{"id":16321,"date":"2024-12-05T12:52:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T10:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/?p=16321"},"modified":"2024-12-05T13:24:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T11:24:13","slug":"navigating-netflix-during-wartime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/navigating-netflix-during-wartime\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Netflix During Wartime"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"16321\" class=\"elementor elementor-16321\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d0ef5be elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d0ef5be\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-af466fd\" data-id=\"af466fd\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-85ab27b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"85ab27b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?fit=800%2C534&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-16326\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?w=5133&amp;ssl=1 5133w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?w=2400&amp;ssl=1 2400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fbb8ef4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fbb8ef4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amid the ongoing war in Lebanon, platforms like Netflix offer moments of escapism for those staying home, hoping to find brief relief from the turmoil around them. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/person-holding-remote-pointing-at-tv-11SgH7U6TmI?utm_content=creditShareLink&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@freestocks\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">freestocks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unsplash<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-13a2d77 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"13a2d77\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c5126e5\" data-id=\"c5126e5\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dde0c02 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dde0c02\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Israel\u2019s aggressions and bombardment began escalating in Lebanon in late September, people became displaced in their own country, seeking refuge in \u201csafe areas,\u201d public schools, or homes of friends or family. Others, especially those residing close to \u201ctargeted areas,\u201d were trying their best to remain indoors and as safe as possible. Since most of my time was spent indoors, I found myself constantly glued to a screen. It usually consisted of me watching the news, hoping the violence doesn\u2019t reach the areas my family and I are staying in and enduring images of the destruction \u2018Israel\u2019 was leaving behind in their path to expel our people from their land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even when I would end up with free time and in need of relief, my screen was still the go-to. My first instinct was usually to open Netflix. As someone who has always relied on films and TV shows to destress or escape from reality, I had hoped that they would help me achieve that even now. With its wide selection and many releases that come out regularly, Netflix was, in theory, a perfect escape from the stressors of aggression. However, a deeper look into some missing films and an analysis of ongoing shows made it harder to escape the overwhelming nuances of what was unfolding in our country and region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9b48787 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9b48787\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7b0a4c7\" data-id=\"7b0a4c7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b62eed1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"b62eed1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align: center; display: flex; justify-content: center;\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Netflix has removed the Palestinian Stories section on its platform, featuring nearly 32 films about Palestine, leading to backlash from several rights groups.<br><br>\u201cHow does Netflix justify the removal especially when Palestinians are facing genocide in Gaza?\u201d questions rights group\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zjeATYpV5r\">pic.twitter.com\/zjeATYpV5r<\/a><\/p>&mdash; BFM News (@NewsBFM) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NewsBFM\/status\/1850161723694866603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 26, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f72324d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f72324d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Netflix&#8217;s removal of its &#8216;Palestinian Stories&#8217; section has ignited outrage from rights groups, who accuse the platform of silencing Palestinian voices during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsBFM\/status\/1850161723694866603\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsBFM\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NewsBFM<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NewsBFM\/status\/1850161723694866603\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">X<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2f788a9 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2f788a9\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b625f4d\" data-id=\"b625f4d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1ce4fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e1ce4fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Palestinian Stories\u2026no more<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost reminiscent of the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found ourselves surfing Netflix\u2019s library to find shows and films to entertain us while our movement was limited. Ironically, it was during the late stages of the pandemic that a series of Palestinian films became available on Netflix under the library titled \u201cPalestinian Stories.