ONLY IN EGYPT .... The TELEVISION. After having abstained from Egyptian TV viewing for some time, I happen to start with المحور (or Axis?!), channel. The centre round which things rotate is the inspirational name of that channel....... 1. The news bulletin is CHANTED by a feminine voice, (we dont see the speaker, so we use our imagination !) Dramatic news items are reported in a sing song crescendo, rising from deep to high. 2. We get PREVIEWS glimpses, one after the other, of eagerly contradicting guests on talk shows. 3. The next program is sponsored by Ariel. So there is that famous relentlessly repeated over the years Comparison Ad! A white table cloth which looks like a huge sheet is subjected to a variety of stains, ripped into two, and each part is placed into a different washer. We are shown, with a great flourish, the box of Ariel that one machine is using. The other machine is using something from a fuzzy looking box, nameless but with a huge cross over it. The crucial question is then asked to a crowd of colourful spectators, all standing below?! Do you think the unknown powder will wash the stains in one go? And the immediate answer chorused by all in one big SHOUT, لا ااا LaaaA! Will ARIEL get rid of all the stains in one wash? ايوا ! AYWAA! ..... 4. THEN, comes the PROGRAM. A critical topic is discussed. The host is no other than محمد مصطف شردى . Even though he is quite thin, and even looks unwell, theres no mistaking the influence of Amr Adeeb on him. There are so many deviations in the course of the give and take dialogue and switching from serious to comic remarks, that you lose track of what is actually the point of this discussion. Of course there are a couple of let me take a moment to say this. This being not necessarily connected to what was being said, and definitely taking up more time than a moment! 5. You havent had time to grasp what is being said, and suddenly its the ADVERTISING slot again. In rapid succession temptation, advice, warnings, all of it very noisy, often grotesque, and sometimes even defeating the purpose of the ad, starts to bombard the viewers ....... Yes, this can be COMIC, if you look at it this way.. But when you think of the IMPACT on those who watch, and even if its passive, it doesnt make me laugh anymore.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:25:19 +0000
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