Stop! Don't believe the one star reviews.
As a conservative, I too had a negative reaction to just seeing the promotional material advertising this TV Series. Mainly because I expected your usual left-wing propaganda from liberal cabal that is running the entertainment industry, hammered into my brain. Or worse, glamorizing Jihadis much like Rolling Stone did with Tsarnaev Brothers.
But I assure it is not so. I have no idea who this Peter Kosminsky is, but he did a great job of bringing the story of five British would be Jihadis going to Syria, and their travails as they battle the Kurds, Assad's Army, Western backed coalition... But mostly battle with their own doubts.
The State shows in vivid terms what was happening in parts of Syria ISIS controlled during their heyday from early 2014 to late 2017.
The State is a fascinating insight for someone like me, a citizen of the West, who was affected by it during that time period. To see all those young men and women running off to join these cruel butchers, after we threw open the doors for their parents and gave them a chance at a better life in the West...
It deeply changed me who I am as a person. From a young, left-wing liberal secular progressive I used to be during 2000s, to a right-wing conservative Atheist considering conversion to Christianity or Judaism I am today.
After only half of first episode I was immersed into it. All along, I was expecting to be suddenly disrespected, or have my intelligence insulted by bankrupt liberal ideology, but... It didn't come.
Kosminsky just told a good story. Left it to us to be the judges. Which is what a good artists should be doing. Otherwise they are not artists. They are propagandists. Did he do that because he is aware of a deep cultural shift undergoing in the Western world (trust me, I wasn't the only one who was "Red Pilled" by ISIS), or because he just happens to be a good director, it doesn't matter.
What matters is that the first 4 episodes are among the greatest I've seen in British television. The liberals might be crying how there should have been another episode explaining the motivation behind joining ISIS, presumably so the filmmakers could blame the West...
But I'm glad they didn't do it. We don't care. We are sick and tired of excuses and blame. We are furious. And I'm glad that at least for the first 4 episodes we weren't made fools of.
We don't care about "why". We care about "because". The reasons they joined ISIS? It is BECAUSE they are Muslim. Looking for a way into paradise. If not in this life then in the afterlife.
It is an immersive, vivid portrayal of people caught up in the events in Syria. Some of whom would kill us if they had the chance. Following them along their journey is a deeply moving TV watching experience. So do yourself a favour and see this show.
Sooner or later, there will be yet another Islamic State of This and That, somewhere in the Muslim World. And there will be more young Muslims joining them in droves... But hopefully some of them will see this show and think twice what they are doing.
As a conservative, I too had a negative reaction to just seeing the promotional material advertising this TV Series. Mainly because I expected your usual left-wing propaganda from liberal cabal that is running the entertainment industry, hammered into my brain. Or worse, glamorizing Jihadis much like Rolling Stone did with Tsarnaev Brothers.
But I assure it is not so. I have no idea who this Peter Kosminsky is, but he did a great job of bringing the story of five British would be Jihadis going to Syria, and their travails as they battle the Kurds, Assad's Army, Western backed coalition... But mostly battle with their own doubts.
The State shows in vivid terms what was happening in parts of Syria ISIS controlled during their heyday from early 2014 to late 2017.
The State is a fascinating insight for someone like me, a citizen of the West, who was affected by it during that time period. To see all those young men and women running off to join these cruel butchers, after we threw open the doors for their parents and gave them a chance at a better life in the West...
It deeply changed me who I am as a person. From a young, left-wing liberal secular progressive I used to be during 2000s, to a right-wing conservative Atheist considering conversion to Christianity or Judaism I am today.
After only half of first episode I was immersed into it. All along, I was expecting to be suddenly disrespected, or have my intelligence insulted by bankrupt liberal ideology, but... It didn't come.
Kosminsky just told a good story. Left it to us to be the judges. Which is what a good artists should be doing. Otherwise they are not artists. They are propagandists. Did he do that because he is aware of a deep cultural shift undergoing in the Western world (trust me, I wasn't the only one who was "Red Pilled" by ISIS), or because he just happens to be a good director, it doesn't matter.
What matters is that the first 4 episodes are among the greatest I've seen in British television. The liberals might be crying how there should have been another episode explaining the motivation behind joining ISIS, presumably so the filmmakers could blame the West...
But I'm glad they didn't do it. We don't care. We are sick and tired of excuses and blame. We are furious. And I'm glad that at least for the first 4 episodes we weren't made fools of.
We don't care about "why". We care about "because". The reasons they joined ISIS? It is BECAUSE they are Muslim. Looking for a way into paradise. If not in this life then in the afterlife.
It is an immersive, vivid portrayal of people caught up in the events in Syria. Some of whom would kill us if they had the chance. Following them along their journey is a deeply moving TV watching experience. So do yourself a favour and see this show.
Sooner or later, there will be yet another Islamic State of This and That, somewhere in the Muslim World. And there will be more young Muslims joining them in droves... But hopefully some of them will see this show and think twice what they are doing.