RIYADH, 30 April 2005 — At night, stars usually rise in the east, but for many Saudi teenagers the stars they are following rise from the West.
Enter many teenagers’ bedrooms here in the Kingdom, and you will most certainly find numerous posters of celebrities adorning their walls, from actors, singers to football stars. Teenagers today exhibit particular interest in Western celebrities, and that influence is easy to see in their choice of products, clothes and even their changing behaviors and attitudes.
Although Saudi Arabia is a deeply conservative country where cinemas and public concerts are prohibited, this hasn’t prevented adolescents from following their favorite stars, be they actors, singers, sports personalities or even television presenters.
Basim Hakami, 16, chooses to fill his room with huge posters of the American rapper Eminem, Rhythm and Blues star Beyonce Knowles and Western “boy-bands,” namely Blue. He proudly says his bedroom doesn’t contain a single poster of an Arab star; such is his interest in the West.
“Eminem is outstanding, his on-stage performance is wonderful,” Hakami said. “I really like his attitude and the way he dances.”
Arab singers don’t interest him. “Arabs are so traditional. They are used to watching a certain type of singer. They focus too much on the quality of their voice and neglect other entertaining things like stage presence.”
He said he prefers Western stars for a variety of reasons.
“They are special in every way,” Hakami said. “They work hard to improve themselves and really focus on entertaining. They are much more professional than Arabian stars because they deal with music as an industry.”
Hakami is not alone. “Western music stars are so much more varied than Arabian artists, not only in the music they produce but the style in which they produce it,” said Fadi Awad. “For example, 50 Cent is completely different from Usher, yet they both produce music under the name of Hip-Hop.”
Fadi greatly dislikes the way Arab singers copy one another, in rhythms, music videos and even fashions. “The Arabian music scene is so boring,” he said.
Mashari is a huge football fan; he covers his room in football posters — Brazilian star Ronaldo, German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and wrestling star Gurrero.
“My bedroom contains all my favorite stars, making a special atmosphere, and it represents my personality,” Mashari said. “Western players are much more skillful, hugely famous and much more interesting than the players we have here.”
Boys appear to like the clothing styles and attitudes adopted by Western celebrities, while girls are predominantly attracted by their looks. Nisreen, 16, fills her pockets with pictures of the English football star David Beckham. “I like the way he takes care of himself,” she said. “He’s so stylish, and he gets more attractive with every new hairstyle he has.”
However, Nisreen isn’t solely attracted by his beauty. “Beckham is so humanitarian,” she said. “He recently opened a football school for children; he is hardworking and an excellent example of how a player should be.”
Rasha hangs a huge photo of the actors featured in the American comedy series “Friends”. She explained why she prefers imported laughs. “Western comedies are really funny, spontaneous and unpretentious,” Rasha said. “For an Arab comedian to succeed they have to look funny. I’m bored of this style of comedy. It’s just not funny anymore.”
If these teenagers’ opinions are indeed representative of the Arab youth at large, it should be a red flag for the region’s entertainment industry and should encourage it to develop new stars to rise in the Middle East; otherwise, for young people, the stars they follow will continue to rise in the West.
