Thursday, November 16, 2006

For god sake, get out of your stone age..

[Orignally Posted January 16 2006]

While the world is debating issues like next generation internet, cloning, space stations and high speed information networks, Saudi's are still stuck in the stone age debating issues like women driving and movie theaters. It doesnt get any more pathetic than this and its published in the news papers..





Why No Cinemas?
Source: ArabNews
Saud Al-Balawi • Al-Watan —

This question might be asked by many Saudis who remember seeing films in theaters in the Kingdom as recently as the 1970’s. Certainly the question might be asked by those who travel hundreds — or even thousands of miles — to watch films in neighboring countries. Essentially, cinema is no different from watching TV; indeed many films are shown on our satellite TV stations.

Still, watching a film in a theater is somehow more exciting that watching it at home — and this has made companies run after the profits to be made by opening theaters.

Many people still fondly remember the films once shown in the Al-Hamra Movie Theater in Jeddah. Children saved money from their monthly allowances in order to have outings at the cinema. Last Eid after Ramadan, some hotels in Riyadh began showing children’s film. All indications are that the children who saw the films enjoyed the experience. After the films were shown, the Information Ministry said that it had not issued a permit. The truth is that many people wish the ministry would license movie theaters while others, for their own reasons, hope the ministry will not.

There are people who reject the idea totally. The fear of something new has long been a part of our culture — look at our initial reactions to radio and television. In the past, cinemas were closed because a group in society wanted them closed. These days, many want to see cinemas in the Kingdom as a means of entertainment similar to TV and coffee shops. Our Saudi idea of privacy, which is really a form of isolation, is a problem. Just when we seem about to catch up with the rest of the world, we realize we are trapped far behind. Change will surely come — it has in the past — and it will just as surely be resisted by some.

With its accession to the WTO, Saudi Arabia will witness both economic and social changes. I believe that not being in touch with other cultures will isolate us and make us misunderstood strangers. Rejecting the idea of a cinema is no different from other rejections in the past.
In the past, people rejected the idea of satellite dishes. Now we see them on every rooftop. If we had cinema, it would be under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Just as virtue is protected in wedding halls, educational institutions and in public, so it will be protected in cinemas. I am sure no one would be forced to go into a cinema and neither should one who wants to enter be prevented from doing so.

Many people, Saudis and non-Saudis, want to enjoy themselves and escape from the pressures of their daily lives. Entertainment could provide a way; it would give people pleasure and enable them to see joy in the faces of their children.

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