East/West, an ambiguous state of being
Subtitle: the construction and representation of Egyptian cultural identity in Egyptian film
By: Hind Rassam Culhane.
Series: Intercultural studies,; vol. 4
Publisher: P. Lang; Peter Lang Publishing; Lang AG International Academic Publishers, Peter
Published: 1995
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 226
Subjects: Khalīl baʻda al-taʻdīl (Motion picture); Motion pictures -- Egypt -- History.; Egypt in motion pictures.; East and West in motion pictures.; Egypt -- Cultural policy.
Description: This analysis of an Egyptian film produced in Cairo in the mid-1980s shows how Egyptian cultural identity is represented. The film Khalil Ba'ad Al-Ta'dil (Khalil After Straightening Out) is a mainstream comedy-drama representing Cairo's urban life and some of its concerns and problems: family life, gender roles, jobs, friendship, sex, marriage, parenthood, divorce and love. The imagery of this film is examined including the content of the dialogue in relation to the characters expressing it; the symbolism of the music, songs and sound effects on its soundtrack; and the colors, clothes, offices, houses, buildings and streets of its settings. This film constructs these images and symbols and what they say about who and what is Egyptian and who and what is Western. These elements are used by the filmmaker to illustrate and highlight the differences.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-208) and index.