The Stoning of Soraya M.

This is a fascinating notion: art as a kind of moral dry run. "If we cower in the movie, we'll probably cower in life." I'm not sure it's quite the same thing as catharsis.

There are people who will watch this movie in its entirety, not because they have courage, but because they are able to compartmentalize things. Such people call themselves realists and know there is very, very little they can do to change the forces and cultures that allow travesties like this to occur. So they will watch, be moved, and walk away mourning that such things happen, hoping that someday, things will change, while simultaneously believing it is someone else's job to change things.

There are others, less able to compartmentalize, who will feel every moment of the characters' pain and might be unable to finish watching the movie. If they walk out or abstain from watching because they are so affected, it does not mean they lack courage. Many such people are the very ones who contribute to movements that are helping women's rights in foreign countries, they are the ones who join anti-hate movements in their own country, or advocate through their political processes to demand greater transparency in foreign relations, or dedicate their prayers to the poor and suffering around the world.

Who, then, has truly imbibed the spirit and purpose of the movie? He who watched it, or he who feels it?

Saw the screening for the film in Los Angeles. It was absolutely beautiful and gives a whole new perspective on our own freedoms and struggles, and fueled my personal awe of the Islamic women who live with such threats; especially in light of the struggles in Iran following the elections.

We cannot turn away when such injustices against innocent women occur. True, Iranian women suffer as do their Saudi sisters. The difference is that now Iranian women have been able to let their voice scream to the world. The deafening silence from Saudi Arabia's women is because many are abused, tormented, and denied basic human rights every day.

I wait for the day when a gutsy journalist or a gutsy politician or even human rights group will give these women their voice. So far, the ignorance against Saudi women's plight is total silence or indifference, or ignorance.