His interactions with these older boys shape his goals and aspirations. In my opinion, if Ahmed didn't hang around these older boys, he wouldn't feel as determined to become a martyr. The looking-glass self can also be applied to my experiences. For example, I am constantly seeking feedback from my teachers in the classroom. I think that it is one's nature to constantly seek the approval of others. I usually do not care about how other people view me. However in school, it's a different story. I not only want to impress my teachers with my tests and essays because I want a good grade, but I also do it out of respect because I value their opinions and want to try my best in the class.
It is certainly the case that some people's opinions matter more than others, and to explore this fact, George Herbert Mead introduced the term significant others. Mead defined this as people who have special importance for socialization. Significant others are important in child development; as children learn to use language and other symbols, the self emerges in the form of play. For example, playing "mommy and daddy" begins to teach children to imagine the world from a parent's point of view. In the film, instead of playing "mommy and daddy," the Palestinian kids play "Jews and Arabs," in which the kids reenact the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This says something about how these children are being raised. While, of course, the viewer knows that these children does have a family, one has to wonder if the impact of the family is as great as the "street culture" seen throughout this documentary. Palestinian children are exposed to violence, particularly violence towards and from the Israeli soldiers, from such a young age. When the children are playing "Jews and Arabs," it raises the question if these kids are growing up too fast and if the horrors of the conflict are replacing these children's significant others.
