Free Turning Point Jerusalem by Peter Jennings Essay Sample

The three famous Abrahamic religions have a real rich history yet not much of these could have been adequately explored in most of the works in the film industry. The movie whose contents shall be explored below is a good example of an avenue in which the rich history of the fraternity of religion has been exposed. The main task here shall therefore involve a detailed examination of how true the above assertion is. In other words, how the author depicts the history of the Abrahamic religions.

Peter Jennings to begin with is a former news anchor who has gone down in history as one of the most popular anchors of his time. In the movie; Turning point Jerusalem (1958) he digs deep to bring out the history behind one of the most famous cities, Jerusalem. In the movie, Peter tries to discover and explore the religious wonders that revolve around Jerusalem. Jerusalem has always been viewed as one of the most coveted cities in the world. In the movie, the narrator majorly deals with spiritual stories like that of Abraham (Stephen 243).These stories sharply differ with the beliefs of other groups in the movie namely the Muslims and the Jews.  

The contents of the video have a healthy element of history within them. The truth behind this can be established using the outcomes of the interviews that the narrator has with various people. The anchor talks to a number of people in the movie, each of these people are notably from different religions. To begin with, Jennings interviews a Muslim family. From this interview, the viewers get to discover that the Muslims have a history about Jerusalem which dates back to eight centuries.  From this, the anchor gets to discover the views of the Muslim family concerning the history and importance of Jerusalem to the. As the narrator recounts his ordeal with this family, the viewer gets a real picture of how important the city is to the Muslims.

Going by the Muslim family’s account, we get the view of this religion concerning the history of the city. It began as their focal prayer point. This information from the narrator obtained in the interview also gives additional information. They believe that Muhammad visited the city ten years later after it was consecrated as a focal area for prayers.

Secondly, Jennings speaks to a Jewish couple. From this escapade, we get to realize that the couple actually excavated an ancient Jewish house under their modern one. This scene also confirms the historical belief that the Jews have concerning the city. The house discovered by the Jewish couple is an ancient one. This, according to the Jews, is a clear indication of the ancient presences of the Jews in the city. This experience in actual sense is of much importance to the couple because it depicts to them the vital position of this city in line with the history of their origin.

Lastly, Peter Jennings gets to interview a Catholic Priest. The Priest majorly represents the Christian family. Through the interview, Jennings seeks to discover the depth behind the way of the cross. The history of the Christians and Importance of Jerusalem to them mainly revolves around the birth, life and death of Jesus. He is actually considered the main man behind the way of the cross and hence the origin of Christianity.

In line with the same, we get to realize that the Christians hold Jerusalem as a place of great importance. This is not only because of its history as covered in the Old Testament but also because of its vital place in line with the life of Jesus. According to the New Testament, this is the place where Jesus was crucified and the true cross later discovered.

Going by the responses above, it is almost impossible to point out whose story one ought to believe. This is because each version seems both complete and convincing. In other words, one can easily note that the video reports a view that is balanced as far as the three Abrahamic faiths are concerned.

From the movie, one gets to realize that the three Abrahamic religions each have a unique grip and view of the city. The Jews, the Muslims as well as the Christians all view the city as a holy place. In each case, while the narrator talks to the individuals in the city, the viewers manage to note the way the beliefs about the city vary from one religion to the other. The only thing that might bring a slight difference in this trend is the number of years for which this city has been sacred or holy to these people.

Despite the fact that this has not been fully accounted for in the movie, it is possible to depict the time period for each group. This can be established by reviewing the content of their accounts concerning the history of the city in each case. For instance, the Muslim family talks of a history that can be estimated to be eight centuries ago (Stephen 213). The Jewish couple on the other hand tries to bring out the picture of this history using the description of an ancient house which they discovered. Lastly, the Christians in the movie attribute their history to the life of Jesus and the Old Testament decree by King David. From the three statements above, the viewers can be able to predict that the city is the most ancient to the Jews, followed by the Christians and then the Muslims.

From the video, it might not be possible to note whether there is a biased outlook against a particular religion. However by following the keen record of scenes and trends, it can be possible to notice a slight bias. For instance, the account of the Christians’ perspective concerning the city seems to be thicker than the others.

The account starts right from the stories contained in the Old Testament. In this case, we interact with such accounts as the decree of David. The story then moves to the Old Testament which majorly begins with a detailed account of the life of Jesus. Most importantly, it is believed the life of Jesus revolved majorly around this city. Jesus has always been the main figure behind the origin of this Abrahamic faith. As a result, giving such a detailed account of the life of Jesus almost gives the picture that the Christians have been given a larger coverage in this movie. However, it may be hard to notice that because, as it was said earlier, each religion gives an account which is equally convincing.

From the documentary, it is also evident that the three different groups have different parts of the city which they revere. For instance the city comprises the Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, Church of the Holy Sepulchre and al-Aqsa Mosque. Each group has a special place which they consider as an arena of worship. The most obvious thing that we can obtain from the outcome of some of the scenes in the movie is the vivid distinction in the ratios. The ratio can be considered to favor the Christians then the Jews and lastly the Muslims in that order. From this, we can therefore conclude that the video has a biased outlook. This can be established and hence considered to be in favor of the Christians in comparison to the other Abrahamic religions.

This documentary video has always been considered a good by many a critic. That might not be the major influence when it comes to recommending this movie or not. However going by the interaction that I have managed to have with the history of Jerusalem, I can well say that it is a detailed movie. The narrator himself was always known to be a thorough individual when it came to digging out information in a bid to establish the truth about an issue. Once again, through the use of effective skills, Jennings gets to reveal a lot of important information. The information is majorly on the origin of the history of Jerusalem which he manages to explore well.

I tend to believe that this movie is a perfect representation of the situation between the Arabs and the Palestinians concerning the city. The movie indicates a lot of balance in its exploration of information about specific things. The major aspects and themes are made as clear in the movie as possible. For instance, there seems to be a clear distinction in the values of the three Abrahamic religions. This might well account for the conflicts between them which have remained unresolved for a long period of time.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the movie is not only good but also a commendable one. This argument can be backed up by its clear contents and the detailed way in which information has been explored and presented. The movie is both educative and entertaining. Through it, one gets to interact with the rich history of Jerusalem together with the three dominant religions in the place.

 

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