The Yacoubian Building
So, about 10 years ago, an Egyptian author wrote a book about the lives of various people who live in the Yacoubian building, an actual building on Talaat Harb that I walk by almost every day. The book was very popular, and translated into 10 different languages (I think), and has now been made into a movie.
I saw the movie last night, which was quite an experience, since it was in Arabic and all ... but Ghada was good about introducing new characters, and the story was fairly clear. At any rate, I intend to buy the book to fill in the gaps.
The moral of this post: READ THE BOOK! And if the movie comes out in the states (which it should - it did really well at both Tribeca and Cannes, so should at least play at some indie theatres), SEE THE MOVIE! If I'm around, see it with me and I can tell you all the places I've been. It was a GREAT story about the sort of moral decline some people perceive in Egyptian society.
And it was a trip to watch it with a bunch of Egyptians, too. Most notable was the story line about the homosexual newspaper editor. Homosexuality is a clearly taboo subject in Egypt - Ghada was surprised they showed it - and so the audience was uncomfortable and derisive about the whole thing. Emotional moments were laughed at, because clearly there's no real emotion in a gay relationship. And during the intermission, Ghada and Fatma, very concerned, asked me if I was okay with the whole thing. When I said that I was fine, and I actually have gay friends, they seemed both shocked and a little disturbed.
The weird thing about homosexuality in Egypt, though, is that it's a bit more narrowly defined than we're used to. Yes, it's VERY bad to be gay and a Muslim, but at the same time, both men aren't considered gay - only the "bottom." The label is assigned based purely on physical actions, not thought or emotion. Additionally, there's a lot of physical contact between male friends - they kiss and hold hands as women commonly do. So really, men who are considered "openly gay" in America could walk down the street holding hands and have no problem here, where they'd probably get beat or harrassed somewhere like Alabama - but at the same time, there is NO cultural acceptance for what is considered a gravely sinful deviance.
Anyhow, the movie was a really great portrayal of some of the less savory aspects of Egyptian culture - Islamic radicals, homosexuals, skeezy politicians, etc - and I VERY highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who has the opportunity to see it.
I saw the movie last night, which was quite an experience, since it was in Arabic and all ... but Ghada was good about introducing new characters, and the story was fairly clear. At any rate, I intend to buy the book to fill in the gaps.
The moral of this post: READ THE BOOK! And if the movie comes out in the states (which it should - it did really well at both Tribeca and Cannes, so should at least play at some indie theatres), SEE THE MOVIE! If I'm around, see it with me and I can tell you all the places I've been. It was a GREAT story about the sort of moral decline some people perceive in Egyptian society.
And it was a trip to watch it with a bunch of Egyptians, too. Most notable was the story line about the homosexual newspaper editor. Homosexuality is a clearly taboo subject in Egypt - Ghada was surprised they showed it - and so the audience was uncomfortable and derisive about the whole thing. Emotional moments were laughed at, because clearly there's no real emotion in a gay relationship. And during the intermission, Ghada and Fatma, very concerned, asked me if I was okay with the whole thing. When I said that I was fine, and I actually have gay friends, they seemed both shocked and a little disturbed.
The weird thing about homosexuality in Egypt, though, is that it's a bit more narrowly defined than we're used to. Yes, it's VERY bad to be gay and a Muslim, but at the same time, both men aren't considered gay - only the "bottom." The label is assigned based purely on physical actions, not thought or emotion. Additionally, there's a lot of physical contact between male friends - they kiss and hold hands as women commonly do. So really, men who are considered "openly gay" in America could walk down the street holding hands and have no problem here, where they'd probably get beat or harrassed somewhere like Alabama - but at the same time, there is NO cultural acceptance for what is considered a gravely sinful deviance.
Anyhow, the movie was a really great portrayal of some of the less savory aspects of Egyptian culture - Islamic radicals, homosexuals, skeezy politicians, etc - and I VERY highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who has the opportunity to see it.
posted by Teale at 3:46 PM
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