Almost without
fail, new movie or TV releases by Jordanian artists elicit a, by now,
well-established response by some in society, aptly captured in hashtags such
as, “this (production) does not represent me” as well as unrealistic calls to
ban or block streaming service providers such as Netflix.
اضافة اعلان
This begs the
obvious question: What are the values and their associated identities that some
believe are at risk from such productions?
The perception
of values and identities as being at risk is not specific to Jordan. It has
become a common feature of societies that are grappling with issues surrounding
globalization and technology. Even slogans such as “Make America Great Again”
are in many ways a call to return to a time when values and identities were perceived
to be more homogenous and more readily defined. In a similar vein, the
impression that the identity of white Christian Americans was at risk was a
major rallying cry for the conservative voter base that brought Donald Trump to
the White House.
In Jordan and the
Arab world, it is fair to say that globalizing forces such as the internet leveled
the playing field between states and societies. It is highly unlikely, for
instance, that the Arab Spring would have been possible were it not for
Facebook and its ability to mobilize the youth of this region.
Generally
speaking, there seems to be a unanimous agreement that the redistribution of
power caused by the internet revolution is a welcome development. Yet, where it
is problematic for some, namely conservative segments of society, is when those
same globalizing forces give young people a platform to express themselves in
ways that clash or threaten their value system and their view of what youth
identity should look like.
A bid to return to an imaginary golden era, even an Islamic one, assumes that our societies were homogenous to begin with, when in fact they were a lot more diverse than many assume.
To put it
simply, the internet was a good thing when it weakened government, but it was a
bad thing when it weakened conservatives and their bid to shape the identity of
the country’s youth. In the same context, censorship is unacceptable when it
comes to politics, but requires tightening when it comes to personal expression
like the arts.
The truth of
the matter is that values and identities are constantly evolving everywhere and
have never been static. Contrary to popular belief, the fabric of Jordanian
society has been infused with multiple identities and values over time, even prior
to the establishment of the country and more recently since wave upon wave of refugees
were integrated into Jordanian society. A bid to return to an imaginary golden era,
even an Islamic one, assumes that our societies were homogenous to begin with,
when in fact they were a lot more diverse than many assume.
Whether these
productions represent anyone is really a moot point. Art is not always meant to
be a reflection of society or representative of it. The only thing content
producers and streaming service providers are guilty of is to recognize that
controversy only serves to increase viewership.
There are far
more important events that deserve an outcry that are not consistent with
Jordanian values at all.
The writer is founder
and CEO of Ambit Advisory.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
.jpg)
.jpg)