\u201d However, by mid-October of this year, at least 19 films were removed from the streaming service. While Netflix claims that this was due to the expiration of the licenses after three years, many activists have labeled this act as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/activists-demand-netflix-reinstates-palestinian-films\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">erasure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Films and TV shows have long been political and used as a form of representation. Western media has actively played a role in promoting Israeli voices at the expense of Palestinian and Arab ones. Widely-advertised, Israeli-made shows such as Fauda and The Spy paint Palestinians as terrorists while normalizing and justifying Israeli occupation and violence. Therefore, Netflix\u2019s censoring of Palestinian voices is not coincidental: it comes at a time where \u2018Israel\u2019 is regularly cutting internet and communication from the Gaza Strip throughout the ongoing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeastmonitor.com\/20241018-israel-cuts-internet-in-northern-gaza-amid-its-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinians\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">genocide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, limiting Palestinian stories from reaching the world. Netflix has often prided itself by creating or showing content about queer, racial, and other forms of struggle as a form of activism. Hence, the removal of Palestinian Stories, which cover a marginalized group in the midst of them being ethnically cleansed, stands as a testament to the limitations of such \u201cactivism\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6302d6b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6302d6b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3462616\" data-id=\"3462616\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-62ce3c8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"62ce3c8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align: center; display: flex; justify-content: center;\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBbaAVXN6eZ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBbaAVXN6eZ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBbaAVXN6eZ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Netflix MENA (@netflixmena)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1894e9b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1894e9b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mohammad and Safa, contestants on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, appear in a show criticized for sidelining Palestinian identity, with Mohammad\u2019s heritage only briefly acknowledged during his wedding.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBbaAVXN6eZ\/?igsh=bGV5dG42ODhlZDBt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/netflixmena\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Netflix MENA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DBbaAVXN6eZ\/?igsh=bGV5dG42ODhlZDBt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e880109 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e880109\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b66ae27\" data-id=\"b66ae27\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53c9f58 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"53c9f58\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Love is Blind Habibi<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for what remains, many people in Lebanon and abroad have been enticed to watch the new reality TV show <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Arab spin-off of the popular American show,\u00a0 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In general, the cast are clearly upper-class Arabs who reside in the United Arab Emirates, some of whom also grew up in Canada, Europe, Africa, etc. While reality shows tend to create regionalized spin-offs for audiences to relate more to the cast, values, and events, this cast achieved the opposite. They portrayed a lifestyle that only a small portion of Arabs can relate to. At some points, what is being depicted is simply misrepresentative. For instance, the contestant Ammar refuses to allow his partner Karma to continue belly dancing should they get married and gives her an ultimatum to choose between him and dancing. He argues that allowing women to dance does not align with his \u201ctraditional Arab values,\u201d while in reality, belly dancing has been a core part of Arab culture for generations. This isn\u2019t to say many Arab men don\u2019t also hide their fragile masculinity behind this or similar excuses, but what truly baffled me as a viewer was how not one contestant argued with him, or at least none of those arguments were shown in the final cut. Many of the expectations the contestants had from their partners demonstrate now-recognized toxic behavior which are justified as portraying \u201ctradition over modernity.\u201d Take Nour, for example, whose lines like \u201cthose feminists ruined everything for us\u201d and \u201cthere aren\u2019t any real men anymore\u201d aimed to emphasize her expectations of being in a patriarchally-reinforced relationship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The disconnect from the characters might have been fine for the casual viewer, who maybe got in a good laugh at how comedically disconnected the contestants appeared from reality. But it\u2019s hard not to notice that the filming of this show was happening around the same time Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza began in October 2023, aligning, coincidentally, with the Western media timeline of dehumanizing Arabs and Palestinians.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One example of that is when British news presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer yelled at Palestinian activist Dr. Mustafa Al Barghouthi, saying: \u201cMaybe you\u2019re not used to women speaking\u201d back in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/israel-palestine-call-ofcom-probe-racist-interview-palestinian-politician\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">January<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, driving the narrative of Arab men being patriarchal by nature. This begs the question of how <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s Arab crew members were fine with this image they spread, which hurts Arabs and fuels imperial agendas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is not to mention that the show was produced in the UAE, which normalized ties with Israel in 2021. Since October 2023, it has been regularly rejecting visa applications for Lebanese citizens, especially Shia Muslims. Under the same breath, flydubai has announced 7 daily flights on the Tel Aviv-Dubai route <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/brandblend\/flydubai-is-expanding-its-operations-in-israel-820131\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">starting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> September 6 and the Emirati government has demonstrated its allegiance by sharing intel with the US and Israel <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newarab.com\/news\/saudi-uae-shared-intel-us-israel-iran-attack\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ahead<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Iran\u2019s attacks on Israel in April.