Digital Story:This Land is Mine
Link“This Land is Mine” is an approximately three and a half minute YouTube animation that summarizes the history of the region currently known as Israel. This region has been highly disputed and fought for throughout history as this video shows. I take some personal interest in this video because I have visited Israel twice, and was there during last year’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (If the opportunity presents itself, I may incorporate my footage of the rocket attacks and Iron Dome defense system for an assignment.)
The video presents each of the known cultures which conquered the region, slaying one after the other, excessively. This shows the amount of war for the region, and that recent conflicts in the area are part of an unending narrative of death backward through history.
Because of the amount of cultures profiled in this video, as well as the animations, I will assess This Land is Mine based of
Jason Ohler’s criteria of Story, Research, and Presentation and Performance.
StoryThe animation is set to the music of The Exodus Song (This Land is Mine), sung by Andy Williams. Characters throughout the video are shown singing the song, and as each one is slain, the killer continues the song. The implications of the lyrics are that each one of the characters believes that they have a right to own the land, conveying the message that the region was fought over because of religion, or imperialism.
The story starts at the beginning of time, where a caveman is shown settling the land, and is quickly killed by a Canaan, who then claims the land. He is then killed, and so begins the successive killing and conquering. Finally, as the animation reaches modern times, it concludes (and climaxes) with a portrayal of Death singing the song, conveying that the land is actually ruled by death itself.
The story of the land is portrayed objectively, which is refreshing, as many online artifacts try to persuade their audiences toward a pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian agenda (or perhaps anti-Israeli or anti-Palestinian). It ends on something we can all agree upon, that the region is occupied by conflict and death.
ResearchA lot of research went into developing this video since each of the major cultures throughout known history is represented. A YouTube user, Beni Habibi, broke down each culture, each with a time signature. Here is the list:
0:17 Caveman
0:27 Canaan
0:37 Egypt
0:47 Assyria
0:54 Israel
1:06 Babylon
1:10 Greece
1:17 Macedonia
1:21 Egyptian Ptolemaic
1:26 Alexanders generals
1:31 Israeli Maccabes
1:47 Rome
1:56 Byzantine
1:58 Arab Ommayads
2:01 Christian Crusaders
2:04 Mamluk Caliphate
2:07 Ottoman Turks
2:09 Bedouin Arabs
2:12 British
2:19 Quasi-Palestine Arabs
2:27 Israeli resistance against British and Arab
2:39 Arab coalition
2:46 Israel
2:52 Palestine and Gaza
3:00 Death
Still, this list is argued, and other users have produced their own lists. Again, because this region is so highly disputed, commenters have debated over what each culture is, how they’re represented, and the messages the video presents.
Presentation and PerformanceAs noted earlier, the presentation of the story was done objectively, showing that the real “ruler” of Israel is everyone’s actual nemesis and fear, Death. I think the animation was done fantastically. The artwork looks regionally appropriate. Each culture is portrayed uniquely. The Death character is recognizable. The colors are vibrant. And even as the characters are killed, they die in a rather PG way – some had the cartoonish Xs over their eyes and tongues sticking out – which sort of eases the harshness of the video with a sick, satirical humor, making it a bit more accessible and digestible.
