maybe the dog should sue –
It’s a common complaint that the ‘West’ does not understand the Middle East but I have often thought the real problem lies, at least when it comes to culture, it is the Middle East which does not ‘get’ the West.
A prime example is the outrage over a low-budget American romantic-comedy which is currently making the rounds in Egypt that has the bigwigs in Egypt up in arms with dignity decidedly ruffled. Ha’aretz:
The family of Anwar Sadat is demanding a public apology from the U.S. embassy in Cairo over an American feature film that includes a dog named after the late Egyptian leader. The movie, “I Love You, Man” – a romantic comedy produced by entertainment conglomerate DreamWorks – hit theatres this year.
In one scene in the film, which was recently released in cinemas across Egypt, a character refers to his dog by the name “Anwar Sadat.” The name was chosen by the character “because [the dog and Sadat] look exactly alike.”
The Sadat family claims that the likening of the former Egyptian president to a dog offends its sensibilities and insults the Egyptian nation. It is also demanding that all copies of the film be turned over to its possession. Sadat’s nephew, Mohammad Asmat Sadat, told an Egyptian television station that the family is not seeking to suppress freedom of speech but to preserve the honor of one of Egypt’s most recognizable symbols.
“We are talking about a historic figure that paid with his life for the sake of achieving peace and stability in the entire region,” Sadat’s nephew told the station. Sadat also appealed to Egypt’s state prosecutor to launch an investigation against the film’s producers and its distributors in the country. “We favor a cultural struggle,” Sadat’s nephew said. “We will go as far as the U.S. Congress because we are fed up with the offending of Arab and Egyptian sensibilities with cheap propaganda.”
Most westerns and especially Americans – love their pets, and mostly treat the pets as treasured members of their human families. On the other hand, most Egyptians think of dogs as ‘unclean’ animals which no one in their right mind would pamper or share a bed with, and yet, as treasured members, it’s quite rare of a North American dog owner to give a name to his dog for someone he holds in contempt which is why few dogs here are ever named Adolph Hilter.
In western culture for a joke to succeed the elements must somehow be readily recognizable and firmly rooted in the consciousness of Western popular culture. The fact most Westerners recognize the name ‘Anwar Sadat” is evidence of how deeply he made an impression on our psyche. I doubt if you contacted 100 NY Times subscribers and asked them who the current leader of Egypt was – more times than not – they would draw a blank, and this, in spite of the fact Hosni Mubarak is regularly and probably mentioned at least once weekly in the NY Times.
Perhaps the slip of my western arrogance is showing but I rather think it’s a positive thing most Westerns can recognize the name of an Egyptian leader whose name doesn’t start with Pharaoh and end with Ramsey or Tutankhamun. Although, demanding an apology from the US Congress for what jokes a Hollywood movie does or does not tell isn’t going to be getting you anything near the respect or reverence you feel your dead leader deserves; while your outrage and threatened legalistic bile will become nothing more than the gris which feeds the mills of late night comedians all over the West.
