Layalina Productions, Inc. | The Layalina Review: "Arab Programming Inspires Masses"

The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 14, June 19-July 02, 2009

Arab Programming Inspires Masses

Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), one of the pioneering media organizations and creative services groups in the Middle East, makes a strategic endeavor to present significant programming during the Holy Month of Ramadan that caters to a highly diversified audience across the region, reports Zawya.

Dubai TV also ensures that it brings to the forefront works featuring leading protagonists of Arabic theatre, particularly during this Holy Month. In the past years, the channel has set a trend in highlighting a galaxy of stars through social and reality stories ranging from comedy to drama, including historical and even Bedouin ones.

With mega productions that match DMI’s ambition of presenting programming to suit the tastes of viewers all across the Arab world, the series joins the level of distinguished international works, with the talent and stature of the Arab actors matching their counterparts in some of the most advanced theatres around the world.

Among the various actors featured, the Jordanian celebrity Saba Mubarak, who starred in 'Sera'a Ala El Remal', will lead the new historical series 'Balqees' this year. The show tells the story of the queen of Saba'a, highlighting all the struggles and conspiracies surrounding her reign. The series also takes us into the roots of willpower and democracy which she worked to establish in Yemen.

Dubai TV's special fare during the Holy Month of Ramadan promises programming that will allow audiences to experience some moments of indigenous theatre, while absorbing the rich nuances of Arabic culture.

Some television series also have the power to show the humorous side of the grim reality, claims Ray Hanania for SN News Herald. The series “Arab Labor” is a mild translation of the sitcom’s Hebrew name, Avoda Aravit, which is slang for “sloppy workmanship” - a derisive stereotype of the Arabs in Israel.

The sitcom is the brainchild of Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua, and produced by Israeli Danny Paran. “Yet under all this, Kashua may have achieved one of the most brilliant portrayals of the challenging life Arabs in Israel face every day,” comments Hanania.

What is really impressive is how the insignificant in life becomes the symbol of the very significance of the relationship between Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, continues Hanania. Episode after episode draws the viewer through the maze of conflicts which shape the reality of Arab-Jewish life in Israel.

The sitcom is broadcast in Hebrew with English sub-titles that are easy to read and understand. Words are often mistranslated to disguise the more obvious racism that sometimes exists in dialect, speech patterns and habits.

However, Hanania deplores that most Arabs will not be able to see “Arab Labor,” because there are no cable or TV systems that have far enough reach to present this sitcom to the public in the United States or in the Arab World.

The DVDs of the series can be purchased online at www.AliveMindMedia.com.

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