Artists are not appreciated in Arab cultures
Author: Esra'a (Bahrain) - April 20, 2008
According to actor Amr Waked (see below) and also this Saudi DJ.
Artists, actors, poets, musicians - very rarely are they taken seriously or appreciated in society, and it takes very much for your average Arab to actually make a profession out of what is commonly referred to as “just useless hobbies.”
Take a look at this video:
That’s sad. What he’s saying about artists not being really productive is true, and it isn’t. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the value of something immaterial or something which has no use in the first way. The work artists are doing will never be understood by the majority, I think. That’s not just an Arab phenomenon, but something you’ll find all over the world. But a culture where artists don’t get appreciated at all is really lacking something.
This is interesting. At one point the man being interviewed says that artists are looked down upon because of their inclination to “fake truths” and “make dreams.”
Well, here’s the problem: If we don’t dream, then aren’t we forever doomed to suffer the miserable reality in which we find ourselves? The only way to make things better, is to take the risk of dreaming about an alternate version of reality, and then to take action to give substance to that vision.
Is it possible that much of Arab culture is mired in the past? Is it also possible that if you hit against the wall enough times, you write off the possibity of a future that is nurtured and molded by dreams?
To my mind, current realities on the ground are dire enough so as to resemble “fake truths.” The reality we see around us is in many ways a miserable one, which does not portend well for the future.
Therefore, let the dreamers have their say, and let us lend some credibility to the possibility of a new vision for the future, one that takes current realities and transforms them into the realization of the potential that is within us, but that as yet has not been given sufficient expression. Let the artists and the dreamers point the way.
That is soo effing true. Not even Athletes tell them u can run 5K in 20mins [or play the strings to a hip song] n they just blurt out “so can I!” or “what’s the big deal”
They think that since these ppl arnt better at anything ’solid’ they resort to these ‘arts’
Makes me wanna punch em out.
but its slowly changing w/ a little more media coverage of all the sporting events n some filmings for TV
PS: didnt c tht clip yet
Yes, it’s changing, people like this young girl give me a lot of hope for the region.
It is unfortunate, because arts and music are among the highest activities we can perform. This is because they are uniquely human activities and are not possible until basic needs have been taken care of. It is impossible to create artistically while mired in the mud grubbing around for food, so the level of artistic expression is also an expression of how far humans have moved away from bare subsistence. Also arts in the forms of sculpture and painting beautify places, and rather than being “fake truths” are an expression of human imagination.
We have discussed this issue in my film classes. Many students feel frustrated by these circumstances, but they continue to create. And it is these ones, who pursue their artisitic vision regardless of the politics, that will ultimately succeed. Check out the Broadcasters of Tomorrow blog for some Arab Film students fisrt time Films or the comments about the Saudi film Keif al Hal.
Well said Nissim.. It is through expression of and the exposure to beauty and the sublime that enables one to see the possibilities beyond our current being. I only insist that these dreams do not remain dreams.
I agree with you Tamara. Dreaming the right dreams is only the first step. Somehow, we have to find a way to give our dreams a good measure of substance.
I am trying to do that, but I’m going to need all the help I can get. So far, it’s all just talk. But I take comfort in knowing that people such as yourself have incredible potential to give this world a “makeover.” We have to find a way to tap into that potential, and like you say, to make sure that “these dreams do not remain dreams.”
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