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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo and Department of English
and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo and American University in Cairo Press are
collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics.
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Department of English and Comparative Literature American University in
Cairo
Department of English and Comparative Literature American University in
Cairo and American University in Cairo Press
Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language: Youssef Chahine / :
Author(s): Maureen Kiernan and Source: Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, No. 15, Arab Cinematics: Toward the New and theAlternative / : (1995), pp. 130-152Published by: Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairoand American University in Cairo PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/521683Accessed: 26-10-2015 22:30 UTC
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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Cultural
egemony
ndNational ilm
Language:
YoussefChahine
MaureenKiernan
Youssef
Chahine
s without oubt the most
widely
known
Egyptian
irectorn theWest.His work s
regularly
eviewed nd
screened,
specially
in
Europe,
and
he has undertaken everal
co-productions
ithFrench
ilmmaking
ompanies.
And
yet,
he is
intimately
ied to the
country
herehe was
born, aised,
nd
lives
today.
n
no
way
could
Youssef
Chahine
e
regarded
s
anything
ut
an
Egyptian
ilmmaker.
In the
context f
Egyptian
ilm
history,
owever,
Youssef
Chahine is an iconoclast. He has always worked somewhat
independently
f
the
Egyptian
ommercialtudio
inema
nd
yet
he
feels the
pressures
f this
system
mmensely.
He
was
born
in
Alexandria
n
1926,
at
that
ime
cosmopolitanmeeting
round
or
Mediterranean
ultures;
is father as a middle-class
awyer;
nd
his
family
elongs
to
the
Christian
minority,
ore
specifically
o the
Catholic
eligion,
tself
minority
ithin his
roup.
He was educated
in a British chool
n
Alexandria,
nd there ecame
fluent
n
several
languages.Although is fatherntended imto be an engineer n
leaving
chool,
with
reat
inancial
acrifice
y
his
family
e
traveled
to
the
United
States
to
study cting
t the Pasadena
Playhouse
n
California.1
His
experience
n
the United States
and his
continuing
relationship
ith
American
ilm ulture
as becomea
subtext
n his
films,
specially
he
utobiographical
rilogy
hich
s
part
f his most
recent
work.
His
training
as
in
acting,
utwhen
he returned
o
Egypt
hebecame directorirst.Whenhereturnedrom asadena n 1950,
he directed
is first
eature
ilm,
ather
Amin
Baba
Amin).
By
the
time
he had
filmed airo
Station
Bab
al-hadid)
n
1958,
Chahine
ad
developed
an authentic
nd
personal
style
of
filmmaking
hich
showed
a
developing
ounter-cinematic
ractice
opposed
to the
commercial
inema of
Egypt.
The bulk of
Chahine's
career
from
130
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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Cairo Station nward
might
e
considered o
be
the
best
example
f
"auteur"
ilmmaking
n
Egyptian
inema,
with
ll
the
positive
nd
creative ense
implied
n
the term.And
yet,
Chahine
s more
than
simply
n author f a
personal ision;
his
authorship
s also an
attempt
to define
n
authenticallygyptian
ational
ilm
anguage.
n
what
might
e
called
an
attempt
t a
postcolonial
iscourse
n
Egyptian
cinema,
Chahine
has
emerged
s
Egypt's
most
imaginative
nd
polemical
irector.2
His own
relationship
o
cinema nd his
early
nterest
n
theater
and
acting
orms he
ubject
f several f his ater
ilms;
what
eems
most
mportant
o note
n
relation o his
filmmakingractices
s
the
degree of marginalitye experienced hrough is own family,
upbringing,
nd
education.
e
was
raised
n
Alexandria,
he second
city"
f
Egypt; metropolis
enowned or ts
mix
of ethnic
minorities.
As
a member
f
a
bourgeois,
hristian
amily
n
a
predominantly
Muslim
etting,
e
certainly
elt is
marginal
tatus
eenly.3
he film
culture f
Egypt
t this ime nvolved he ervices f
many
f
themost
marginal
roups
n
Egyptian ociety;
t was-until
its nationalization
in
the
early
sixties-dominated
y
ethnic minoritieswithin he
nationalculture f
Egypt.
n a sense, then, he cinema was an
appropriate
hoice
forChahine.
Youssef
Chahine as
ong
defined imselfs an
"Alexandrine;"
what this means
n
the context f
Egyptian ociety
nd culture
s
important
o
an
understanding
f
Chahine's
viewpoint.4
ost
urban
dwellers
n
Egypt
eside
n
Cairo and
Cairo
s
considered
he
center,
the
pulse
of the
country-in
Arabic,
Cairo and
Egypt
are often
designated ith he ameword, misr."Alexandria,iven tspast nd
its
present eographical
ocation,
ontinues o be
associatedwith
multi-culturalism-ittands s a
kindof
counter-point
o
Cairo,
the
heart
f
Egypt.
To define
himself s
an
Alexandrine,
hen,
ndicatesthat
Youssef
Chahine
sees and
represents
himself as
outside the
mainstream,
arginal
o the main
fabric
f the national ulture.
e
has
cast himselfn
this ole n
terms f film
ulture
n
Egypt
s
well,
inorder ooffer n alternative-alternativeot lien--discourse;ut
to
forge
hisdiscourse
hahine
had to
undergo
irst hetrials f
the
existing ystem.
is career
egan
with
series
f
fairly
onventional
films,
omedies,
nd
musicals
presented
n
a
rather
nremarkable
way.
When he
returned
romthe
United States
and
began
his
filmmaking
areer n
Egypt,
e worked
within he tudio
enre
mode.
Alif 5
1995)
131
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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Although
is
early
films
arely
onformed
trictly
o the
fairly
igid
conventionsf commercial
ilmmaking
n
Egypt,
hahine
was
clearly
in
the
grip
fthis
ery
ormidable
ystem.
Chahine, or xample, sedgeneric ormulasnhisfirst ilm,
Baba
Amin,
et
his
early
use of musical
forms,
standard
enre
n
Egyptian
ommercial
inema,
was
even
at
this
tageclearly
marked
by
his
nterest
n
American
ilm
musicals.
he
effect,hen,
s
that f
allusion
to--or
even
parody
of-American
film
rather
han
an
adaptation
f the
pace
and structure
f the
Egyptian
musical
genre.
Yet
he
felt
ompelled
o
work,
o a
large
xtent,
ithin
heformulaic
system
f
Egyptian
ommercial
inema.
The tenfilmswhichChahine irected etween 950and 1958
include
number
f
very
onventional
elodramas
nd
musicals;
n
all of these
texts,
however,
he
manages
to rise
above
complete
accordance with commercial
filmmaking hrough
his sense of
composition
nd
through
his
adaptation
of
Hollywood
genre
techniques
o
an
Egyptian
arrative
iscourse.
He
employs
he star
system
n
a
fairly
onventional
ay,
and he
may
be credited
with
introducing
mar herif
o a mass udience.
Central
tation,
made n
1958,
marks
significant
hange
n
the
directionf his
career. t
tells he
tory
f
thedenizens
f Cairo's
main
railway
tation
n
the
course f one
day.