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, there is the issue of hiding <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contestant Mohammed\u2019s heritage. Aside from an ornament with the word \u2018Palestine\u2019 written in Arabic during his house tour, there was no indication of Mohammed\u2019s origins for the majority of the show. When he spoke of his family, he only mentioned his connections to Jordan. It wasn\u2019t until the episode of his wedding that he stated he was also Palestinian while very briefly discussing the tradition of the Palestinian <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">zaffa <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during a wedding. This further fuels the accusation of Palestinian erasure against Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e0541d9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"e0541d9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align: center; display: flex; justify-content: center;\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DAbTColvNxh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DAbTColvNxh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DAbTColvNxh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Netflix MENA (@netflixmena)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-29d8b88 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"29d8b88\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2612f0b\" data-id=\"2612f0b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c26abd8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c26abd8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding Ola is a show praised for its relatable humor and authentic portrayal of Arab family life and relationships. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DAbTColvNxh\/?igsh=MWhkbDdpbjU5MHM3Mg%3D%3D&amp;img_index=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/netflixmena\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Netflix MENA <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DAbTColvNxh\/?igsh=MWhkbDdpbjU5MHM3Mg%3D%3D&amp;img_index=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b109cb2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b109cb2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-64ccfe2\" data-id=\"64ccfe2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d813f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2d813f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Finding Ola<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be infuriating how a reality TV show, watched to destress, can lead to a rabbit hole of realizations and offense at misrepresentation. Inversely, the second season of the Egyptian dramedy <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding Ola<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013released on September 26 on Netflix\u2013 felt like a breath of fresh air. The show, a continuation of the 2010 show <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ayza Atgawez <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\u2018I Want to Get Married\u2019), follows Ola after her divorce struggling to balance her new business, being a mother, and finding new love. The season offered many well-needed laughs in its relatable humor that usually comes as a result of three Arab generations living under one roof. On the show, the character Montasser fulfills his dream of visiting Paris only to get pickpocketed near the Eiffel Tour. He is taken to a predominantly Arab district of Paris by a stranger to help him get back his belongings. Ultimately, he would reply to \u201cHow was Paris?\u201d with \u201cI didn\u2019t go to Paris, I went to Al Gharbia\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">referencing an area in Egypt\u2019s Delta region. It is a far better representation of Paris than <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emily in Paris<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in my opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding Ola <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also painted an accurate picture of navigating modern relationships and values in traditional cultures. Ola\u2019s brother, Hazem, takes it upon himself to be an authoritative figure for his niece in the absence of her father after she gets her first period, restricting her movements and wardrobe options and trying to reinforce that mentality in his nephew. The show demonstrated how this behavior only encourages distance and dishonesty between children and their parents and also motivates educating the older generation instead of portraying them as a lost cause. It did not try to convince the audience that that is how Arabs are by nature. Sadly, this show wasn\u2019t marketed as heavily as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s hard to know why for sure. It could just be that the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> franchise is more likely to get viewers from the name alone than <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding Ola<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But why is the difference so significant? It is widely agreed upon nowadays how negative stereotypes in media affect viewers\u2019 perspectives, but has anyone questioned whether viewers are more likely to gear towards media that reinforces stereotypes? And if streaming services are therefore more likely to push that content to gain more viewers?