Bab El-7ara
October 9, 2007 | 4:02 pmBab El-7ara (part 2) is the first movie series i’ve watched since the last 5 Ramadans. Although i did not see the first part, i started watching this series since the rest of my family and friends did. As many others, i was shocked by how the “female role” was portrayed in this series, and by how trivial are the issues that the males fight ever so dramatically about.
One night while i was making one of my usual “this is absurd” comments, my little sister looks at me and says, “maybe they are not showing us this as a good thing”, and it finally dawned on me!! Traditionally, movie series set up in the semi-distant past idolized the lost values and traditions of those eras. Although many of these values (such as modesty, bravery, generosity, courage, caring for one another and for one’s neighbors) are good and should be idolized. We sometimes overlook the fact that the semi-distant past did carry a load of problematic traditions such as female illiteracy and gender bias.
Maybe she’s right! Maybe the producers of Bab El-Hara want us to take a critical look at problems such as gender bias and trivial in-fighting. After all, this series did successfully create a huge buzz, and it did in fact stir up many discussions. …. anyway, even if that was not purposefully meant, i think this is how i will look at it from now on.
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