thanks for sharing your feelings with us, it means a lot to me to see that other people are offended too by the sexist and the racist jokes in Egyptian movies. You could say i grew up watching these movies and let me tell u it never stops bugging me and it never seem less hurtful than before. i am a Nubian myself, and so it seems personal to me and i feel discriminated against when i watch these movies. The thing that bugs me the most is that my fellow Egyptian(but not fro southern Egypt) friends don’t seem to think its offensive and think i am weird to think that way.

@ brother Ahmed Zidan, first of all like Reem said i do too, dislike any movies with sexist or racist jokes against other ethnicities. and second of all i don’t really get it when you say”Here, in Egypt, the racism against black people isn’t very perceived by the common public as racism, because actually the mainstream don’t know what that means, they laugh and laugh and laugh. And only black Egyptians, who form very small percent of the population esp. in the south, only offended, not because they’re against racism, but because they really get hurt.”

i don’t get it, is it okay because the people don’t perceive it as wrong or racism, or is it okay because only the black Egyptians who are “very small percent of the population esp. in the south” are only offended. please allow me to correct your information, first off i am proudly from the south of Egypt and i get offended, yes because it hurt, but also because i am against racism of any form or against any ethnicity. secondly i don’t think that “black Egyptians” are a small percent of the population, most of the Egyptians are dark skinned, unless we have different perception of the word “dark”.

Anyway i would like to say that in situations like this we shouldn’t be passive and just find some excuses for the wrong behavior, on the contrary, we should find solutions as Egyptians to the problem. start by educating yourself, friends and family that this is wrong and racist, maybe one day, just maybe we would live in a racist free environment. or maybe i am just an optimist.:)

i don’t wanna sound rude or anything but i just wanted to make my point clear and maybe set some of misunderstandings straight. shouldn’t be held against me right

yours
shayma salah mohamed abdu

i agree with your point that we lack today good movies as we used to have in old days with great ,brave directors and brave producers who invest in art more than profit ,but today movies are not as bad as you think ,yes they had a shallow concepts with less regards to racism and sexiest jokes ,.but we had also few brave movies that touch the souls of the people ,Ahmad helmy has presented few good movies in the last few years , kareem abod alazeez movies are well made ,ahmad saka , mona shalaby ,mona zaky and hind sabry had made very good choices in the last few years , also yussry nasr alla movies , khaled yousif has put lines for new cinema ,movies from Lebanon are making new changes with great stories and plots
so next time i hope you find nice movie to watch and better stories to enjoy

Ahmed, regarding your comment on racism in Britain; you used a totally unacceptable and racist word there, although I do not think you mean any harm by it, it is worth noting that racism is widespread in the Arab world and the majority are in denial of its existence (which is why they continue with the silly jokes about black people)……

Thanks for your comment and thanks for welcoming me:)

I dislike any movies with sexist or racist jokes, I’m sure I was gonna feel the same if I were Chinese or a male. Movies affect us, direct or indirectly, so we should discourage breeding a culture of intolerance.

Just because stand-up comedians make sexist or racist jokes doesn’t make it ok. Ethnic humor has been exhausted. Art , for me, is an experience, it’s spiritual , mental and psychological, I want to leave the cinema, theatre or gallery feeling stimulated, excited , bettered as an individual and I also want to feel like I have a contribution to this world.

Well, many Egyptian movies in the last few years were offensive to women too. Egypt has a harassment problem, you can’t objectify women and degrade them in movies and then expect a burdened and poor class to not act on this.

All countries have bad movies, but I wanted to share something about Egyptian movies because they make up the majority in the ME. Also, I’m saddened when I watch not one, but so many bad Egyptian movies because there are a lot of talented actors and I always want to catch up with movies here.

Also, why are individuals like Mohamed Saad and why are their movies more popular than say…more serious movies? I think the Egyptian public needs to address that and stop pointing out to poverty as the only reason behind this phenomenon. It’s a complicated problem…very complicated!

2nd, I want to ask you, are you really offended by sexist and racist jokes in the movies, because you’re a Sudanese female, or you’re just against any form of racism and sexism, you didn’t mention that in your article.

3rd, what art is all about?! I’m asked this question to a photographer before, and it’s hard as it sounds. I know. However his reply has enlightened me some way. I was really fascinated that he delivered me what I really wanted to hear as an answer, he said, “art is a mixture of old experiences, originality, creativity, innovation, and some breaking to the rules, breaking peoples’ privacy, and of course some discrimination as you mentioned.”

Exactly! No art can be created without offence, go to YouTube and watch any stand up comedy, they’re racists against Indos, Africans, and Jews. Britain is racist against Pakis too. Here, in Egypt, the racism against black people isn’t very perceived by the common public as racism, because actually the mainstream don’t know what that means, they laugh and laugh and laugh. And only black Egyptians, who form very small percent of the population esp. in the south, only offended, not because they’re against racism, but because they really get hurt.

4th, Hollywood itself has good and bad movies, just like UK, France, Italy, India, Germany, and of course Egypt is no deviate. There’re some good, and some bad. Taking into consideration that in the last fre years, as you mentioned, the good movies are more.

5th, I was just clarifying my point as a follower for the Egyptian media and cinema by nature, because I’m Egyptian living in Cairo, so this reply isn’t from a “big fan” to the national cinema. I’m not a fan at all. I was just clarifying some point out there. I myself criticise this fool low-class Mohamed Saad, and others, who are not a good façade for the Egyptian cinema.

Thank you