The
story
enters
n
a
poor
and somewhat
emented
ewspaper
awker
who
finds
himself
obsessed
with
young
oft-drink
eller
t the tation.
e watches
nd
pursues
her and when
she rebuffs
im,
he
attempts
o kill
her,
but
mistakenly
urders
nother
oung
woman nstead.
Theunityftime ndplace mposed ythe ocation fthe tory
and the vents
f the
plot
make his
remarkably
nified
nd
compact
film;
here
s little
ike t
n
the
Egyptian
tudio
ilms fthis
ra.
From
this
perspective,
his
film
emains ne
of
Chahine's
most
narratively
coherent
works
and
indicates
an
implicit
rebellion
against
the
generally
onlinear
arrative
ractices
f
Egyptian
inema.
Chahine
himself
plays
the
role
of
Kinawi,
the demented
murderer.
he
interaction
f the
haracters
n
the
film eveals
n interest
n
differing
culturalodes,basedparticularlynclass.Whileviolence ndsexual
passion
erve
s the
hreads
hich ie the
film
ogether,
hese
hemes
are
explored
n the
elationships
f
a number
f
couples
who
represent
different
ocial
classes
n
Egyptian
ociety;
he
etting
f
the
railway
station
makes
convenient
eeting
lace
for
hese
tories
ounfold.5
The
explicit
ortrayal
f sexual
obsession
nd its
subsequent
132
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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links o violence
s one
issue
whichmakes his remarkable
ilm
n
this cultural
and
historical
context. Chahine's
attempts
at
psychological
ealism
nd
depth,
oth n his direction nd in
his
portrayalfKinawi,mark significantreakwith gypt's ommercial
cinema.
hahine
imself
as stated hat ne of his
main oncerns
s
a
filmmakers
to
address
what
s
needed
n a
particular
ociety
t
a
particular
istoricalmoment.
n
Central
tation,
wanted o address
universal
oncerns
ut
lways
within
he
Egyptian
ontext."6
The
subtext
f sex and violence
which forms he
central
motivation
nd
psychological
evelopment
f
Kinawi s not a
new
issue for
Egyptian
inema,
but the directness
ithwhichYoussef
Chahine reats histheme nd thesympathye brings o his main
character
rovide
new
representation
f this ssue.
The
possibility
f
melodramatic
eneric
ormulas never
farfrom he frame ut with
Kinawi as the
point
f
view,
Chahine
vokes
sympathy
ather
han
bathos orhis characterization.
The
visual
style
of
the film
anticipates
he mature
tyle
of
Chahine nd ndicates careful enseof
composition;
hahine
avors
triadic
compositions
nd oftenunbalancesthe
frame
by placingcharactersn the
edges
ofit. n Central tation hisunderscoreshe
precarious
nature of several of the sexual
relationships
nder
consideration. is use of allusion
s also
present
ere,
lthough
is
homages
o Americanmusicals nd Hitchcock ilms o
not
have the
central
unction
hey
ake n
n
his
ater
exts.
The
opening
f the
film
resents
realistic
ocation-establishing
shot
f the
central tation
xplored
with
tracking
amera n a
fairly
longtake;charactersmove in and out of the frame. he senseof
off-screen
pace
and the
mportance
f
locale is a cinematic lement
which
will
become ne ofYoussef
Chahine's
rademarks.The
arrative
ofthefilm
s one
of Chahine'smost
nified
fforts;
he entral ocus s
on Kinawi
ndhis
obsessionwith he
young
irl.
Unlikemost arrative
films
n
Egyptian
inema,
he
plot
remains
entered n
this
ssue.
There s a
subplot
which nvolves
he
unionizationf theworkers
n
the
station,
ut
this
ubplot
s
not
quite uccessfully
ied
to
themain
plot fthe ilm.Nevertheless,t s thebeginningfChahine's ttempts
to
introduce
olitical
uestions
ntohis
films.7
hahine lso
includes
several
musical
numbers,
conventional
equirement
f commercial
Egyptian
inema,
nd
yet
these
songs
are motivatedn
partby
the
narrative
nd
charactersnd
provide
an added
dimension o the
characterizationor he
womain
ctors.
Alif
5
1995)
133
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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But
such dherence
o
the onventionsf
Egyptian
ommercial
cinema s not hallmark
fthis
ilm
nd
n
this
way
tmarks
turning
point
orChahine.The
subject
f
the
film s
itself ne
which
might
have had
affinities ith
gyptianmelodrama,
ut
Chahine
has made
several
hoices
n
making
his
film
whichfunctions
challenges
o
the
commercial onventions. o deal
seriously
with
psychological
realismwas
a
shift
way
from hedominance f musical
omedies
n
Egyptian
inema.
At this
point
n
the
history
f the
Egyptian
inema,
such
transgressions
f
audience
xpectation
ere
puzzling
or
he
majority
of
filmgoers;
he eriousness
f the
opic,
he
puzzling oint
f
view,
andthe brutal nding nticipatedhefilm'spoor reception.uzzled
audiences
did
not
support
he film
nd
it was a financial ailure
n
Egypt.
t
was, however,
critical uccess and this dilemma
aised
several
problematic
uestions
for Youssef Chahine as a director.
Facing
his
future
n the
Egyptian
inema
fter hefailed
eception
f
this
ilm,
oussefChahine onfronted
question
which ontinued
o
haunt
im
hroughout
is
career-who s
his
audience?
Although
his
issue
involves considerationf the conventions
nd the
power
of
commercialinema n Egypt, hahinedid notat thispoint ome to
terms ith he
lements hich
might
ccount or he
ailure f his first
serious ounter-cinematic
ext.
Instead,
hahine ook
up
the
ause of national
iberation
n his
Jamila,
he
Algerian
Jamila
l-Jaza'iriyya,
958),
biographical
ilm
which
centered n an
important
eroine
of the
Algerian
war
of
independence.
What
Chahine
had chosen
to
do
was
to
deal with
non-Egyptianubjects. hiswouldbe one ofonly fewChahine ilms
which s not
et
n
Egypt
ndwhich
emains controversial
ext
n his
career
or
his
eason.
t seems
pparent
hat
t this
oint
n
Chahine's
career
he
was
attempting
o
articulate
more
universal nd
pressing
concerns
f the ime.
y
choosing
film
roject
which
was
so
clearly
far
afield from
ither he
Egyptian
ommercial
ilm
ndustry
nd
Hollywood
film
genres,
Chahine
was
asserting
his
growing
independence
nd
attempting
o
forge
personal
tyle.
Jamila,
he
Algerianwas meant o be a film boutThird-Worldevolution;twas
thefirst ictional
eature
ilmmade
bout he
Algerian
evolution,
nd
in
manyways
t served
s
a
precursor
or
he
more
mpressive
attle
ofAlgiers
made twelve
years
ater.The
two
films
verlap
n
several
scenes nd
events,
ut
hevisual
uality
nd
narrative
tyle
f
Jamila,
the
Algerian
is much
less
consistent
han that
of Battle
of
Algiers.
