The Entertainment Media Use in the Middle East survey conducted by Northwestern University in Qatar in partnership with the Doha Film Institute has revealed that the majority of Arabs want tighter censorship of films and TV shows. The six-nation poll was based on 6,035 face-to-face interviews in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and the UAE. […]
The Entertainment Media Use in the Middle East survey conducted by Northwestern University in Qatar in partnership with the Doha Film Institute has revealed that the majority of Arabs want tighter censorship of films and TV shows.
The six-nation poll was based on 6,035 face-to-face interviews in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and the UAE.
Around 69% of respondents felt there should be greater regulation of romantic content, while 74% said more should be done about on-screen violence. 68% of respondents said films or other entertainment programmes should be banned altogether if they are found offensive.
Most of those surveyed said Arab films and television are good for morality, while just 15% said the same about films from the US. Over a third said they thought Hollywood films and TV shows are harmful for morality.
Censorship is applied in varying degrees across many Arab countries. Films are regularly censored in cinemas; in the UAE, for example, The Wolf of Wall Street was 45 minutes shorter due to removed scenes. Some films are banned outright, such as the movie Noah, which did not screen in cinemas in countries including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt.
Two-thirds of adults from the countries surveyed said people benefit from watching content from different parts of the world, yet a similar proportion said they prefer films that portray their own culture. Around 79% said more should be done to preserve cultural traditions, while at the same time 70% want more cultural integration with modern society.
These apparently contradictory findings really are not, but reflect how the Arab world is coping with globalisation and still grappling to preserve local culture, said Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar.
Abdulaziz Al Khater, Chief Executive of the Doha Film Institute, said the survey showed a growing demand for locally generated entertainment.
The findings reinforce the idea that nurturing a thriving creative industry in our region is vital to enabling the creation of content that accurately reflects Arab culture, Al Khater said.
