Alexandra Buccianti looks at the Turkish soap opera phenomenon as a successful model of hybridization and sets it against the background of Turkey's historical role in the Arab world
Read More »From Saints to Sinners: Identity and celebrity in a contemporary Iranian television serial
The Iranian television drama Narges was a smash hit in 2006, but the action wasn’t just on screen. Josie Delap examines the relationships between the stars’ on-air characters and their private personas, including a sex tape scandal that roiled the Iranian authorities.
Read More »Reality Television and Politics in the Arab World: Preliminary Observations
In the wake of controversy triggered by Super Star and Star Academy, some observers have hailed reality television as a harbinger of democracy in the Arab world. Marwan Kraidy looks at the political implications of a new and popular genre hitting Arab satellite television.
Read More »A Potential Untapped? Why Dubbing Has Not Caught on in the Arab World
Abstract This paper examines the commercial and cultural reasons the dubbing of American films and television programs, common throughout much of the world, remains non-existent in the Arab World. Despite a marked surge in the number of Arabic-language television stations in the last ten years, and much need for quality …
Read More »TV Versus Terrorism: Why This Year’s Ramadan Shows Tackled One ‘Controversial’ Subject, But Were Barred from Broaching Others
Every Ramadan is more or less the same. People are tired, traffic is bad. Every day at dusk, thankful families gather at home to break their day-long fast. And afterwards, they indulge in another holiday tradition: Ramadan soap operas. This year saw the usual glut of such entertainment, produced in …
Read More »A New Media Order
Chalaby, Jean K. (Ed.). Transnational Television Worldwide: Toward a New Media Order. London: I.B. Tauris, 2005. 264 pages. Paperback. ISBN 1-85043-548-0. $24.95. Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger When legendary American broadcast news pioneer Edward R. Murrow first saw a demonstration of television in the 1940’s as an extension of radio, he …
Read More »‘Zii`!’ (Broadcast It!): Local Manifestations of the Global in the Egyptian Television Show Al Camera Al Khafeya (Hidden Camera)
“Any work that I do depends on the will of the audience.” (Ibrahim Nasr, Akhbar al-Nuguum, 433, 1/20/2001) Introduction Over the past few years, a growing trend in television is the seeming willingness to push the envelope of so-called “good taste.” While this is not a new phenomenon, we are …
Read More »Whose Reality is Real? Ethical Reality TV Trend Offers ‘Culturally Authentic’ Alternative to Western Formats
Islamists have been some of the most ardent foes of reality programs on Arab television, forcing MBC’s Al Ra’is (Big Brother) off the air and staging protests or boycotts against LBC’s Star Academy and Al Wadi (The Farm). But now it seems at least some Islamists have decided to adopt a different approach: If you can’t …
Read More »‘Reality is Not Enough’: The Politics of Arab Reality TV
The neo-conservative Weekly Standard has called it “the best hope of little Americas developing in the Middle East.”(1) New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman enthused that it was the closest thing to democracy the Arab world has ever seen.(2) Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Suadais, imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, has denounced them as …
Read More »The Battle of the Airwaves: The Rise and Proliferation of Iranian Satellite TV Channels
Today, Iranian air space is electronically penetrated by numerous radio and TV satellite signals that originate from the US and other countries around the world. In fact, it is probably safe to state that no other nation in the world is targeted by over 20 satellite TV channels and dozens …
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