134
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
7/24
Since
YoussefChahine
eganchallenging
he ommercial
ilm
industry
f
Egypt
n
explicit
nd
provocative
ays,
his critics
ave
consistently
aised he
uestion
f his ntendedudience. hahinehas
been accusedof elitism nd intentionalbscurityn his films; his
taunt as
followed im
hroughout
is
career.8
When
skedabout
his
intentionsnd
his
audience,
hahine
ontends hat e makeshis
films
for
Egyptians-"I
don't know
any
other
eoples'
stories,"9
e
has
said-but
the
omplexity
nd allusiveness f his film
exts re often
problem
even for the intellectuals
mong Egyptian
filmgoers.
The
burden f the
very
uccessful
ommercial
ilm
ndustry
f
Egypt
was
keenly
elt
by
Chahine;
while
examining
is role
as an
Egyptianilmmaker,e would nevitablyonfronthe xpectationsf
an
audience
rearedon
Egyptian
ommercial inema.
To a certain
extent,
his
s
an
issue which onfronts
ll filmmakers
n
Egypt.
he
commercial
tudio
system
has established tself s a
popular
and
powerful
ystem
n
thenational ulture
nd
beyond.
As
such,
t has
initiatednd maintained
onventions,
ased on the
Hollywood
model,
and it
has created audience
expectations
or entertainment
n
particular.
hat
ny
filmmaker
inds, hen,
s a
system
f conventions
whichruncounter o the
development
f a serious
vant-garde
r
non-commercialinema.
Chahine
opted
for an
explicitly
olitical topic
in
the
epic
undertaking
f
Salah
al-Din
(1941).
He
took on
this
project
from
Ezzedine
Zulfiqar
when t
was
already
n
progress;
s directorial
undertaking
t would
give
him
the
scope
to
develop
a statementn
Egypt
and
its
political
condition.
alah al-Din
was,
in
part,
an
allegory boutGamal Abdel Nasser and his visionofpan-Arabism.
The
film
s
subtitled
al-Nasser,"
hichmeans thevictorious"nd
s
the
name
of
the
famous ultan
Saladin,
as well as the
name
of the
President f
Egypt
t
the
time hat he film
was made. The
parallel
between aladin
and
Nasser s intentional
nd
stated. he film
was
projected
o be an
historical
pic
whichwould
present
he
Crusades
and this
articular
istorical
eriod
rom he
Arab
point
f view.10
n
this
particular
espect
hefilmwas a
success;
for he
first ime
n
the
historyfcinema, ttention as given otherole andinterestf the
traditionalother" n
the historical vents
of
the
Crusades.
As
a
subject
orWestern
ilmmakersnd
audiences,
heMiddle
Ages,
and
the Crusades
in
particular,
ffered
canvas for
historical
pics
overlaid
with omance nd
stressing
heheroic
quest."
Little
hought
or attention
as been
paid
to the land and culture
which
were
Alif
5
1995)
135
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
8/24
burdened
ith hese
wars.
There
has most
definitely
een no
attempt
to construct
n Arab
version
f the
great
attles or
he
Holy
Land;
n
cinema
history,
he
Arabs have been the
infidels,
heir
mage
manipulatedo suit hehegemoniciscourse.
Salah
al-Din, hen,
was
an
attempt
o counterhis
epresentation
andwas conceived t an historical oment
hen
gyptian
ationalism
was also
being historically
evised.The colonial
occupation
had
shaped
cinematic
mage
of
Egypt
nd the
surrounding
rea
which
was
beginning
to
be
countered
by
the National Cinema
Council-which
helped
finance
he
film-in
its choiceof
production
material
and
projects
for
financing.11
hahine,
then,
had
an
opportunityith his rojecto render ot nly nArabviewofhistory
but
lso to
allegorize
he
ontemporary
ituation
n
Egypt.12
Needless
o
say,
hiswas
a
very
mbitious
ndertaking
or
ny
one
film
project.
Add to this
nitiallyntimidatinglan
the imited
budget
f
Egypt's
national
ilm
oard
nd thishistorical
pic
was
in
some
ways
destined
o fall shortof
expectations.
hahine
was
compelled
to use
important
tars from
the commercial
ndustry,
type-cast
n a
way
he
might
rdinarily
ave
avoided.
For
example,
Salah al-Din himself as
played
by
AhmadMazhar, romanticead
in the studio
ystem,
ast
in
order
o
foreground
he heroism f
a
leader from
he Arab world.
From
the
point
of view
of historical
revisionism,
alah
al-Din
is
a
successful
ttempt
t historical
pic.
The characterf Salah
al-Din s
represented
s
a
sympathetic
nd
fair
rulerwho
shows
unprecedented
ercy
oward
his
adversaries;
is
meeting
with
King
Richard
s characterized
y
understanding
nd
compromiseatherhan hepassionate illainyo favored yWestern
representation.
Chahine
was resourceful
n
staging
attle
cenes
nd n
editing
to
convey
a sense of breadth
nd
scope despite
the
limits et
by
economic
ecessity.
evertheless,
he
diminished
spect
f the
pic
s
evident.
Although
hefilmwas
made
n
Cinemascope,
here
s little
reason or
tsuse. Chahine
ften
rames
he onfrontation
etween
he
two
leaders,
alah
al-Din and
Richard
he
Lion-Hearted,
sing
the
width fthe creenwith kill framinghe wofigurestextremends
of
thewide
screen,
or
xample);
nd battle
cenes re often
taged
o
evoke
a wide
horizontal
lateau.
This is one
film,
however,
where
Chahine
does
not favor
moving
amera
and
a
great
deal of
the
impressive
weep
ofthe
andscape
nd
epic
action
s lost
orsubsumed
inthe
diting rocess.
Much of this
treamlining
f
epic
quality
was
136
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
9/24
necessitated
y
a
budget
which
did not match the historical
r
allegorical
cope
of
the
project.
he
result s a
film
which
s
often
embarrassing
n
its nattentiono historic
etail nd ts
naccuracy
n
costume nddesign.
On the
allegorical
evel,
Salah al-Din
represents
n
attempt
o
express
heneed
for
an-Arabism
hich
was foremost
n the
political
agenda
of
Abdel Nasser.
n this
spect,
he
project
onformed
ery
nicely
with he
political
ocus f state
ilm
roduction
t
this
articular
historicalmoment. hadi
Abdel
Salam,
for
example,
had
problems
financing
is
own
projects artly
ecause
they
did
not
promote
he
cause of
pan-Arab nity
nd
solidarity.13
o,
in
this
nstance,
he
political arallels uggestednthe cript,s presentedo theNational
Film
Board and to
Chahine,
were effective
n
securing unding.
The
portrait
of
Salah
al-Din and the
emphasis
on
Christian-Muslim
ccord n theEastern
amp ertainlyoreground
he
issue of Arab
unity.
he
characterf
Salah
al-Din,
wise and careful
n
his
udgments,
umane nd
considerate
n
his
treatmentf
subjects
and
enemies,
s
clearly
meant
s
a
flatteringortrait
f
Abdel
Nasser.
The
narrativetress
n
Salah
al-Din's
accomplishments
resents
ot
only
nArab
perspective
n theCrusades, ut
positive
ppraisal
f
Nasser s
well.14
n
the
years rior
o the1967
defeat,
his
wouldhave
been a
politically
olerable
iewpoint
or
both
the
National
Film
Board nd
forChahine imself.
