The Muhannad Effect: Media Panic, Melodrama, and the Arab Female Gaze

Abstract

In the summer of 2008, the Saudi-owned, pan-Arab satellite television network Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) aired a failed Turkish soap opera, Gümü ş , as the Arabized Noor , creating an overnight sensation and a media panic. Arab news media attributed a wave of domestic violence and divorce to the series’ handsome lead actor, and his character’s romantic deportment. This article combines content analysis of Noor , examination of online discourses surrounding the series, and interviews with its producers. It explores women’s use of new media forms—satellite television and the Internet—to articulate desire and discontent, and the media panic these expressions induced among social and religious conservatives. Opposition to Noor —and to the idolization of its male lead—invokes older notions of women’s potent sexual desire as a threat to the social order, and justifies their containment and control. The series’ ambiguity, like that of Turkey itself, invokes binaries of East and West, Islam and secularism, tradition and modernity enabling a range of commentary on the state of Arab society in general, and sexual relations in particular. The Noor phenomenon created a forum where conflicting notions of Middle Eastern identity, sexual agency and gender relations vie for dominance.

Portrayals of Women in Transnational Arab Television Drama Series

“…In contrast, Turkish series are dubbed into colloquial Arabic and the characters' names are Arabized (Buccianti, 2010), generating greater controversy regarding their potential effects on Arab viewers. In addition to criticism of political 'Turkish hegemony' and extension of Ottoman colonization (A'wdat al haymana, 2008), criticism of Turkish drama serials as a form of cultural imperialism has risen and Turkish soap operas have caused moral media panics in the Arab World (Salamandra, 2012). Some of the cultural values presented in these shows (e.g., alcohol consumption, abortion) have been heavily criticized by Saudi clerics (Buccianti, 2010).…”

A Brand Culture Approach to Managing Nation‐Brands

“…The population in the Balkans is in excess of 70 million and Latin America represents more than 400 million consumers (World Population Review, ). In Saudi Arabia alone, 85 million viewers tuned in for the finale of Noor (Salamandra, ). While The valley of the wolves , a series focused on counter‐Western/counter‐hegemonic narratives featuring Middle Easterners as heroes (see Yanik, ; Kraidy and al‐Ghazzi, ), has a distinct consumer base particularly in the Middle East, dramas such as Aşk‐ı memnu (Forbidden love) and conspiracy‐drama Ezel appeal to a wider audience.…”

“…Soft power is ‘getting others to want the outcomes that you want – co‐opt[ing] people rather than coerc[ing] them’ (Nye, : 6) through events and cultural trade. Trailing on the soft power hypothesis (Nye, ; Sharp, ), previous studies have treated Turkey's efforts at repositioning the nation brand as a role model in the region through (but not limited to) TSOs as tools of soft power (Salamandra, ; Yörük and Vatikiotis, ; Çevik, ). For example, central to Turkish state's efforts and the soap opera industry's joint efforts are the appearances made by TSO stars around the globe.…”

“…The belittling of female soap opera viewers by men under the guise of concern for their welfare masks an anxiety over TSOs' potential power (Spence ). The popularity of male TSO actors among female viewers caused reactions from male viewers across the diverse markets (e.g., Salamandra, ). The documentary Kısmet follows the journey of TSOs across the Balkans and the Middle East and focused on the question ‘ Do Greek women have more in common with the East than the West ?’ (Paschalidou, ).…”

Keeping cool, staying virtuous: Social media and the composite habitus of young Muslim women in Copenhagen

“…Older forms of media, especially TV, also make up part of this mix as more private discussions in the home become more public and shared through social media: Scenes that people particularly liked or disliked in popular TV series, such as Noor and other soap operas, are shared on Facebook or linked to on YouTube and, thereby, spur debate on moral issues (Waltorp, 2013b, Salamandra 2012. Sometimes this is done as a Snapchat message, taking a snap-photo of the TV screen while watching a broadcast of a TV series, writing comments directly on the picture before it is sent.…”