Abstract
The image of an Arab family sitting together watching their drama serial, mosalsal, while enjoying sunflower seeds, bizir, and a cup of tea, shay, is the epitome of an Arab family experience. The occurrence of sitting together while watching television is an informal custom across the Arab world. It is likely that these families are watching their drama serials on one of the region’s pan-Arab satellite networks. The collective experience of watching the same television channels and shows connects Arabs and fosters a feeling of community. This exemplifies the distinctiveness of the Arab world, twenty-two nations speaking the same language, connected by culture but divided by borders. The Arabic language can be viewed as a tool that promotes a pan-Arab identity that overcomes borders and establishes a shared experience. The realm of Arab popular culture and the media through which it is delivered has created the space for a shared desire for entertainment and connectedness. It has become a vehicle for a new pan-Arabism, different from that cultivated by Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s. This new pan-Arabism is invoking cultural unity without a broader political movement. Within this context, I intend to describe how popular culture has become an outlet for Arabs to express their future visions and voices within a politically complex environment despite the trauma they have endured.
My primary sources will be the 2012 serial Banat al Aila (Daugters of the Family) and 2020-2021 serial Do’fat Beirut (The Class of Beirut). Both carry a social message and integrate varying Arabic dialects. Banat al Aila uses the Syrian dialect, with some Egyptian dialect, while in Do’fat Beirut, practically every character speaks a different dialect. Various dialects are indicative of Arab society coming together representing their aspirations. Thus, borders are becoming political lines. Analyzing the representation of regional identities and how they are not a hindrance to pan-Arabism, but rather diversify the production of popular culture is essential. Incorporating a bottom-up approach as does Ziad Fahmy in Ordinary Egyptians will help identify how Arabs have formed an identity. Fahmy’s account for the masses in contrast to elites will be influential. I intend to challenge the conventional wisdom that pan-Arabism has failed and that national identities are becoming the norm. I will counter this by proposing that, culturally, pan-Arabism is alive and thriving, especially in younger generations connected by technology and actively engaging with popular culture.
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