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[nomad soul]

Saudi Arabia may open cinemas in country
by Sharifa Ghanem, Bikyamasr | 7 January 2012
(Source: http://bikyamasr.com/52940/saudi-arabia-may-open-cinemas-in-country/)

DUBAI: The ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking at opening cinemas across the country if the government gives the final go ahead, the ministry of culture said on Thursday.

For decades, despite the growing wealth and strong connections with the Western world, film has largely been banned in the country, with Islamic clerics claiming movies would drive the country backward and lead to unrest. Now, citizens could be able to see the latest releases, but it depends on the government�s final say, which is expected to come in the near future.

�When Prince Dr Abdul Aziz Bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh, said we are in the process of setting up cinemas, he would not have said this unless he has definite information in this regard,� Khoja told journalists while visiting King Saud University in Riyadh on 3 January. �At the Ministry of Culture and Information we are ready to cooperate,� he is quoted as saying in The Saudi Gazette. The Mayor of Riyadh has previously said around 230,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited the UAE in summer 2010 just to watch movies, a fact he claims �shows that cinemas in the Kingdom have become important.�

Mohamed Jabar, a 24-year-old university student from Jeddah, said he is in Dubai because he wanted to watch Mission Impossible. �I don�t understand why we aren�t allowed to watch movies in cinemas,� he told Bikyamasr.com. �It isn�t like we don�t have ways to download movies and watch them on our own or travel to Cairo or Dubai just to do so. The government should listen to the people.�

Film is seen as increasingly important in the Gulf region, with prestigious annual film festivals now being held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, alongside events in more traditional centres of Arab media production such as Egypt and Lebanon. Still, the culture ministry said that even if films are readily available in the country, they would be heavily censored and anything deemed �un-Islamic� would remain outside the country.

But for young Saudi�s like Jabar, the hope is that big action films will be coming to a cinema near a Saudi city soon.

(End of article)

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Hmm... I guess they'd either have a family section or specific hours for just women and children patrons; husbands might be stuck sitting with teen boys. (If they have separate gender sections, the staff would certainly need to keep a sharp eye on those teen boys once the lights are dimmed!) Apparently, Qatar just opened the very first of its kind "ladies only" movie theater last month and it's been a hit the past couple of weeks. Maybe that's the route the Saudis might take. However, I'm also curious about which movies would be deemed appropriate to publicly show in the Kingdom.

[cmp45]

IF cinemas come to KSA I imagine many of the films that have explicit scenes will be cut to pieces. Female images with the slightest hint of skin are blurred out on the Saudi Air in-flight movies.
I would think the same will happen on the big screen. Perhaps cartoons will be the main attraction. However...one can only hope cinemas will go ahead as it will be a step in right direction to get as many of these bored trouble making youth out of their cars and off the streets at least for a few hours.

[posh]

Grand opening night presents: The Kingdom.

[johnslat]

Dear posh,

A double feature, actually, with this oldie but goodie as the second flic:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277667/

Regards,
John

[nomad soul]

This commentary on cinemas in the Kingdom is by a Saudi and offers a humorous perspective on why it's a bad idea. http://waleedfareed.hubpages.com/hub/Cinemas-in-Saudi-Arabia

[posh]

John, how about a triple bill with: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/

... although can't imagine many sitting through 3 1/2 hours of it.

Nomad, sitting in the dark with feral youth could never be termed 'entertainment'.

[johnslat]

Dear posh,

I could (sit through 3 1/2 hours of it). Love that film - first saw it back in the early 60s. Heck, for all I know, it might be at least partially responsible for my having gone to Saudi.

Regards,
John

[gelynch52ph]

[CamTam]

The people in Saudi Arabia are yearning for a more moderate way of living than what they have been given. It's just a matter of time before they do get films here.

[veiledsentiments]

They already have them on sat TV... and there they aren't censored.

VS

[johnslat]

Dear gelynch52ph,

Sorry - don't have a download site. There's this on YouTube, though:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vbVHLUHP1I

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

Here's the whole program on one video rather than 13:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDUsKJTkOaE&feature=related

Oddly I had never seen it... only read about it over the years. It is actually worth watching.

VS

[Badar Bin Bada Boom]

[It's Scary!]

Cinemas in the Kingdom? What's next, table-dancing Mutawain? C'mon, people!

I think that what people are forgetting here is that moving pictures represent EVERYTHING that is anathema to Wahabi "sensibilities".

The depiction of the human form, something that only Big Al can create, will happen as soon as they throw open the gates to the Holy Haram and turn it into an amusement park!

It's a dumb thread!

[johnslat]

Dear It's Scary,

"What's next, table-dancing Mutawain?"

Sweet sufferin' succotash - will I EVER be able to get that repulsive mental picture out of my head - AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH?

Regards,
John