions shows how terrorist have
families and friendships too and how they aren’t robots they just have different beliefs.
- The wannabe terrorist theme is interesting because its creating a cemetery between
something like a wannabe gangster and a wannabe terrorist.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/11/9/four-lions-film-terrorists/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23TGmzAw3A
- the youtube clip above is really summing up the whole film because even though they
are all on their way to commit an act of terrorism by bombing the london marathon- this
is typical of the message that is being sent about terrorism, they want us to laugh at it
and not to take it too seriously.
- Personally i find the message that it is sending about terrorism very interesting
because it gave me a new perspective on terrorists and that even perhaps some of
them don’t want to do what they are doing, it made me think about the reason why
people do what they do and i realized that although i don't agree or condone or believe
i sort of see why they might.

2. Religion
• For Muslims in the UK there is an antagonism between
"fundamentalist" and "moderate" Muslims, between
conservatism and liberalism, and between sects and
sub-sects. These nuances are regularly ignored in western media, culture and
entertainment replaced instead by a monolithic "Islam" and no real understanding
of the complex philosophical debates and divisions between Muslims.
• Many of the jokes in Four Lions are actually insider ones that may only make sense
to Muslims.
• Chris Morris takes the liberal motifs that westerners will be most comfortable with
(such as music and dancing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23TGmzAw3A)
and gives them to the terrorists, while the scary fundamentalists become the
innocent, law-abiding citizens.
• Neither excessively moralizing, nor entirely amoral, “Four Lions” seeks to show its
audience that terrorists are people too—and not smart ones. For example, the scene
in which Hassan hangs out and dances with Alice despite the volatile explosives
lying around the apartment.
• Four Lions also pokes fun at extremism and the absurdities of how some people
approach the religion (which has also been a part of Muslim culture).
• Much of the comedy focuses on aspects of Islam that most people in the UK don’t
understand – e.g. the promise of an
afterlife for the suicide bombers.
Key Themes:
• Family
• Loyalty
• Naivety
The theme of family is shown through the character of Omar who talks to both his son and wife
openly about the terrorism plan. This gives the audience the message that no matter what, even if
it means losing someone you love, you should support them in everything that they do and trust
that they are doing what they think is right.
It is also shown through the brotherhood of the group, excluding the character of Barry
who seems to be more of an outsider. This all links to the value of loyalty as they are all loyal to
each other and are planning on dying together for their cause. Loyalty is also shown in how
Omar’s wife stays with him and supports his plans even though she knows he is going to die, she
could quite easily object or leave to protect her son from the loss but both her and Omar’s son
are actually very supportive and accepting of Omar’s plans.