Egyptian revolution of 1952s Impact on Egyptian Films Content Essay

Egyptian revolution of 1952s Impact on Egyptian Films Content - Essay Example The Egyptian Cinema also underwent a significant change as a result. However, this change was not immediate. It was after turning to socialism in 1961 that the Nasser regime took hold of the film industry. Before the revolution, the Egyptians had been going through what is now generally regarded as the golden period of filmmaking. The overall mood and imagination of the audience was brilliantly depicted in the movies of the 1940s and the 1950s. There were many stereotypical characters, and a lot of actors gained prominence by playing such type of characters. Egypt was introduced to cinema at a very early stage as opposed to many other countries. It was because Egypt was under French and British influence and it was mostly introduced early to new innovations in any field. In the 1930s, it was the third largest film industry in the world (Boraie, 2008). It was the most productive film industry in the Arab world. It was probably because Egypt was having the most stable demographic at th at time. The lives of the natives were apparently not disturbed by the colonial powers. Especially after 1919, the Egyptian natives were greatly empowered and almost all the sectors began to be Egyptianized. A similar influence was observed on the movies. The impact of Western culture had been lessened to a great degree. The culture of the movies had become more Arabic and Egyptian. One of the major factors of Egyptian cinema’s pre-revolution eminence was the emergence of Umm Kuthum. Also known as Kawkab al-Sharq (Star of the East), she was a brilliant actress and probably the greatest singer that the Arabic world has ever produced. Her fame garnered a great number of audiences. Especially in the neighboring Arabic countries, the Egyptian culture and traditions had become widely familiar. The influence was so much that the colonial powers of the time saw the independent Egyptian cinema as a threat. According to Salmane et al (1976), â€Å"The French in the Maghreb... formed a "special department" on African problems that was "responsible for setting up a production centre in Morocco whose official mission was to oppose the influence of Egyptian cinema.† Egyptian cinema reached its Golden Age during the late 1930s. The content of the movies of this era mostly was the echo of contemporary events. A notable movie which can also be regarded as the pioneer of the golden era is The Will. This movie shows a group of university graduates who have to suffer economically despite their good education. Disgruntled with Egypt’s High Institute of Commerce, they protest against it (Kholeif, 2011). This movie depicted the unemployment problem of the time which was a harsh reality, and it was greatly appreciated by the audience. One of the hallmarks of the movies of the Golden age was that almost each movie had a happy ending. Sad endings were seldom well-received because they were incompatible with the overall psychology of the audience of Egypt. These mo vies mostly raised the contemporary issues and they were made to reach a solution hence leaving the audience satisfied. However, the pre-revolutionary cinema was still very much regulated. The content of the movies was somewhat confined. The British still had control over the political and economical structure of the country and the press was not free. There was still a struggle to break free from the Western influence. But the moviemakers preferred to play it safe, and make movies of the content that would both pass the censorship test and would be a commercial success (Schochat, 1990). A detestable practice also became active which was almost a form of plagiarism. Western movies or novels were adopted and made into Egyptian movies but the source was never acknowledged. A