Arabic-L:GEN:Egyptian Film/Book response

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 14 Mar 2001
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Egyptian Film/Book response

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1)
Date: 14 Mar 2001
From: dwilmsen <dwilmsen at aucegypt.edu>
Subject: Egyptian Film/Book response

There is a documentary about Cairo of about half-an-hour in length directed by
Youssef Chahine.  It is unpopular with the Egyptian Censor's office though,
because he dares to depict people living at close quarters and still doing
what people do despite their lack of privacy.  I think it has been banned.
But I have heard that is available outside of Egypt.  As I recall it is simply
called "Cairo"  or perhaps, since it is Chahine, "Le Caire".  Towards the end,
there is a bit of a forced fictitious plot about a young man trying to break
into the film business and meeting with Chahine.  In my opinion, that is a
blemish on the film as a whole.  But Chahine, like Hitchcock, likes to put in
an appearance.  It does serve, however, as a vehicle to raise the problems
faced by Egyptian youth, and the solutions thereto proposed by more
conservative and activist Islamists (probably another reason why the Censor
took umbrage) - in which case it is also somewhat dated.

I have always thought that the film "el-Hafid", which I have only recently
mentioned here in another context, is a good film for exhibiting Egyptian
culture.  But showing to students would assume a fair degree of proficiency in
Arabic on their parts.

Dr. David Wilmsen

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End of Arabic-L: 14 Mar 2001