By Suzan Khawatmi : Journalist and a member of SFL
It has become expected to criticize feminist organizations and attack feminist ideologies, often putting them on trial and demanding they clarify their identity and prove their ability to exist in the public sphere, as they believe it is an imitation of Western theories that encourage women to break free from traditional customs and norms, enabling them to demand rights that were not deemed appropriate boldly. The obstacles historically founded on deep-rooted masculine concepts have been established regardless of whether they fit or not fit women.
To change prevailing concepts and achieve justice and equality for the women who constitute half of society, feminist organizations, initiatives, supportive groups, and advocates for women’s issues are making significant efforts to achieve progress in areas such as preparing women for decision-making positions, limiting harassment issues, eliminating discrimination clauses in constitutions and laws, criminalizing domestic violence, curbing the phenomenon of child marriage, and addressing other sensitive matters.
Despite the legitimacy of these demands, they have not yet become part of the wider popular consciousness. This calls for thinking about means capable of spreading and reaching various segments of people to contribute to changing prevailing concepts. This is the task of the media.
public opinion
The role of cinema and television is not limited to providing entertainment and visual pleasure; it can also influence public opinion, promote specific ideologies, and instill principles and values. This has made it a director in the hands of ruling regimes that control the production and broadcasting sectors to disseminate ideologies and policies that suit their interests. The media directs the public’s attention to specific issues, raises them, and suggests what should be contemplated.
This becomes evident when the media exaggerates in presenting topics and issues to reinforce its point of view. In a study titled “The Role of the Media in Shaping mental images,” Dr. Abdelkader Allal explains: “Human behavior depends on the ‘mental image,’ a term first coined by Walter Lipman and essentially suitable for explaining many of the impact processes used by the media. It primarily targets the human mind. The impact in media and communication results from directing the message toward the recipient, changing, reinforcing, and implanting ideas and images according to the predefined objective. This is the role played by the media in shaping mental images about topics and issues in the audience’s minds. Therefore, any change in the mental image necessarily leads to a change in behavior[1].
What is imprinted in our minds as we follow television programs?
Women’s issues
Despite recent changes in women’s conditions, their active roles in the Arab Spring revolutions, and their remarkable courage in facing refugee and migration issues and the hardships of life, discussing their problems in Arab drama and programs remain somewhat obscure and biased, with a few exceptions aiming to address women’s rights and attempting to bring about real change in societal systems. Examples of such works include TV series like “lipstick” “Time of Shame” “The Woman’s Shadow” and “Faten Amal Harbi,” as well as films like “I Want a Solution,” “where to Now” “Capernaum,” and “sorry for the Law.” Additionally, documentary films have depicted women’s roles in war even though they are less widely watched.
These works, with the issues they raised, sparked varied reactions and, in some cases, led to legal and reform changes. Recently, the Egyptian parliament moved to discuss the guardianship law after the TV series “Under Guardian” was aired.
However, in its broader production, drama still confines women to the roles of victims, seductresses, opportunists, victims of violence, submissive and incapable of making sound decisions. Women’s commodification as a marketing tool is a widely spread practice. Commercial cinema deliberately presents harassment scenes as a reflection of a male legacy as a form of humor and satire. This can only be understood as a form of incitement to harassment. The illusion created by visual scenes encourages teenagers to imitate them and reinforces misconceptions among viewers. Drama can raise, lower, or distort public awareness, and this depends on the orientation of the producing entities and the role of regulatory bodies when they ignore the presentation of demeaning and offensive issues involving women.
Until efforts converge towards changing the reality of women and decision-makers and focus on the educational role of drama, changing societal culture built on male-centric thinking becomes possible.
[1]Al-Mawaqif magazine for research and studies in societies and history