<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-122d138 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"122d138\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4c3a48e\" data-id=\"4c3a48e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b861287 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"b861287\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align: center; display: flex; justify-content: center;\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_dg1tOg2Cb\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_dg1tOg2Cb\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_dg1tOg2Cb\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Heartstopper (@heartstopper)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ce93d20 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ce93d20\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Known for its honest depiction of queer struggles, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heartstopper<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has drawn criticism for its Western framing, which limits relatability for Arab audiences. Behind-the-scenes post by <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heartstopper<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Instagram.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_dg1tOg2Cb\/?igsh=NGtxc2MwZDB4MHcw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/heartstopper\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heartstopper<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_dg1tOg2Cb\/?igsh=NGtxc2MwZDB4MHcw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-70b334b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"70b334b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a073a63\" data-id=\"a073a63\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07732ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"07732ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Heartstopper<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving on to foreign selections, the third season of the British show <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heartstoppper<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was also released in late September. Throughout its run, the show has been praised for its authentic portrayal of queer relationships and struggles, breaking the barrier of its setting and reaching audiences from different countries and backgrounds. The latest season delved into newer topics such as being non-binary and mental disorders such as OCD and eating disorders. Those, too, were portrayed effectively. And yet, to my surprise, I found it difficult to care this season. While the struggles can be universal, they are also portrayed from a Western lens. This is expected from a British show starring a British cast, and one can\u2019t blame it for not being otherwise. But after a year of the West demonstrating time and time again its nonchalance towards Arab lives and struggles, I began to wonder why Arabs should care about theirs. Even though the struggles themselves can be relatable, the means by which they deal with them are not. Westerners have easy access to proper mental health institutions, gender-affirming surgeries, and forms of communal support. Would they care that Palestinian and Lebanese people are being deprived of those? One can partially attribute this to Israel\u2019s genocide and its pinkwashing campaign, also propagated by the West. It\u2019s hard to think they would, especially after witnessing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplesworld.org\/article\/theyd-kill-you-islamophobic-campaign-aims-to-diminish-queer-support-for-gaza\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the success of Israel\u2019s pinkwashing campaign<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since October 7 and before. To the Western eye, Arabs and Muslims are all homophobic, and Arab or Palestinian queer individuals either do not exist or are victims in need of Western liberation. Naturally, Western media and moviemaking supports this campaign actively. Take for example the character Khaleel \u2018Kenny\u2019 Al-Bahir in the mid-2000s sitcom <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The War at Home<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Though his origins aren\u2019t mentioned explicitly, his last name and being portrayed by Rami Malek indicate that he is of Middle Eastern heritage and\/or a Muslim. In the show, he comes out as gay but his conservative parents kick him out, so he ends up staying at the home of his best friend Larry, whose father Dave is played by outspoken zionist Michael Rapaport.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>When the Screens are Off<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps these thoughts wouldn\u2019t have come to mind under better circumstances. If I watched the latest season of Heartstopper any other time, I might have enjoyed it just as much, if not more than the previous ones. Another time, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding Ola<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> might not have been as heartwarming. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Blind Habibi <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">might not have been as infuriating&#8230; But no matter how I tried to distract myself, the war prevailed not just physically but also mentally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although I recognize that profit does not care for context, I can rationalize that it isn\u2019t realistic to expect producers, especially foreign ones, to modify their shows for audiences going through geopolitical conflicts. I can only hope that people of Arab backgrounds in the film-making industry will be more mindful of the impact their shows have on global perception. I also can argue that Netflix and other streaming giants should be more conscious of the influence their content has on cultural and political awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid the ongoing war in Lebanon, platforms like Netflix offer moments of escapism for those staying home, hoping to find brief relief from the turmoil around them. Photo by freestocks on Unsplash. When Israel\u2019s aggressions and bombardment began escalating in Lebanon in late September, people became displaced in their own country, seeking refuge in \u201csafe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,318],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-column","category-silenced-lands-powerful-voices"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/al-rawiya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freestocks-11SgH7U6TmI-unsplash.jpg?fit=5133%2C3422&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16321"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16340,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16321\/revisions\/16340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}