Thursday, September 09, 2004
Looking at the Arab world through a particular cultural lens, two images often come to mind: that of bearded men marching to heaven via the gate of martyrdom; and motionless, veiled women lost in limbo, whose earthly lives are controlled by males and who, upon reaching heaven, see a "men only" sign posted.
These images completely eclipse another more powerful socio-cultural trend, one loaded with manifestations of an Arab female culture that is more affirmative and open to the West. An outstanding example of this tendency is Arabic music videos. Female stars and models have become an intrinsic part of the Arab media scene. Their popularity and social acceptance is apparent in the growth of television channels dedicated to music videos, and these women are daily on the covers of dozens of Arabic magazines, family oriented ones or otherwise.
The crucial component of Arabic music videos is the prevalence of scenes having sexual appeal or overtones, whether because of the presence of the singers themselves or of the models appearing in their contrived scenes. Coupled with "reality television," this demonstrates how fundamental cultural changes are taking place at the more liberal extreme of the socio-cultural spectrum in Arab societies.
The conservative side of the socio-cultural spectrum is also fast developing its own media. Certain television channels have started catering to this segment of society, some with program concepts borrowed from mainstream commercial channels. Government-owned religious radio stations are the most popular across the region. Internet is another media that has been effectively used, especially by the more radical Islamist fundamentalists. Religious CDs, tape recordings, books and flyers have become industries of their own. One need only visit one of the annual book fairs in the Middle East to see that half the publishing houses deal only with Islamic-oriented literature - possibly the fastest-growing sector in Arab publishing.
The ramifications of the presence of such parallel socio-cultural phenomena in the Arab world have yet to be fully explored by social scientists. The West sees the Arab world solely in its conservative, fundamentalist context. The veil tends to block Western television screens when it comes to depicting Arabs. And more recently, hooded criminals in Iraq or Saudi Arabia chanting "God is great" and killing or threatening helpless captives on video have become another common image through which Westerners identify the Arab world.
This reality tends to overshadow the fact that Arabs are experiencing a substantial dose of cultural change with a very distinctive Western, even American flavor. So, for instance, while it is true that Saudi females do not appear in Arabic music videos, Saudi singers do, as do conservatively dressed female singers from other Gulf states. Many Gulf females and their families watch such videos avidly, while Arab, especially Gulf investors finance the productions and own the television channels that air them. Saudi as well as regional and international brands advertise on the programs or sponsor them.
The dissemination of a more open and sexually promiscuous culture in the Arab media is still based on visuals, without any written or oral texts. Taken out of their visual contexts the Arabic lyrics may depict virgin love. They need to be accompanied by the visuals for the videos to reveal what is culturally new in them. What the Arabic entertainment industry still hesitates to state vocally is allowed in American entertainment programming, whose popularity is surpassing that of Arabic entertainment programs, especially in the Gulf.
The popularity of the 24-hour Saudi-owned MBC2 television channel is an outstanding case in point. Interestingly, Al-Jazeera and MBC2 have comparable average daily viewer levels in many Arab countries, and enjoy top ratings. The presence and popularity of MBC2 refutes the assumption that Arabs solely absorb anti-American sentiments voiced on Al-Jazeera and other news channels. A selling point of many Arab satellite channels is the money they invest in acquiring Hollywood movies and sitcoms. Through American programs, Arabic channels can also address issues, for example sex, that they would not dare produce locally. For example, Arab viewers watching an episode of "Oprah" recently were taken through a rehabilitation program for sexually cold couples. It would have been difficult indeed for this to be addressed directly by an Arab media outlet.
Arabic music videos have also given a new lease on live to radio, and more recently they have become a selling feature for multimedia mobile telephones. In addition, the growth of this entertainment sector has given a boost to the sales of print media, where even the more serious newspapers dedicate substantial coverage to the lives and activities of music video stars. This leads to a paradox: The Arab print media, especially newspapers, are in a perpetual state of trepidation over the perceived potential negative impact television might have on Arab and Islamic values. They project themselves as the guardians of Arab values. Yet they also act as both critic and disseminators of information about the visual media and its personalities.
Criticism of such sexually provocative Arabic singers as Nancy Ajram or Haifa Wehbeh, both of whom are Lebanese, or more recently Robi, an Egyptian singer, seems only to perpetuate their prominence. They are indeed sex symbols for the Arab young, but in a culture that is short on role models, such entertainment personalities are filling a cultural void and are setting cultural trends.
Historically, Arab Christians, especially the Lebanese, were often seen as being more open to Western culture and having a higher propensity for breaking loose from traditional, conservative Arab culture. However, contemporary Arab history, especially in the Levant and Egypt, shows that many Arab Muslims have quickly caught up, if not outmatched, their Christian counterparts in this direction. And if any credit is due for instigating a more open approach to social and cultural issues, it has to be given to those Arab females who have shown a willingness and the guts to take such a path. In many ways they have demonstrated that they may be more instrumental than men in initiating social and cultural change.
Those males who experimented with more heavy-duty intellectual or political revolutions during the first half of the 20th century now appear to have been relegated to the dusty shelves of history. At present there are two leading agents of change in the Middle East: One is the revolution of sorts led by the more liberal Arab females, who have turned men into willing consumers. The other is the revival of a more conservative culture that the Islamic fundamentalist movement is riding, or perhaps hijacking. Males lead it, and it has subjugated females more than ever, even if a significant proportion of them willingly abide by its rules.
A key question the region must answer in the coming decades is which one will pull ahead of the other. Where will we have to search for the woman?
By Jihad N. Fakhreddine Special to The Daily Star
© The Daily Star 2004
