Jeddah film festival caught in game of Red Rover
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Only in Saudi,
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Saudi Politics
About the time I was in sixth grade, the game of Red Rover, Red Rover became all the rage at my school.
For those of you unfamiliar, Red Rover is played between two teams with team members linking arms to form a chain of sorts. One team starts by calling out “Red Rover, Red Rover, send (fill in the blank) right over.
The called person charges toward the human chain and tries their best to break through. If unsuccessful, the called person becomes part of the unbreakable human chain. If successful, the called person takes one human link in the chain back to the other side and the whole things starts all over again.
It was, in many ways, an elementary school introduction to the adult world.
I bring up Red Rover, Red Rover (in my head it must always be said in tandem) because I think there’s a game going on here in Saudi.
Teams were formed back in June when Prince Walid bin Talal and his company, Rotana Studios, screened a movie in Riyadh and a few other places around the Kingdom. Altho not officially banned, cinemas have been pretty much non-existent for most of the last 30 years thanks to the support of conservative religious establishment guys, including Walid’s brother,Prince Khalid bin Talal.
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Khalid right over.
Earlier this month, Khalid did just that, going public with some criticism of his brother and his brother’s lifestyle. According to Khalid, Walid is guilty of disseminating vice and violating the rules of Islamic Sharia, and needs to be reigned in. Specifically – Khalid called for a freeze on all of his brother’s assets – assets estimated at around 12 billion USD as of March 11, 2009 – until he gets back on the “righteous path”.
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Walid right over.
Turns out, Prince Walid’s Rotana Studios is the official sponsor of the Jeddah Film Festival, an annual event which brings together the growing cadre of Saudi film makers and basically celebrates cinema – again, something that bugs the snot out of the conservatives for some reason. This year’s event - the fourth annual - was set to open yesterday, and it was going to be better than ever, featuring – and screening – more than 100 films from around the Gulf– including 45 Saudi-made films.
A highlight of the event – which provides SR200,000 in prize money for winners – was going to be the establishment of a Saudi Movie Club which would “seek to produce a film every year and to support the development of talent in Saudi Arabia, through the mechanisms established by the board members of the club.”
Oh, and did I mention that one goal of the event was to “encourage investors to invest in opening cinema theaters in the future”?
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Khalid right over.
Just hours before the event was set to open, organizers were notified by the government that the festival ”lacked preparation” and would have to be cancelled.
It was, in many ways, an elementary school introduction to the adult world.
I bring up Red Rover, Red Rover (in my head it must always be said in tandem) because I think there’s a game going on here in Saudi.
Teams were formed back in June when Prince Walid bin Talal and his company, Rotana Studios, screened a movie in Riyadh and a few other places around the Kingdom. Altho not officially banned, cinemas have been pretty much non-existent for most of the last 30 years thanks to the support of conservative religious establishment guys, including Walid’s brother,Prince Khalid bin Talal.
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Khalid right over.
Earlier this month, Khalid did just that, going public with some criticism of his brother and his brother’s lifestyle. According to Khalid, Walid is guilty of disseminating vice and violating the rules of Islamic Sharia, and needs to be reigned in. Specifically – Khalid called for a freeze on all of his brother’s assets – assets estimated at around 12 billion USD as of March 11, 2009 – until he gets back on the “righteous path”.
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Walid right over.
Turns out, Prince Walid’s Rotana Studios is the official sponsor of the Jeddah Film Festival, an annual event which brings together the growing cadre of Saudi film makers and basically celebrates cinema – again, something that bugs the snot out of the conservatives for some reason. This year’s event - the fourth annual - was set to open yesterday, and it was going to be better than ever, featuring – and screening – more than 100 films from around the Gulf– including 45 Saudi-made films.
A highlight of the event – which provides SR200,000 in prize money for winners – was going to be the establishment of a Saudi Movie Club which would “seek to produce a film every year and to support the development of talent in Saudi Arabia, through the mechanisms established by the board members of the club.”
Oh, and did I mention that one goal of the event was to “encourage investors to invest in opening cinema theaters in the future”?
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Khalid right over.
Just hours before the event was set to open, organizers were notified by the government that the festival ”lacked preparation” and would have to be cancelled.
According to the event's director, Mamdouh Salemm "Late last night, the governorate of Jeddah notified us of the festival's cancellation, after it recieved instructions from official parties. We were not told why."
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Walid right over…
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Walid right over…
Relationship counselors are always telling folks to "fight fair", but that's now how most of us actually fight. How do you fight? Are you passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive? Do you stay on the point or do you drag in other issues and hurts? What's the best way to fight?
6 comments:
Wow, great post. I like how you tied the Red Rover game into it to make your point.
It's kind of surprising TO ME that the younger brother is more conservative than his sibling. I often think of younger brothers being more nontraditional, but I see this isn't the case. And I am kind of stereotyping, but still.
Thanks for an interesting article.
If cinemas are not banned or against the law, what right does Khalid have to intervene?! Do the conservatives only dislike the idea of cinemas because of the integration of both sexes? Somehow, I doubt God is against men and women enjoying a good film together.
The conservatives (and the government) treat their people like ill-behaved children. Like they can't sit through a movie (or do anything else) without becoming sex-crazed at the sight of each other.
If your culture of people are so prone to "sin" that you have to constantly control them to insure nothing happen, it doesn't say much for your society. Sure no single country or person is perfect, but I find their eagerness to be "pure" only a method to cover up their "sin." In the end, they're no different from any one else, because like everyone else they're human.
That was a really good post!
@jbrat
What really happened though was a a ruling by the Minister of Interior, following the advice of one of the Islamic scholars. It's pathetic that we're nearing 2010, and we still have to deal with crap like this. That's why I enjoyed the humor in this post. Also, if they ever do allow cinemas in KSA I doubt they would be mixed, segregation is the way of life here, fun fun fun. God forbid they're okay with the mixing of the sexes here, a rape frenzy would ensue.
Very interesting your take on the same things that I am posting, SGIME - I posted on this yesterday - and sometime ago under the caption, "Dinner and a movie - probably not" or something like that. The Red Rover, Red Rover analogy was enough to have coffee come through my nose.
Susanne - I've noticed it fairly often that members of the same family have very different views on social issues - not just here but everywhere. We're all products of our time, I guess!
Jbrat2219 - My understanding is that gender segregation is part of the issue, but there's also the belief by some that movies have the potential to plant unacceptable thoughts and beliefs in peoples' minds. I'm sure there are others who can explain things better than I can tho! ANyone care to take a shot?
You make a fabulous point (and one about which I've been writing a future post). It comes down to accountability and personal responsibility, neither of which can be learned when there's always someone else taking them away!
Broke Saudi - thanks! I agree, segregation isn't going anywhere anytime soon - and probably for a good reason. I'm guessing you were being sarcastic when you predicted a "rape frenzy" but I tend to agree with you that it would be a distinct possibility if the segregation laws suddenly disappeared. Too many men have no idea how to control themselves or behave around members of the opposite sex - two (of many) things they've never had to deal with or learn under segregation. Until those lessons are learned and internalized, until there are new rules to replace the old ones, anything could happen!
Sabra - It's always interesting to see how different people look at the same issue. This is something I think "we" all blog about from time to time. I think this is maybe my fifth or sixth post on the whole cinema ban thing. Crazy! Hopefully some day I'll e able to post about cinema and have a Disney ending! (Happily ever after and all!)
Thanks to you all for your comments!
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