Why this Ramadan TV comedy inflames, yet entertains
The second season of the Saudi show "Selfie" is winning popular praise but riling up critics during the particularly sensitive holy month.
Since the holy month of Ramadan began June 6, Saudis have been enchanted — and enraged — by “Selfie,” a famous serial TV comedy now in its second season. The show has inflamed public opinion and infuriated many Saudis.
Ramadan is associated with piety and intense rituals including prayers, charitable deeds and supplication. But in recent years, Ramadan has also brought heated debates, excommunication and even calls for beheading those who challenge people’s sense of piety and propriety.
Emotions run high during Ramadan. Public displays of piety are highly valued, while at the same time transgressors can be severely punished.
In the past, Saudis have come to appreciate new television series aired every night during Ramadan to entertain and pass the time. From the glorified lives of pious Muslim leaders and commanders of medieval times to the intrigue of later caliphs, TV producers draw their audiences with stories narrated with obvious political, and always ideological, messages. Given that reading books is not on the agenda of many young Arabs, these dramatized historical episodes inform people about the past, often without a critical gaze. The serial dramas create nostalgia about a glorious history, standing in contrast with everyday lives.
