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Jadd Shwery strikes again.
This time as a "revolutionary." And
his mission is nothing less than changing the image the world has of
Arabs. Yes, sir! Because, like you and me, he's sick and tired of
representations of Arabs as terrorists.
So what does he do?
He terrorizes, I mean, entertains us with his latest music video clip, "Funky Arabs," (which you can watch here at
your own risk). According to press releases, "The idea of Funky Arabs
is to give another impression of the Arabs from what is shown in the
western media"-- which is why he mentions CNN and the BBC. And to make
sure the western world gets the message, Shwery sings in
English. So make no mistake about it, his strike is global.
But who are the Funky Arabs that are presented as an antidote to the other funkless Arabs?
Before we glimpse them, the following appears on an empty screen:
"Every individual that has participated in the following video is an
Arab."
Deep breath.
Then they appear.
According to the most expensive Arabic music video ever, which is
co-directed by Yehya Saade and Shwery, they are a fun loving bunch who
like to sing, dance, have sex and botex. Shwery invites the western
viewer to join the fun, acting like a pimp. He entices the viewer: we
"got sexy girls: Arab beauty that will rock your world" and "loaded
guys."
Yes, they are an expensive bunch who know their designers well. They
are into booze and drugs and kinky sex (straight, gay, S&M,
orgies...). They wear T-shirts that say "FucR Rehab" and tattoos that
say "Louise Ciccone"-- which is Maddonna's name (someone should tell Shwery that Madonna is funky no more).
And if you thought Arab women were submissive, you got it all wrong.
The funcky Arab girl is a dominatrix, who won't leave home without her essential party gear (spanker, mask, handcuffs). And to cure the
viewer of the stereotype of the veiled Arab woman, the video puts women
boobs and legs and crotches on display. Not to be outdone, the funky
boys have their "party boosters" under their suicide belts and their
shaved, oiled torsos are on display from the beginning till the bitter
end.
Because Shwery promises his audience "an Arabic touch with a modern
sense," he throws in some "authentic" touches like camel, shisha, and
Koufeyeh (ouch!!) And he gives a location: Beirut! (the video was
filmed in Karantina, which in my memory is associated with one of the
first massacres of the Palestinians during the Lebanese civil war).
This video is another kind of massacre: of good taste, self-respect,
and Arab nationalism as we know it. (this is a good place to also
mention that Shwery has no singing voice, the music is terrible, and
the lyrics are moronic).
I'm all in favor of freeing Arab masculinity from the hold militarization has on it, but this is not what we have here. (try here)
Shwery is really telling his western audience that some Arabs are good
because they are like you--modeeern. This is sad, doubly so because he gives himself away as a bad copy of what he idealizes when he sounds the silent second "b" in "bombers." Ouch!!
The whole thing hurts!