Pages

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Clueless Egyptian Actors Don't Fear The Islamists' Rise To Power

Egyptian actors and on-camera talent (particularly women) should definitely be concerned about the huge victory for the Islamists in their country, considering ultra religious Muslims don't want to see female flesh on their television screens. One can expect the demand for female modesty from somewhere like Afghanistan, but in 2010, five female news anchors walked off the Qatar-based al-Jazeera as a result of harassment from  the deputy editor-in-chief Ayman Jaballah who complained about their clothes, makeup and unveiled hair. But the Egyptians don't seem to be too overly upset about the rise of the Islamists. According to al Arabiya, some well known Egyptian actors and entertainers who were interviewed on nuqudy.com claimed they would defend their freedom, at all costs, if threatened, but Ola Ghanim doesn't seem to think it will be much of a problem,
The seductress Egyptian actress, Ola Ghanim, who once said she would leave to the United States should the Islamists come to power, now says she will stay on in the country, the Egypt-based website, Nukudy.com, reported. Ghanim who posed in a bikini in one her movies, said she is not concerned about the Islamists gaining power and will continue with her acting career like she always has. She hoped that the Islamists would stay away from the movie making business and issues related to actors’ performances.
She hopes? Good luck with that.

Several others in the al Arabiya article show an equally naive reaction, then again, when it comes to politics or world events actors tend to be a pretty clueless bunch, at least in the U.S. Perhaps that's a result of the fact that while working on a project they stick to the scripted page, rarely researching beyond their particular role, if they do that at all. Unlike directors who are able to see the bigger picture, actors are woefully inept at it. I have always been a researcher, delving into every aspect of a play I'm working on, and I've carried that into other aspects of my life, hence my ability to see beyond the obvious. Actors also tend to defer to the director's vision, right or wrong, and rarely if ever challenge them. This could also be the reason why, as mostly liberals, they toe the Democratic party line without question. And why most of them are still enamored of Barack Obama. 

As for the Egyptian actors, it would be nice to think the Islamists would leave the "movie making business and issues related to actors' performances" alone,  but I sincerely doubt they will.  When you have a majority of the seats in parliament going to Islamists, and 25% of that going to the ultra-religious Salafi al-Nour party, it seems highly unlikely.  They should be very concerned, at least the women should be.

No comments: