Syrian Drama Takes Control

By: Muhammed Shamaa

For many decades, Egyptians have dominated the TV screens with their famous romantic and comic movies, and legendary soap operas. The 20th century witnessed the production of great Egyptian classics that many in the Arab world still remember with a heartbeat and an igniting passion. The few attempts in some other Arab countries to have an influential foot in the cinematic and TV scenes were enriching but not compelling enough to compete strongly with the Egyptians. However, the case is different nowadays.

With an attractive Arabic accent and a strong production of soap operas, the Syrians have proved to be serious candidates to win the hearts of Arab TV viewers. Syrian TV legends, such as Doraid Lahham and the late Nihad Qal’i, among the numerous others, have been an emblem of witty, entertaining, and dedicated actors. With the advent of new faces since the 1980s throughout our modern time, Syria has started to seriously compete with Egypt in taking control of the TV realm over the Arab world.

To focus only on the last decade, the Syrian drama has been able to take over that TV realm, and its following rate in the Gulf countries has witnessed exponential growth. This has been due to many reasons. For starters, Syrian TV series have recently touched upon countless sensitive issues that are considered red lines in some of the most conservative Arab societies. Issues like corruption, sex out of wedlock, religion, terrorism, love and old traditions have been deeply addressed over and over again in several controversial productions, such as Zaman Al’aar (Age of Shame), Dei’aa Day’aa (A Lost Village) and others. Controversy has even reached an unprecedented stage when the well-known Syrian Muslim scholar, Mohammad Ramadan Al-Bouti, heavily criticized one TV series that used a Quranic verse as its title, and then reportedly backed off from his criticism, waiting for its end to give his judgment.

Another reason for the increasing influence of the Syrian drama is the money pouring in from large and mainly Gulf-based TV channels, such as MBC, to contribute in the production of many of the popular series. Bab Al-Hara (Neighborhood Gate), had five sequels over five years, and was solely produced by MBC and aired in Ramadan of each year. This TV series in particular became extremely popular because of its unique way of addressing social issues that dominated the Syrian society under the French occupation. Its national spirit, and its funny, albeit agonizing reality, has found its footing in the Gulf countries and in the Palestinian territories where the national spirit was a dire need to unite fighting Palestinian factions.

On the other hand, Syria has produced over the decades countless legendary actors and actresses who have become well-known in their home country and overseas, reaching even to the United States. Few of the Syrian actors participated in Hollywood movies, such as Ghassan Massoud who played Salah Eddine in Kingdom of Heaven. Other Syrian actors, such as Jamal Suliman and Taym Hassan, have played starring roles in Egyptian soap operas with a perfect Egyptian accent.

The future of the Syrian drama holds many surprises and controversial events. It is said that there are plans to produce TV series about Omar bin Al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph. The controversy of directly personifying such widely respected characters in Islam is much debated, and the case is being studied by Muslim scholars to determine its viability or possibility. Other productions are waiting on the line. The challenge is for the Syrian drama to keep addressing such continuously heated issues intelligently, overlooking the fear of censorship.