While the rest of the world or at least the rest of the hallway prepared for the Harry Potter premiere, sporting Gryffindor colors and fake glasses, I opted for a quite different theatrical experience.

Instead of transporting me to the twisting hallways of Hogwarts, the International Student Association screening of the 2009 film Ajami took me to the dangerous streets of the Israeli city Jaffa. Although equally unfamiliar to me of that of the wand-wielding wizards of Harry Potter, the setting and characters of Ajami presented a much more realistic representation of the issues facing the world.

Luckily, the real world has no Lord Voldemort to fear, but people in Middle East as well as others around the globe encounter tensions between ethnic and religious groups, like those highlighted in Ajami. In my sometimes bubble-like existence as a college sophomore, I often forget about these issues. Home football games or Econ midterms, or other more trivial matters, seem to easily eclipse them. Although aware of the divides between Palestinians and Israelis and Arabs, I never gave much thought of the prejudices between Christian and Muslims in the Middle

East until the film’s heartbreaking portrayal of such prejudices. Christian Abu Elias fired and then betrayed Muslim Arab Omar after he discovered Omar’s love affair with his daughter. Like this scene, the rest of the film and the bleak reality it presented provoked further thought. Gunshots rang and sobs echoed throughout the film that wove five tragic stories together. The different story lines and their dramatic turns kept me engaged, giving me new perspectives on world issues to ponder. Others should take advantage of such educational opportunities.