SAUDI ARABIA: CARTOONS ONLY IN KINGDOM’S FIRST CINEMA
Riyadh, 17 Oct. (AKI) – Cinema screenings are to begin again in Saudi Arabia after around two decades, but will only feature cartoons for women and children. The first films to be shown are due to be screened at the InterContinental Hotel in the capital Riyadh during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, starting November 3, Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reports.
The 1,200 seat cinema will hold three one hour screenings of foreign cartoons dubbed into Arabic every evening, starting at 4pm, 10pm and 11pm, said Kamal al-Khateeb, head of the media committee at Riyadh’s Municipality. Cinema tickets will cost ten Saudi riyals each (around 2.7 dollars).
The organisers estimate that more than 50,000 people will visit the cinema during the two week Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan. The screenings are being seen as a first step towards the reinstating of cinemas around Saudi Arabia, as cafes in many of the kingdom’s main cities already show films, sports games and video clips on large television screens.
In the 1960s and 70s, there were many cinemas in Saudi Arabia, showing uncensored Egyptian, American, Turkish and Indian films. However, the country went on to become more devoutly religious, partly due to the seige of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by extremists in 1979, and Saudi society become “more religiously sensitive to different issues.”
Since then, the only films screened in the Kingdom have been from people’s private collections, or those shown in the American or European embassies. It is not even clear if the elimination of cinemas from the country was a government policy or due to the oppressive influence of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Here’s an odd little story from Asharq Alawsat, via the Italian news aggregator Adnki.com. There some question about exactly when the last cinema in Jeddah closed its doors: some say it was during the 1950s, others say the 60s. I’ve never heard a date into the 70s, but I suppose it’s possible.
The article errs, however, in claiming that this is “the first step” toward reinstating cinemas. During Ramadan last year, similar programs were shown under canvas. Since the sky did not fall as a direct result, the government is taking another step. There’s still the major hurdle of mix-sex audiences, however, that needs to be dealt with before there are permanent cinemas running in Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, it’s big-screen TVs showing DVDs, or a trip across the nearest border to visit a proper cinema.
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October:19:2005 - 02:07
Don’t you think the west is so hypocritcal?
Let’s face it, Saudi has a far worse human rights record than say, Myanmar, yet the latter is lagged off by the West.
The West is only kind to SA cos they have oil…
October:19:2005 - 02:20
All of which begs the questions — what cartoons are they going to be showing, and who starts a kid’s show at 10 and 11 PM? And can those really be considered “films?” I mean, 1 hour isn’t even long enough for Wallace & Gromit. Jimmy Neutron’s a bit risque…perhaps Spongebob, though the humor may not translate. Perhaps the Smurfs (though not the recent UNICEF version).
October:19:2005 - 09:22
This is being set up for Ramadan, when the clock is generally turned upside down. As to the cartoons themselves? I’m thinking along the lines of Tom & Jerry or Mighty Mouse…
October:20:2005 - 08:16
I wonder how they are being dubbed. Am I the only one who remembers what the Soviets did to “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”? Their “dubbing” changed the dialogues, and they completely altered the ending, changing the film from a fictionalized exposé about New Deal politics into a despairing tale of capitalism and Western democracy.
Can we really believe that the same thing won’t happen to these cartoons? If it is in America’s interests to encourage the re-opening of cinemas, is it not also America’s interest to find out how they are being employed?
October:20:2005 - 13:06
Actually, the cartoons are probably in Arabic to begin with. There are Arab animation companies in Egypt, the UAE, and I believe in North Africa as well. The Arabic version of “Sesame Street,” “Iftah Ya Simsim,” has long been a staple of kids’ TV in the region.
That said, there are dubbers. I recall when my son was a toddler he’d watch cartoons as various as “Crash Cargo” and “Sealbert” either dubbed or subtitled.