Despite
the
many
shortcomings,
he film
stands out as an
achievement
n
the
attempt
o articulate
national
cinematic
discourse. ecause it
attempts
fairly ophisticated
epresentation
f
a well-documentedistoricaleriod romnArabviewpoint,tbears
closer
xamination.ts
success at
representingsympatheticortrait
of an
historical
igure
s
significant.
rom
a
cinematic
iewpoint,
however,
he ilm
s less than
rilliant.
As
an
example
of the
genre
of historical
pic,
then,
alah
al-Din
falls
short
of
the
breadth
of cinematic
cope
which is
characteristic
f
this
genre.
Whilethe
widescreen
raming
annot
ail
to
provide
he
picture
with
wide
range
of
landscapepossibilities,
most therspects fmise nscenefall hort fepicproportions.or
example,
etails f
makeup,
uch as
thered beard
which s worn
by
Richard
he
Lion-Hearted,
re
patently
alse,
nd
hardly
ntended
o
reproduce
he
tylization
f
expressionism.
The
editing
f
the
film
demonstrateshahine's
attempt
t
mastering
he form
hrough
he use
of allusionsto
Eisenstein-like
Alif15
1995)
137
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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montage.
utting
etween he
waves of
theocean and
the
waves of
soldiers
clashing
n
battle,
Chahine
manages
to
circumvent he
problems
f imited
rowd
ceneswith
montage
f
quick
utswhich
createparallelbattle cenes. n thefewsuch nstances f inventive
cinematic arrativen
the
film,
Chahineshows himself o be the
master f
a
cinematic orm.
There re far
too few
such
nstances
n
Salah
al-Din and
the
final
mpression
f thefilm
emains
ne of
an
occasionally
rilliant
failure.t is
also
a
film,
owever,
which
helped
o
establish hahine
as a
recognizable
uteur n
thenational
inemaof
Egypt.
While
his
career
ad
always
been
eclectic nd
noteworthy,
ith alah al-Din he
had shown hathe was capableof a recognizablyistinct inematic
style
nd
that
e
had control f the
orm f the
ilm
ven fthe ontent
hadbeen
ssigned
o him.
Youssef Chahine
atermade a
dramatic
urn oward he rural
landscape,
setting
whichhe had
never
seriously
xplored
n
his
career.
A
quasi-documentary,
he
People
of
the
Nile,
undertakenor
the
National ilm
Board
preceded
y
a
year
ne ofhis most mbitious
feature
ndertakings,
he Earth
al-Ard,
970),
based
on a
novel
by
the
popular
writer bdelRahman harkawi,ranslated
y
Desmond
Stewarts
Egyptian
arth
1962),
and
set
n a
village
n rural
gypt
n
the
1930s.
The
connectionsetween
he
wo exts orm
new
emphasis
or
Chahine nd a movement
way,
t least
temporarily,
rom heurban
milieuwhich
onstitutes
uch f
his
work.
His nterest
n
the
ellaheen,
and their
conomic
roblems
nd
social
repression
uring
he
years
f
Britishccupation,s played ut n hisadaptationfTheEarth1968).
The novel
tself
epresents
he ife fthis
lass
at
this istorical oment
in
a
richly
aturalistic
ulti-plotted
arrative hich hahine
rought
o
the
creen
long
with heuse of
symbolic
motifs hichwould
become
a
staple
narrative
evice
n
his
films.Both
the novel and the film
represent
he
story
f
a
peasant
amily aught
n an economic
risis
brought
n
by
the andowners. hahine
ortrays
he
complexities
f
village
ife
hrough
variety
f characters
ho
represent
he
hierarchy
ofpower nd dominationithin he lass structurefrural gypt. he
plot
of the
film revolves round
the
attempts
y
the landowner
Muhammad asha to allow
a
railroad o
be constructed
hrough
he
landwhich he
ellaheen
arm.
lthough
he armers
rotest
hevarious
dictatorial
ulings
f
the
andlord,
he
railroad
oes
ahead s
scheduled
and the heroof the
film s
killed
by
the andlord's enchmen
s
he
138
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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clings
othe
otton
lants
e
willnever
arvest.
Strikingly
bsent
hroughout
ost
of the
film
s the
colonial
presence
f the
British;
n
the
end,
they
re
represented
nstead
y
colonized udanese oldierswhoterrorizehevillage n thenameof
the
colonizers. The
irony
of these
black soldiers
engaged
in
perpetrating
he
hegemony
f their
wn white
ppressors
s
skillfully
played
out
n
the
tark ontrast etween
he
people
of Sudan and the
people
of
Egypt.
ut
Chahine's
oint
s
invalidated
y
the
bsence
f
anyrepresentation
f British
olonialism.
he
victims,
n
this
ase
the
Sudanese,
bear
unjustly
he
brunt f
colonial violence.
n
fact,
he
black oldiers
re
representednly
s
catalysts
f
British
olonialism,
which n turn s takenup by thepasha who effects hefinalrift
between
ellah
and land
by
introducing
ndustrializationnd
the
modernization
f
the
railroad.
He, too,
incorporates
he
colonial
discourse
lthough
e is
even
furtherrom
hatculture n
visual
representation
han he
black oldiers.
What s
apparent
hroughout
he ilm
s the
nability
f
Egyptian
cinema
to
represent
he
colonial
presence
n
any
direct
way;
the
national
ilm
anguage
ven
at this
point
f
the
nationalization
f
the
cinemahad not
developed
hemeansto articulatehe
hegemony
f
Western
culture
n
Egypt.
This
relationship
f
colonizer
and
colonized,
hen,
s
still
relegated
o
the
categories
f
class and
race,
particularly
een n
the
andowning
lass of
Egypt
nd
n
the
case
of
Sudanese
oldiers. he
text f thefilm
hus
learly resents
he
lass
conflict f
colonial
Egypt
ut
avoids
the
ssue of
British
ccupation.
Like
the
films f
the
tudio
ystem
made
under
olonial
ule,
hefilm
articulateshehegemonic elations etweenEgyptians f different
classes,
and
these
relations re
symbolized
n
partby
the
railroad
which
rings
he
modem
ndthe
urban o a
poor
nd
rural
etting.
he
Earth
s
Chahine'sfirst
ttempt
o
systematicallyepresent
he
rural
poor
nd he
falls
prey
o
sentimentality
n
many
nstances.
asing
his
script
on
a
novel
ties
him
to
characters
which
often
become
stereotypes.
evertheless,
e
develops
n
thisfilm
he
beginnings
f
an
iconography
hich
will
continue
o
servehim
n
his
development
ofa visual tyle.
While
Salah
al-Din
serves
s
an
example
f
an
historical
pic,
The
Earth s
an
example
f
a
pastoral
pic,
but
one
which
llows
the
discourse f
the
commercial
gyptian
inema o
govern
he
tructure
of
the
narrative.
lthough
he
film
does
not
take
commercial
enre
films s
its
standard,
hahine
till
follows
he
discourse f
cultural
Alif
5
1995)
139
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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representation
ictated
y
the
tudio
ystem
ince he1930s.
