Lawrence of Arabia is the story of Colonel T. E. Lawrence's exploits in Arabia, as he tried to serve both British interests in the Middle East during WWI and gain independence for the Arabs. The film starts with Lawrence's death, the result of a motorcycle accident on a English country lane, with the rest of the movie showing the irony of the way he met his death.
Lawrence was serving in the Cairo office1, when he was "borrowed" to journey into the Arabian Pennisula in order to contact Prince Feysal and find out about his plans. The British were looking to gain assistance in disrupting Ottoman war efforts, as a way of protecting Britain's routes to India. Lawrence provided that, but in ways that could not have been predicted and often were impossible. An example of one of his impossible feats was taking Aqaba the only possible way; from the rear, coming out of the desert.2 Then once the city had been taken, he had to cross the Sinai to return to Cairo to tell his superiors of the capture.3
The film works hard to portray the Arabs neither as idealized nor debased people, capable of the same range of violence and mercy as Europeans. Their motives are just as various as those of other people, be they pragmatism, jealousy, or pride. The Europeans are treated in the same manner, with both the dark and the light being shown. While there are moments where the Arabs are exoticized, by the same token we don't always quite want to recognize the Europeans (who largely are being represented by the British military). The Arabs may be split by tribal interests and practice bloodfeud justice, but it is the Europeans who are drawn to build industrial weapons and make the world a battlefield. When Ali4 kills Lawrence's guide for drinking from a well forbidden to his tribe, Lawrence calls him a murderer. Yet when Ali sees the blazing of a distant artillery battle and exclaims "God help those under that.", Lawrence notes that they are Turks; Ali remarks "God help them." Other interesting scenes include: the British general reading a how-to book on fishing while he allows fires to rage because Lawrence and the Arabs made it to Damascus first; a shaykh's remark to a British officier that not to leave fighting when one has got what one wanted is a clear sign of stupidity; and an extended sequence involving Lawrence rescuing a man from the desert , only later to need to execute him for murder.5
The scene I wish to delve into involves a bloodbath that occured on the way to Damascus. Lawrence and the Arab forces find in their path a unit of Turkish soldiers that massacared an Arab village; one of the men starts shouting "We take no prisioners! We take no prisoners!" and gallops into action. The destroyed village was his home. He wants to avenge it, but, of course, is felled by gun fire before he can slay a single Turk. However, Lawrence goes against Ali's tactical advice of skirting the Turkish troops6, taking up the call of "We take no prisoners!" Lawrence has clearly gone beserk, eventually randomly picking off Turkish soldiers with his revolver, and finally stabbing with his Arabian dagger. When an American reporter catches up with the Arabian forces, he is surprised by the sheer carnage. Ali had first tried to prevent the encounter, then tried to get Lawrence to call it off. He rides up on his horse, enters a tirade. "Are you surprised? You know what a barbarious people the Arabs are. Barbarious and cruel. Who, who but the Arabs could do this?" Of course, the answer is a wiry blond Englishman with blue eyes. His dagger and hands covered in gore, he sits in his white shaykh's robes, unable to understand why he called for such a brutal action.
What is civilized? What is barbaric? This sequence and others throughout the film point to this question. Is it savage to kill wounded comrades to spare them from the tortures of the enemy? Is it civilized to kill in quantity, without bearing a personal7 grudge towards the slain? Is it barbaric to kill a few to maintain the safety of the many? The Europeans and the Arabs are all human, subject to all the possibilities of noblity and brutality. Both cultures have their own standards, which obey their own logics; what may seem cruel may be the only kindness possible. Actions that are heartless may well be covered by seemingly acceptable reasoning. In reality, few things are black and white.
