Cinnamon Zone

"A woman and her husband arguing about something. The man is yelling and saying: I won't say this twice, your parents can't live with us. The woman tries to calm him down to discuss it quietly and convince him of that.

Then, she brings him a dish of food prepared with none other than Craft cheese. And all of a sudden the man is enchanted, and he's okay with his in-laws coming to live with them."

Yes, Arab men are nothing but insatiable gluttons with no sensitivity whatsoever so if you want to persuade them of something all you have to do is bring them a dish of food, specifically Craft cheese and they will be hooked. Cram his face and he'll be your slave.

Moreover, I find it very humiliating to show a woman begging her husband to let her parents live with them. I think that this is a very sensitive subject in our society and it should not be displayed in this way. Whatever happened to the renowned Arab chivalry and strong family bonds and duty toward parents, not only biological ones, but also in-laws. Cress cross all that and bring him a dish of Craft cheese in one stupid commercial, Ugh!

You might think I'm exaggerating, but those commercials are getting more stupid each day, they are lucky nobody is suing them!

It's no secret I'm a fan of Arabic drama, Syrian drama to be more precise, but I do watch some Egyptian/Jordanian/Khaliji…etc from time to time. I think it's a very important part of our culture and many of these shows reflect social and historical aspects in the Arab world, however mind-boggling, poorly directed/ scripted some of them might be.

This Ramadan, like every year, producers invaded the screens with works that ranged between good and bad. As contradictory as it may sound, Ramadan seems to be TV's highest season, as the shows broadcast in Ramadan keep repeating throughout the year. Personally, having better things to do, I could only follow one TV series, but I did see some scattered episodes from other shows here and there, some of them I had to watch as a part of my job. Working in the media could be fun!

So, I was impressed by some aspects of those shows. Sometimes the acting, the direction, the plot, the music, etc. Other times however, it was the typical remarks on how bad they are. So it occurred to me this morning that, what if we have Emmy Awards for Arabic shows? And I started sorting them out in my mind, and continued all through my way to work. This is what I came up with, and of course it's all a personal preference…

أفضل ممثل في دور ثانوي

وائل شرف- باب الحارة

أفضل ممثلة في دور ثانوي

تاج حيدر- باب الحارة

أفضل ممثل في دور بطولة

تيم حسن- الملك فاروق

أفضل ممثلة في دور بطولة

صبا مبارك- نمر بن عدوان

أفضل تأليف موسيقي

الملك فاروق- (رم، طارق الناصر)

أفضل ممثل ضيف في مسلسل

عبد المنعم عمايري- الليلة الثانية بعد الألف

أفضل ممثلة ضيفة في مسلسل

منى واصف- باب الحارة

أفضل إخراج

حاتم علي- الملك فاروق

أفضل نص أصلي

قضية رأي عام

أفضل مسلسل

باب الحارة  (مش رأي شخصي، إجماع جماهيري)

I still have many thoughts on those shows and Arabic shows in general, these will be posted in the days to come in sha'a Allah…