Any attempt to write an account of popular culture in the Middle East must face the question of how to define Arab and the Arabs? This might seem an odd statement at first glance: some 350 million people speak the language, ergo they are Arabs, and Arab, the Arabs, the …
Read More »Audiovisual Translation in the Arab World (v 0.4): Mapping the Field
As part of an ongoing body of literature on audiovisual translation in the Arab World, Muhammad Y Gamal examines barriers to localization in an increasingly digital world. Gamal posits that closing the regional gap and developing local expertise requires a multi-pronged approach, targeting both pedagogy and practice.
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 »The State of the Musalsal: Arab Television Drama and Comedy and the Politics of the Satellite Era
The Road Not Traveled One of the most intriguing Arabic-language television dramas in recent years was The Road to Kabul (2004), which told the story of the Arab and Afghan mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Or rather tried to tell, since The Road to Kabul never made it past episode eight. The state of Qatar, …
Read More »Inside Arab Reality Television: Development, Definitions and Demystification
Nearly everybody agrees that reality television in the Arab world has changed the way we, as viewers, relate to television. This programming genre has been the center of much debate ever since the first group of reality participants was locked up in a villa. These views can be divided in …
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 …
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