The New York Times published a story Thursday regarding the recent delayed release of “The Kite Runner” movie. For anyone who hasn’t heard of the movie, it depicts the ethnic tensions facing modern day Afghanistan through the story of two young Afghan boys of conflicting ethnic groups, the Pashtun and the Hazara.

The delay in release was prompted by recent attention given to a rape scene in the movie, which experts believe will offend a large percentage of Afghanis (as rape is extremely taboo in the country), and could even put the boys in danger for their participation in the scene. For this reason the film’s release has been delayed until the potential dangers can be properly analyzed and measures taken to ensure the boys safety.

The NY Times articles states that in over a dozen interviews, studio personnel are struggling with difficult questions such as, “testing the limits of corporate responsibility, wondering who was exploiting whom and pondering the price of on-screen authenticity” (NY Times).

However, to me, the big question is, “Why weren’t these questions asked and this issue sorted out before the studio began filming?”

I admittedly know very little about Afghanistan and the details regarding ethnic tensions in the region, which supposedly are on the rise. However, I do know and understand that the majority of the world DOES NOT live and operate in congruence with Western mentalities. Regardless of whether you are shooting a film, doing development work, or just traveling, it is an absolute necessity to research local customs, values, and mentalities BEFORE taking any kind of action that may have an effect on local individuals or communities.

I hear about it all the time in the international development community. Birth control distribution programs failing in Latin America as devout Catholics see it as an endorsement of premarital sex. Impoverished Africans starving because local food drops are simply hoarded by military dictatorships. Or the failure of small business projects in many of the world’s slums for not properly taking into account the strength and influence of local mob authorities.

This most recent blunder by “The Kite Runner” producers is nothing new. It happens all the time, from multi-billion dollar film studios, to NGO’s, to the individual traveler. However, if we’re ever going to bring countries and people closer together, we need to learn that the world is a very complex place. It’s a principal that can be applied to pretty much any interaction between individuals of different cultures: Understanding MUST be a prerequisite to action.

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