A fascinating topic in almost every country, Pop Culture. This article will help the reader understand that there are similarities between the Arab culture and the Western Culture. Even when it comes to the popular arts.
Pop Culture:
Understanding the Rising Generation
The original influence of pop culture in the West started infiltrating the Arab world starting with Lebanon. Western pop artists fashions are starting to rub off into the Arab community and surprisingly is being widely accepted by the younger generation. Arab pop stars are becoming more common. Something that is interesting that they are not adopting from the west is there are no, what we would call, "sell outs". They do not follow what their fans want but instead they base their decisions off of a popular Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal who is said to be building his kingdom with a strong foundation with a strong centralized appreciation for modern culture that some may see as extreme. Arab youth are even beginning to whistle at fully cloaked Arab women. To a degree, some of the west’s bad habits are being formed in this pop culture revolution. He has formed the Rotana Audio Visual Company which would be comparable to what we know as MTV. It is the sponsor for more than 100 upcoming arab stars.
http://tariqnelson.com/2006/10/27/saudi-funded-arab-pop-culture/
What's new on the block
One of these pop stars is Haifa Wehbe, who is the Arab world's leading sex symbol. Although, most of the conservative population does not look upon this with the least approval. The sister of a hero who died in war has decided to step out from the crowd and show that she can make a difference in the world. Someone was heard saying "Haifa's music offers an escape from the daily tension of Lebanon's politics," said Layale Harb, a tourism student. "She is certainly easier to dance to than Hezbollah war songs."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/1533342/Lebanese-pop-diva-backs-Hezbollah-sheikh-to-defend-country's-honour.html
Here is one of Haifa Wehbe's music videos. This will show the viewer how western culture is being adopted into the arab Culture.
References and links for more information
Posted on October 27, 2006 by Tariq Nelson
http://tariqnelson.com/2006/10/27/saudi-funded-arab-pop-culture/
To visit the Rotana record company
http://www.rotana.net/RotanaNew/Rotana/default.aspx
For a brief history of the coming forth of Rotana records
http://www.rotana.net/RotanaNew/Rotana/about.aspx
To learn more about Haifa Wehbe-
By Michael Hirst in Beirut, The Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:07AM GMT 05 Nov 2006
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/1533342/Lebanese-pop-diva-backs-Hezbollah-sheikh-to-defend-country's-honour.html
To watch a music video of Haifa Wehbe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UQ8oCIBviY
To listen to some samples of what Arabic music sounds like
http://www.listenarabic.com/
Credit to:
Shane Sharp