The
film
provides
ittle
ritique
f
colonial
hegemony,
ven
though
t
s
set
n
the
1930s
at the
height
of
the British
colonial
presence.
As a pastoralpic,TheEarth s fairlyonventionalxceptn ts
visual
style;
Chahine here
employs
he
beginnings
f a
personal
symbolic
ystem
which
will
serve
s
a leitmotifn
a number
f
the
films
n
his
career.
n
this
particular
ext,
he
hands
which
end nd
clutch he otton
lant
est
epresent
he
ellaheen's elationship
o the
land. This
shot,
f hands
ending
he
cotton
lant
ilmed
n
close-up,
becomes
summary
f
the
text. n
a
great
many
f his
films,
uch a
shot,
decontextualizedrom he narrative ecomes a
motif
which
summarizesomemajor hemerrelationship.
The
most
xplicitly olitical
ilms
f YoussefChahine's areer
begin
t this
tage;
following
he
Earth
nd
ts
critical nd
financial
success,
he
undertook
series
of
filmswhich would
confront
number
f the most
pressing
uestions
n
contemporarygyptian
society.
These are also
among
his
most
ambiguous
ilms
from he
point
f
view
of
narrative,
nd
they epresent turning oint
n his
effortso address he
uestion
f
audience:
The
Sparrow
Al-'asfour),
The Choice
(Al-ikhtiar),
nd The
Return
f
the
Prodigal
('Awdat
al-ibn
l-dal).
Narrativelyomplex,
The
Sparrow
1972)
is
representative
f
this
new
agenda
for
Chahine;
he
film
eals
with
he
ftermath
f the
1967
war with
srael,
subject
which
virtuallyvery
ntellectual
nd
artist
onfrontedt that
ime
n
Egypt.
Chahinehas said
that
the
filmmaker
orking
fter
1967
is almost a different
erson.
The
agendahadchanged ramaticallyollowinghathumiliation."15he
narrative
f the
story
s
very complicated
nd
often
confusing,
interweaving
ifferenttories
with
highly
ymbolic
nd
allegorical
subtexts. n
first
iewing,
t is
too
complex
for
most
udiences
o
unravel.
The
principle
etting
f
the
film s
the
house
of
Bahiyya
where
ne finds
microcosm
f
contemporary
airo.
Bahiyya
erself
is a
symbol
or
Egypt
nd
the
audience
finds
ongregated
here
he
intellectual
oussef,
journalist,
nd
the
police
officer aouf
who
has
pursued thief, bu Khedeir. hecorruptionfthe tates alluded o
in
thevarious
motivations
or he ction
which
ccurs
between
hese
main
layers.
The
settings
nd
subplots
hange
with
great
apidity
nd,
ittle
of
the
motivationsor ctions
r thecause-and-effect
elationship
f
the
plot
s madeclear.
Corruption
s
themain ubtext
f The
Sparrow
140
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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and the
politicalmessage
of the
film s
obvious: t
the
end,
Nasser
makeshis
famous
adio
broadcast
esigning
s
president
n
the
wake
of
Egypt's
massive efeat nd the
people,
ead
by Bahiyya,
ake o
the
streethoutingNo " todefeat, ohisresignation,o thecorruption
which
ed to both.
At this
point
n
Chahine's
career,
he
need to conceal
the
political
riticism
n his films
was a
necessary trategy.
ensorship
f
political
ssues was and remains
difficult
urdle
or
ny
filmmaker
who wants
o confront
hallenging
nd
contemporary
ssues.
Chahine,
then,
elt
obliged
to
devise
a
variety
f means to circumvent
he
problems
aced
by
filmmakersike Tewfik
aleh and
Shadi
Abdel
Salam.Already stablisheds a majorforcenthe ounter-cinemaf
Egypt,
Chahine was
developing
reputation
s
a difficult
ut
rewarding
ilmmaker.is narratives
affled
he
majority
f
filmgoers,
yet
he felt hiswas a
necessity
ecause
of thethrust
f his
message.
Obscuring
he
narratives
he
did n The
Sparrow
nd n
The Choice
was
certainly
is
east
effective
trategy
or
ccomplishing
is
goals.
The
politicalmessage
f
his
films
n this
period
ailed
o reach
the
udience
who
most
needed
o hear
t.While he ntellectual
lasses
were nthemiddle f
examining
gypt's
ailurenthe1967war and
their wn
role n
that
rocess,
hahine
rticulatedheir
houghts
n a
film
narrative
hich
poke
to them lone.
The semi-literate
ajority
of
Egyptian filmgoers,
ccustomed
to commercial inema and
expecting
ntertainmentnd
genre
ilms,
were
virtually
xcluded
by
the
opacity
f
thenarrative. ith hese wo
films,
hahine aced
he
dilemmawhich ad haunted
im
from he
beginning
f his
career
n
a
very xplicitway:hisnarrativeseredevised o eludethe ensorship
of the
tate,
ut
hey
were
lso
eluding
he
udience
hey
weremeant
for.
Chahine
ealized hat
is ntended arratives
ere
perhaps
imed
at
the
ntellectual lass who were
already
onfronting
hese ssues
themselves;
e
was
enlightening
he
lready
wakened,
far
ry
rom
his
ntended
urpose.
The
Return
f
the
Prodigal,
ilmed
n
1976,
hows somewhat
half-hearted
ttempt
y
Chahine o
remedy
his
problem
within
he
contextfcounter-cinemanEgypt. hefilm ortrayshedissolution
of
a
bourgeois
amily
n
thewakeof
nationalizationnd ts
aftermath;
again,
the film s
replete
with
the kind of
personal
conographic
images
whichhad
becomemore nd more
haracteristicf
Chahine's
filmic
tyle.
There s a clown who
appears ilently,eginning
nd
ending
he
film,
uthe servesno
narrative
urpose;
here re various
Alif
5
1995)
141
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decontextualized
hots imilar
o
the
nonnarrative
nsert hotswhich
madeThe
Sparrow
o
narratively
ncoherent.
The Return
f
the
Prodigal
incorporates
great
number
f
generic
codes
as
well. Youssef
Chahine has
termed
his film a
"musical
tragedy"
and has
indicated
that
such
a
familiarly
unconventional
enre
name
helped
to
get
the film
passed by
the
censors.16Yet his
ability
to
structure
he
film
as a
musical,
unconventionals
the
narrative
ay
be,
is also an
attempt
o include
as
many people
as
possible
in
his
audience.
Such a
film
would
conform
ufficiently
o the
commercial
eneric
mode
for
Egyptian
film,
n
order o attract
broader udience han
he ntellectuals ho
hadpreviouslyormedhebulk fChahine's iewers.
In
TheReturn
f
the
Prodigal,
he ldest
on of the
family,
Ali,
has been
mprisoned
or dozen
years
for
rguing
gainst
he state.
He
is
suddenly
eleased
nd
returns
o his
family;
hey
ind
im
ged
and
changed.
He becomes hardened
man,
moredecadent han
he
restof
his
quickly
decaying
lass.
