Listening to the lecture
for week 5, I found the clip from Robin Wright speaking about the Arab Spring
and the popular culture influences in the various Middle Eastern uprisings very interesting. I had not
previously considered how things such as hip-hop could have influenced these
uprisings. Wrights idea that the revolutions that occurred in places like Egypt
and Tunisia were closely linked with cultural revolutions occurring in the
youth of these cultures was enlightening and to some extent explained why the
uprisings occurred when they did.
It was also an
enlightening video for the whole purpose of this course as it really showed how
religion can be so intrinsic and influential in popular culture. Previously, I
had accepted that religion is obviously evident and relevant to popular
culture. However, Wright highlights that things like rap music are actually
used to progress the Cultural Revolution in Middle-Eastern countries as they
promote Islam as their religion and part of their culture but not as a tool
that can be used by extremist groups and dictators.
However, at the end of
the video Wright mentioned the great struggle this cultural revolution has
ahead of it, in the face of powerful extremist groups. Now, in 2013, we can see
she was right. In many of the countries where uprisings occurred, they are now
forming constitutions that seem more representative of extremist Islam. This is
the case in Egypt where Mohammed Morsi has become President and women’s rights
seem to be crumbling away (McVeigh, 2013). Obviously the youth sub-cultures, in
places like Egypt, have a long road ahead of them before their goals are
realised, yet, I am sure that popular culture will play a pivotal role in this
struggle.
References
Tracy McVeigh, ‘How Egypt’s
Radical Rulers Crush the Lives and Hopes of Women,’ The Guardian 30 March 2013, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/31/egypt-cairo-women-rights-revolution
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