Always Coca-Cola

When university student Abeer Ward looks out the window of her Beirut bedroom, she sees a giant Coca-Cola ad across the street featuring her best friend Yana. The influence of the Occident persists not only in the billboardand Abeers Coke-bottle-shaped birthmark, but in the choices she and her friends make. Na©̤ve, demure, and obedient, Abeer blends into the background compared to Yana, and similarly, Abeers very real problems tend to be given short shrift in relation to Yanas unplanned pregnancy. Abeers name means ?fragrant rose,? and like the flower, she feels that her value depends on beauty and purity.