The filmends with
the
family
destroyed
n
a massacre.The decadence
of the
bourgeoisie
nd
intellectual
lass
s
epitomized
n
the haracter
f
Ali,
who
s
unable
to maintain is aspirationsnd idealism utside fprison.Chahine
offers
variety
f
possible
causes
forthe
decay
and
corruption
f
contemporary
gyptian
ntelligentsia, sing,
ironically,
what
is
possibly
he most anti-intellectual
f
generic
forms.
he
"musical
tragedy"
hichChahine
rchestrates
n this
film
dheres
o
many
f
the characteristics
f commercial
gyptian
ilm
n its
form,
et
the
content
s
bitingly
ritical nd
often
olitical,
with
script
nd
songs
written y Egypt's prominent oet and artistSalah Jahin.For
example,
t one
point
n
the
film,
group
f
people
take
o the
treets
in
a
brash ance
nd
song
itled
The Streets
re Ours."
As
they
make
their
way
through
he
setting
nd the
song,
hey
re
suddenly
alted
by
a
gun-wielding
owboy
who
prevents
heir
assage.
Egypt's
ncipient
ependence
n the
postcolonial
ower
f
the
United
States
and
that nation's
growing
hegemony
n the
area
engender
not-so-subtle
ritique
romChahine.
The
implications,
however, each furtherhan this; as Chahinemoves towardan
increasinglyostmodern
orm
f
expression,
e also
attempts,
nthis
film,
to
criticize
he
very
class
which,
n
conjunction
with
the
postcolonial
resence
of the United
States,
s
responsible
orthe
introduction
fthese
ery
orms
f
discourse.
The
Return
of
the
Prodigal
oftenreads
as a
fragmented
142
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
15/24
self-parody
oving
oward
postcolonial
arrative
orm,
nd
yet
his
forms
reliant
n the
oncept
f
the
modem hat
s so
important
o
the
bourgeoisie
f
Chahine'sfilm.Whatunites
heoften
iting
olitical
critiquesof this period of Chahine's career is this attempt t
developing
postcolonial
mode
of
discourse
while
till
elying
n
an
indigenous
ilm
anguage.
The Return
f
the
Prodigal
s
perhaps
he
most uccessful
ttempt
t
this
omplex
ask,
n
part
because
t
very
playfully
ses the
generic
form so
important
o the
national
commercial
ndustry.
he
"musical
tragedy"
eads to a
further
disruption
n
form
n
much
of
themost
mportant
exts n
Chahine's
later areer.With his
group
f
political
ilms,
hahinehas found
form f discourse uitableto his subjectand beginsthe task of
refining
hat
iscourse.
In
1978,
Chahinemade
his
next
film,
he
first f what
would
become
a
trilogy
of
autobiographical
exts.
Alexandria,
Why?
(Iskandariyya,
ih?)
is
an evocation f the
port
city
of
Alexandria
during
WorldWar
I.
Yahya,
the
main
character,
s
closely
modeled
on
Chahine nd the
family
s his
own. WhatChahinehas set as
his
task s
a text
f
self-realizationnd definition
hrough emory
n
the
form of a
postmodenistmyth.17
Central to the film is the
self-reflexivity
f a filmmaker
n
the
process
f
becoming. ahya
s
a
character
earching
or
vocation nd
attempting
o
define imself.
Alexandria,
Why?
s
perhaps
hahine's
most
uccessful
ttempt
to
embody
he
pecific
nd the
personal
n
an
Egyptian
ational
ilm
style
nd
anguage.
he
ssue
of
an
Egyptian
ational
ultures
central
to the
text
but n
this
film
t is
not
an
easy
issue. The
setting
f
the
film s Alexandrian theyearsofWorldWar II, a time ndplace
which
might
well
qualify
s one
of
themost
osmopolitan
f
modem
history.
Alexandria,
the
Mediterranean
eaport
of
Egypt,
has
historically
eena
crossroads or
uropean
ndNearEastern
ultures;
combine
this historical
mixtureof
cultures
with
the enforced
occupation y
foreign
roops
during
he
war,
and the milieu
s
a
patchwork
f
anguages,
ultures,
nd
races.
For the
young
gyptian
protagonist
ho
represents
hahine,
oming
of
age
in
this
arena
exposeshim o a confusingrray fmarginalizedroups-foreigners
are
often
omosexuals,
gyptians
un
he
gamut
rom
lack to Jew
o
English-speaking
ffete.
The
multicultural
xperience
of
1940s
Alexandrias
not
t
all
confusing
or he
hero,
ut
heWestern
iewer
is
presented
with
an
array
of
ethnic
groups
which
defy any
stereotypical
endering
f
"Egyptian."
Alif
5
1995)
143
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
16/24
In the
context
f
Alexandria,
Why?
he
concept
f
"other"
s
never
learly
efined;
ahya
declines
o
measure
imself
gainst
ny
one
marginalgroup,
finding
omparisons,
or
example,
between
himself nd his homosexualuncle. Likewise,he transforms
is
schoolroom
eading
f
Shakespeare
nto
n
mpassioned
rabic
which
even
his
British
rofessor
eems
capable
of
understanding.
hen
Yahya
argues point
with
his
teacher,
hehero
does
it
n
Arabic
nd
his
adversary esponds
n
English.
Yet the debate
continues,
ach
acknowledging
he
other nd
his
autonomy
ut
refusing
o
relinquish
the
power
f
anguage.
or
Yahya
and
for he
Egyptian
udience
or
whom
he serves as
point
of
view,
the
"other"never
successfully
coalescesinto a definablentity ntil heprotagonisteaves Egypt.
As
a
filmmaker,
oussef Chahine
has
always
worked
n
the
margins
f
commercial
inema
n
Egypt;
s
a
director,
e
has
found
himself
member
f
marginalized
ommunities
n
many
ronts.
is
politics
ave also
consistently
een
those
f
the
opposition,
nd
so he
has
developed
s a
leading
voice
in
cinema
n
the
region
ne would
have
to
say
n
spite
f
these
differences."
is interest
n
the
other,"
the
marginalgroups
not
represented
n commercial
inema,
has
consistently
een
presented
n the ontextf
giving
oice ratherhan
pointing
ingers.
n The
Sparrow
or
xample,
e refused
o
point
o
the
obvious
ulprit,
he
sraelis,
hoosing
nstead
o
examine
national
corruption
n
a
self-reflective
ay.
Chahine
has
consistently
esisted
the
obvious
groupings,
hoosing
o
explore,
nstead,
he
complicated
interrelations
f
elements
n the
hifting
ulture
nd
political
abric
f
the
MiddleEast.
The roleof the ntellectualnAlexandria,Why?nd, ndeed,n
the
whole
utobiographical
rilogy,
s
a
problematic
ne. n this
nitial
attempt
o
represent
he
beginnings
f an
Egyptian
rtist/intellectual,
Chahine
inds imself
n conflict
ith
heWest
o
which e also
pays
homage.18
he
young
ntellectual,
ahya,
receives
is
nspiration
nd
training
n and
from
the
West,
and
yet
the
Egyptian
national
ambivalence
oward
his
state
of affairs
s
palpable.
The issue
of
collaboration
etween
he
Egyptian
nationalists
nd the
Germans
duringWorldWarII is one ofthe moreunsettlingulturallyoded
ambiguities
or Western
iewers
of the film.
