I can still recall, time after time, working what seemed like endless hours in a local video-store while in college and asking people if they had seen American Beauty.
Believe it or not, one of the most frequent answers I got was, "I've been told not to watch that."
Now, these statements weren't coming from some 15-year-old who was referencing a warning from his/her parents; this was from adults in their early 40s.
Who would tell them to not watch a movie? I'll bet you can guess without me even hinting.
That being said, Ball's latest film - who's title was originally Nothing Is Private and now it's Towelhead - is going to tackle some material that some people might not be ready to accept happens in American society.
Towelhead follows the dark, bold and shockingly funny life of Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl, as she navigates the confusing and frightening path of adolescence and her own sexual awakening.
When Jasira's mother sends her to Houston to live with her strict Lebanese father, she quickly learns that her new neighbors find her and her father a curiosity. Worse, her budding womanhood makes her traditional and hot-tempered father uncomfortable. Lonely in this new environment, Jasira seeks friendship and acceptance from her neighbors Mr. Vuoso, an Army reservist, and Melina, a meddling but caring expectant mother.
Thrown into an unfamiliar suburban world, Jasira must confront racism and hypocrisy at home and at school - and at the same time struggle to make sense of her raging hormones and newfound sexuality. Her boyfriend, Thomas, though a few years older, provides some comfort - but even that relationship causes problems when her father discovers that Thomas is black. Surrounded by adults who are just as lost as she is, Jasira yearns for understanding, even amidst often brutal acts.
While the subject-matter of the film mirrors what we have seen from Alan Ball in the past, the title itself carries a bit of uneasy weight itself.
Taking that fact into consideration, Ball is going to film a discussion with the Council On American Islamic Relations:
Towelhead director Alan Ball has agreed to videotape a discussion with members of the Council of American Islamic Relations, who have opposed the title of his new film, and release it as a DVD extra.
Council officials urged Ball and executives at Warner Bros. to rename the film because they felt 'Towelhead' was derogatory and "offensive and exploitative".
But the moviemaker has stood firm, insisting the title - which echoes the crass nickname his heroine is given - will remain, even though he accepts it's "offensive hate language".
Ball hopes to explain his decision to Islamic leaders at an upcoming roundtable meeting, which he has agreed to film for the movie's DVD release.
He says, "We have gone out of our way to allow the Council of American Islamic Relations to post their response on our website and my roundtable discussion with them will be videotaped... I think, ultimately, what's really important is the dialogue."
Don't look for this to play in anywhere other than your larger theatre markets. The DVD is a must-have for anyone looking to gain a glimps into the darker portions of life for some in America.
Here's some video clips:
More here at IMDB.
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