Extra Credit One: Contestant No. 2

                How far will one go to pursue their dreams? For Duah Fares, this is a question she must have pondered countless times. Duah is a 17 year old Arab Israeli. She lives in the seemingly modern state of Israel and wears clothing that we, in the United States, would deem "normal." Duah is a member of the Druze community - an offshoot of Islam. Druze women are expected to behave in a traditional manner, to behave modestly, to stay within the Druze village, and to marry within Druze. Duah is well aware of her religion and very aware that women who "step out of line" are subject to violence.

                Throughout the documentary, we learn about Duah's desire to model. She chooses to compete in the Miss Israel pageant, in which the winner will go on to the Miss Universe pageant and will likely have the opportunity to model in a place like Paris or Milan. She really believes that she has the skill and desire win the competition. However, as we see throughout the documentary, it becomes known to us that she receives threats on her well being. These threats come about because it is well known that if she makes it though the entire pageant, she will have to wear a bathing suit, which upsets members of her culture. "Ultimately, it's my life," says Duah, in contemplating whether she should quit the contest or go on, possibly putting her life in danger.

                In Duah's family, we can see a very strong correlation between religion and culture and the influence it has on their lives. The Druze religion has very strict rules about women and their behavior. It confuses me, however, that even though Duah's father was arrested for robbing two stores in trying to get extra money for her in support of the Miss Israel pageant, the Druze society did not reject him. On the other hand, it was a possibility that Duah was going to wear a bathing suit, and she was receiving death threats from those within her community. If she did end up taking part in the contest, she would have had to wear the "revealing clothing," thus bringing what Druze religion leaders deemed disgrace to her family and her people. Her participation was so controversial in the community that the sheikhs, who are the Druze leaders, got involved, saying that she must withdraw. Once her mother was told this, she had to get her daughter out of the competition, even though she, personally, would have liked to see her daughter compete and be happy. The conservative religion and culture ultimately won in the end because of the profound impact it has on its members.

                When Duah had to partake in events leading up to the Miss Israel pageant, before her withdrawal, she was being guarded. Three people were arrested when it was discovered that they were plotting to murder her. We are not told, though, if any more government action was taken against the three individuals or if any of the people sending threats were tried in Israeli court.

                We can see a changing dynamic within the younger generation of Druze by taking notice to what Duah tells her mother. She says that many people from her generation would not be bothered if she was to wear a bathing suit. Her mother, however, tells her that the elders would be upset, and rhetorically asks, "is it okay to please the younger generation [of Druze] and upset the older generation?"

                It has been well known that in the traditional world religion has had a very heavy influence on life and culture of those in a particular time and place. As we can see, those societies which still hold traditional aspects, like the Druze, can have a great impact on those of this particular branch of Islam. From what we know about Duah, we can infer that her generation of Druze is more open minded to modernizing the "rules" of her religion. For now, though, we know that Duah Fares' dream was crushed due to the presence of religion and its influence on her life. 

"Contestant No. 2." Wide Angle. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/contestant-no-2/full-episode/5334/>.