But the context
f
Germany
nd
ts
role
n
World
War
I
is
very
ifferent
or
Egyptians
whoknew
he
British s
a
colonial
resence.
Yahya
s
strongly
ttracted
o
Hollywood
ilms,
nd
his
earliest
creative
cts,
with
he
exception
f
theschoolroom
rabic
Hamlet,
144
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
17/24
revolve
around recreations f musical numbers.The
cultural
hegemony
f
Hollywood
s never
cknowledged
s
such
by Yahya
or
by
the
filmmaker
hahine;
yet
he mbivalence
owardheWest
and
its ntellectualndculturalraditionemains subtextnthefilm. his
surfaces
ccasionally
n
the
representation
f
the British
oldier,
ey
and
latently
omoerotic,
ho
drunkenly et
poignantly
ings
"The
White liffs fDover"before e s
shipped
o his death
t
al-Alamein.
In
Alexandria,
Why?
ahya
fights
o
go
to
America
o
become
a
film
director;
ut
when
he entersNew York
harbor,
e finds
leering
rostitute
mpersonating
he
Statue
f
Liberty
nd
a
group
f
Hassidic
Jews
ominously
waiting
his
arrival.Like
his
neighbor,
Isaac,who eavesEgypt or henew state f srael n 1948,Yahya s
confronted
ith
n
image
he
did not
nticipate.
or
both hese
emigrd
characters,
he
New
World
does
not in
any
way
conform
o
their
preconceivedmage
of
t.
n
most
f
the ubtexts
f
the
film,
ational
identity
s
a
main
concern;
t is often n
ambiguous
ssue
for the
characters
nd
for
Chahine s
filmmaker.
Alexandria,
Why?
s
perhaps
oussef
Chahine's
most
oherent
narrative nd
the culmination
f
his
experiment
ithmodem and
postmodern
orms n film.
Although
he text draws on several
narrative
hreads,
ts
focus
n
the
ntellectual/artist
oming
f
age
and
the
subtext
f
national
dentity rovide
coherence hat
his
earlier
films
ack.
Alexandria,
Why?
lso
continues hahine'smove oward
postmodern
orm n
film
narrative;
n
this
case,
much
of the
playfulness
nd
allusiveness
f
the
plot
are
motivated
y
Yahya's
interest
n
Hollywood
ilms
nd
musicals
n
particular.
he
opening
sequence fthefilmntercutscenesoftheAlexandrineeacheswith
Esther
Williams
films,
horeographed
o
popular
American ance
musicof
the 1940s.
The
closing
hot s
newsreel
ootage
f
wartime
Europe
which
xplodes
n
time
o themusic
nd s
matchedwith he
waves
on
the
oast
of
Egypt.
As
Western
iewers,
we
areasked o
discount
he
mportance
f
whathas
been
deemed one
of
the
seminal
ventsof
the twentieth
century-World
War
II.
The
perspective
f
the
film
n
the ssue
of
nation ndhistorys skewed, hen,othat fa young gyptian hose
sympathies
nd
interests o
not
necessarily
ie with
the
European
allies.The
play
ridicules
ll
political
iewpoints
n
the
presence
f
the
British
mbassador n
Alexandria.Chahine's
apparent
ttempt
o
recreatehe
atmosphere
f
Alexandria
uring
hese
years
hinges
n
his
ability
o
create
textwhich
lays
with
history
hile t
the ame
Alif
5
1995)
145
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
18/24
time
endering
henationalism
f that ra somewhat
udicrous.
t
is
a
difficult
ask,
utthe
postmodern
arrative hichChahine
onstructs
dismantles
ll
national dentities
n
a
very
successful
ttempt
o
explore heambiguitiesfnationalismnd culture,ndpossibly o
forge
"national"
iscourse
ased
on
pluralisms.
Soon after
lexandria,
Why?
was released
nd went
n to win
major
international
wards,
ncluding
Silver Bear at the
Berlin
International
ilm
Festival,
hahine uffered
major
heart ttack
nd
underwent
xtensive
ypass urgery;
his
part
f
his
autobiography
s
chronicled
n
An
Egyptian tory
Haduta
Misriyya,
982).
This
major
illness aused Chahine
o
rethink
is
career nd
his ife nd
gave
rise
toa determinationo makefilms hatweremore ersonal, otonly n
their
iconography
ut
in
their
subject
matter
as well.
The
autobiographicalrilogy,
hich
n
manyways
remains
his master
work,
s the esult
f
this efocus
n his
career.
An
Egyptian tory icksup
the
utobiographical
hread
f the
young
filmmaker
ahya
as
an adultwho has
become
a successful
filmmaker
n
Egypt.
Nour
l-Sherif,
n
Egyptian
tar t the
beginning
of
his
career,
mimicsChahine's
diosyncratic
annerisms
rilliantly
in the
opening
equence
of the film.When Chahinemust ravel o
London
for
open-heart
urgery,
he
questions
f
Egyptian
ational
identity
nd
ofthe
Arab's
place
n the
West ome
to thefore. hahine
again
treats
hese
ssues
in
a
postmodern
ay, populating
ngland
with
relatives
of the
filmmaker
and
enabling
the
filmmaker/protagonist
o
navigate
he
West without
urrendering
is
Egyptian
dentity.
Unlikemany fChahine'sprevious ilms, n Egyptian tory
was
both
a
popular
and
critical
success.
His
reputation
s
the
storyteller
f
Egypt
had
been
established
with
his
previous
autobiographical
ext
nd
Chahine
would
now
exploit
he
notoriety
e
had earned
s
spokesman
or he
marginal.
While
his narrative
tyle
remains
oncommercial,
is
attempts
o
incorporate
he
postmodern
structures
f
both
astern
nd
Western
arrative
raditions
as
piqued
the
nterest
f
a
more
general
udience.
his
audience
may
not
lways
understandistexts, utno onewouldmiss a Chahinefilm,fonly
because
he
has now
become
notoriousultural
igure.
The
third
art
f
Chahine's
utobiographical
rilogy
eturns
o
the
ubject
f the
filmmaker
orty
ears
ater
n a
reprisal
f his
nitial
Alexandria
film;
this
one is
titledAlexandria
Again
and
Again
(Iskandariyya
aman
wa
kaman,
1989).
The
filmmaker,
ahya,
this
146
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
19/24
time
playedby
Chahine
himself,
s aboutto
be honored t a
major
film
estival
orhis earlier
utobiographical
ilm. utthefestivals
in
Europe
nd he
fails
o winthe ward.
Chahine
ppears
s
himself,
n
outsidergain, elegatedhis imenot nly o themarginsfEgyptian
culture
ut
hunned
y
the
Western inema
ulture.
Central
o
thistext
s the filmmaker's
wn
relationship
o
the
culture
f the
West,
codified
n his
ambiguous
ttempts
o film
Hamlet.
n
Alexandria,
Why?
he
young
tudent
assionately
cts
and
sings
he
oliloquy
rom amlet
n his
English
lass,
o the hock f
his
teacher
ndthe
delight
fhisfellow
tudents.
t s this
cenewhich est
represents
hahine's
attempts
o find
commonality
etween
hese
differingultures.Alexandria,Again and Again also features he
production
f a
problematic
amlet
astwith
gyptians
nd
chanted
n
Arabic. t
is notthe
casting
n
Arabic
which
makes
his
production
metaphor
or
difference,
ut
rather he rift
whichthe
text creates
between hahine
nd
Amr,
is
young
tar nd
ove
object.
Chahine's
attempt
o
produce
his
film
epresents
is
efforts
oth
o control he
"other"
with
whom he
clearly
dentifies
nd to understand
he
Eurocentric
ulturalradition
ithwhich
Alexandria,
gain
nd
Again
struggles.
hahine,an educatedAlexandrine,an understand he
Western
ontext,
ut
t
s
clearly
difficultask
ndrolefor
his
young
star.
nstead,
Amr urns
is
back
on
Hamlet
o
direct elevisionerials
for
Gulf
heikh.
his shifts
represented
ividly
n thefilm s is the
tension etween
oung
nd
old,
iteratend lliterate.
lexandria,
gain
and
Again
s thefirst lear
example
f
Chahine's
cknowledgment
f
difference
ndofthe
mpossibility
f
reconciliation.
Alexandria,Again and Again takes as its central ventthe
Egyptian
ilm
guild's
strike or
greater
utonomy
n
1987.
As
a
political
vent
and as a
political
ubtext,
his narrativehreadhas
importantignificance:
t
represents
he lear
lliancebetween rt nd
politics
which Chahine has
maintained
n his work
since Central
Station.
t
also
represents
further
xploration
f
the
role of
the
intellectualnd artist
n
the
national ulture
f
Egypt.
he film s the
most
radical
formof
postmodern
arrative tructurehus far
in
Chahine's areer. he filmntercutshe ubplotsf the trikendthe
filming
f Hamletwithflashbacks
ot
only
to the awards
eremony
but lso to historical ecreationsf
Alexander's
ccupation
f
Egypt.
The
film
hifts
bruptly
rom
ne subtext
o
another,
isjointing
the
narrative
tructuren
disturbing
nd
disorientingays.
Chahine's
attempts
o deal with he ssues of
a national ulture nd theartist's
Alif
5
1995)
147
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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place
n t
are central
o each
subtext.
lexandria,
gain
nd
Again
s
themost adical nd
disturbingart
f
the
utobiographical
rilogy,
n
part
ecauseChahine
n
no
way
distances
imself
rom
he
narrative.
The distancingeviceswhich uture hediscourse eemextratextual
because
Chahine s
himself o
closely
llied
with
hefilm.
The
film
disturbs ecause
of
the
verlap
f
autobiography
nd
fiction.
With
is continued
xploration
n
a
postmodern
iscourse
fthe
possibilities
f
self-reflexive
ilmmaking,
hahine
has
added a
new
dimension oth
o
the
national
inema
f
Egypt
nd
to the ssues
of
Third-World
ilm s well.
Using
the self
to characterize
henational
identity
f
at
east
part
f
Egyptian
ociety
ndicates
new
direction
for uteurinemanEgypt ndtheThirdWorld. heautobiographical
trilogy
f
Youssef
Chahine
has
initiated ew
generic
forms
nd
possibilities
n
Egyptian
cinema,
though
largely
confined
to
counter-cinema.
Youssef Chahine
has
continued
o
experiment
ith
generic
form
n hisrecent
ttempt
o film
documentary
boutCairo.
n
many
ways,
hefilmmaker
as
come to
court
ontroversy
s
a
strategy
or
promoting
reedom
f
expression.
airo Illuminated
y
Its
People
(Al-Kahira
munawara i-ahliha,
991),
a
documentary
bout he
city
as
seen
by
Chahine,
s
in
manyways
his
most
ontroversial
ilm
o
date.
Banned
by
the
government
nd
publicly
ondemned,
his
film
won
accolades
when
it was
presented
t Cannes.
The film
was
condemned
y
the
Egyptian overnment
s an
unnecessarilyegative
portrait
f the
city.
he
film
xperiments
ith
ocumentary
orm
nd
authenticity,
n
an
attempt
o
represent
hat
might
e
considered
someof themost ressingroblemsfa troubledountry.
The film
is set
in
the
metatextual
ontext
of Chahine
challenging
group
f
young
filmmakers
o
represent
heir
ountry
for
foreign
elevision
roject.
hahine,
gain,
moves
n
and out
of
the
text as
the
marginalized
haracter
e has
always played,
but
somehow
moreaware
of
and
resigned
o
his
difference
han n
his
earlier
work.
He
explains
his
difference
irst
f all
in the ssueof
the
growth
f
slamic
fundamentalism.
epresenting
slam
n contrast
o
Western orms, hahine resents umerous isconcertingmagesof
Western
culture-including
a
miniskirted,
barefoot
blonde
tourist-unfolding
nder
he
watchful
aze
of
an Islamic
heikh.
ut
religious
ifference
s
only
one of a
number
f
problems
which
re
represented
hrough
hahine's
gaze.
As
in his
earlier
rilogy,
uch
s
made
ofthe
changes
which
modernization
as
made
n thefabric
f
148
Alif
5
1995)
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7/25/2019 Cultural Hegemony and National Film Language- Youssef Chahine : -
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Egyptian
ociety.
Economic and
social
problems
re the focus of
many
f
the cenes
n
Cairo
lluminated
y
ts
People.
WhatChahine
has
attempted
o do
is to
question
heform f
documentary
s
well
as
offer social andpolitical ritique f thecontemporarycene.What
results s
a
biting
ondemnation
f
the
government
onstructed
n a
textwhich ases ts ffect
n
ssues
of
authenticity.
Chahine himself
ppears
n
the film as an observer
f
the
day-to-day
ffairs
f
this
city,
nd
so
his
perspective
erves
s the
viewpoint
f
thefilm.
What
he
observes s
in
part resented
ithinhe
parameters
f
the
political pposition
o
Western
resence
elt
uring
the
Gulf War. The film
s
set in Cairo
during
he
days
between
January5 andFebruary3, 1991.While heoppositionothewar s
represented
n
some of the most authentic ewsreel
ootage
f
the
film,
much
f
what erves s
subject
matters the
growing
conomic
and social crisiswhich acesthis
ity.
There re
shots
f
the
uq,
of
the
growing
numbers
f
Cairenes
and
of
the
continuing
ension
between
eligions
nd between
lasses.
Many
of
these
ssues
aredealt
with
n
scenes which re
clearly
onstructed
pisodes,
not
authentic
documentaryootage.
The line between
these
documentary
nd
quasi-documentary
enderings
s sometimes
blurred
ne.
Often,
Chahine
very
learly
onstructs
fictional
pisode
with
aricatured
representations
f
various ocial
groups
who
perform
nd
speak
o
the
camera. or
example,
n
a
sequence
which
ritiques
henouveau iche
and their
materialism,
hahine
has a
man dressed n a white
uit
driving
white
Mercedes ddress he
camera,
peaking
f
his
ability
to
separate
imself rom he
est
f
his fellow
Cairenes
with
is
newly
and corruptlycquiredwealth.Moreproblematicre thesequences
which
re not
so
obviously taged
nd
scripted.
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