Keystone Cops session

Source: Wikipedia

As there's less and less intersting programmes on TV, it's a good thing to (re)discover some old treasures of black and white silent films, especially slapstick ones which I prefer the most.

I invite you to watch a serie of the hilarious Keystone Cops on YouTube produced and directed by Mack Sennett Oh, there are also some interesting movies there in full-lenght.

Enjoy!

Canon de Ramadan... Ramadan Cannon...

No comment... :D

Why I hate Arabic dubbing...

Initially, I should have written a post about animés dubbing to Arabic in order to be published by a Razan, a Syrian blogger who is too a fan of manga and anime. So, I beg her pardon for being late for personal and professional reasons.

Recently, I noticed that some Arabophone satellite channels mainly financed by petrodollars began to broadcast American series in Arabic and before Turkish and South Korean soap-operas. For a person who used to watch The X-Files, Friends, CSI and others in French long time before streaming on the Internet, it sounds to me strange. I won't discuss about Mexican soaps and Japanese animes which entered longtime ago in the scene of Arabophone TV and I omited to talk about documentaries.

So, you want to know why I hate dubbed programmes in Arabic. So easy!

• In the opening and the ending, try to see who REALLY produced the anime, film, serie or whatever in original language or even French or English dubbing, and compare to Arabic one. 98% of dubbing companies in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt or Dubai will just mention themselves in the Arabic version. Why omitting those who made the real job? Selfishness, "the Arabophone viewer doesn't see any interest to see who did it, just want to see", other things?

Case study: Nadia the secret of blue water (Fushigi no umi no Nadia)

Japanese opening

English Opening

Arabic opening

• In many programmes, there are topics which are in clash with traditions and religion (I mean here Islam mainly, but Christianity can be involved like in the case broadcasting an Iranian serie about Jesus in Lebanon). So, the easiest way for dubbers to present an adapted product to viewers (Especially customers in rich Gulf monarchies) is censorship, changing names "to adapt with viewers" and even changing the whole story from original synopsis with the risk of killing the plot. The same way American film distributors used to do with many works coming abroad (Remember Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" or Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaa") until recently. For afficionados and those who saw in western versions (Don't forget it can be edited too, especially in USA) , it's "sacrilège!". Maybe I'll understand some scenes of nudity in "Nadia, the secret of blue water" can be censored, but calling a wild boar in Arabic dubbed "Asterix" a "wild bull"...Are kids dumb to believe that?! I won't say about changing names (From Captain Tsubasa to Captain Majid, and from Mehmet to Mohanad) that I find ridiculous.

Other things I skiped such as opening music (As if dubbers in MENA must make work their musician friends because people don't undrstand soundtracks while it's easy to find on Internet).

I don't know if uncut version series in Arabic version (standard or dialects) will be available one day or even if Animax will decide to show Vandread or Ranma 1/2 in whole. For me, in case it will happen, I'll say there's something funky happening among Generation Y in the MENA area.

Agree or not? Have your say.

When some Moroccans were scandalized by a Kuwaiti 3D animation episode...

 Source: Wikipedia

Update August 24th 2010: Al Watan TV made apologies to Moroccans for the infamous episode. Read here.

Yesterday, I found a tweet talking about an episode of "Bu Qutada & Bu Nabeel", a 3D cartoon show  broadcasted by Al Watan TV (Check details here in Arabic). It reminds me of the Emirati hit "Freej". In the episodes 7 & 8, main events are depicted in Morocco. By curiosity I clicked the 8th one & watched it on YouTube. So, what's the controversy?

For me, maybe Moroccan women topic was the main reason why some Moroccan netizens were angry against the cartoon (A simple check on Youtube & Co of videos of girls dancing in front of Khaliji-look-alike men is sufficient). Until now, I found 2 posts (here and here both in French) adding to 2 Facebbok groups asking for appoligies (Here and here in Arabic).Women honor is such a hot stuff that for some insulting is the best way to provoke others to a war of words (Sigh). Morocco, in addition to Lebanon, is a favorite sexual tourism place for tourists from Gulf. Girls are one of main reasons & it's a "secret de polichinelle", especially in Agadir. Some thinks that Khaliji tourists are full of petrodollar to waste & want to have fun, whatever they're rude in their behavours. So, I'm not surprised when I hear or read stories of some Moroccan girls entering to prostitution ring dedicated to Khaliji clients or others try by all means to marry with them. I should mention the silly way of some Khaliji tourists to woo Moroccan women in streets (I heard that happens sometimes in a well known café specialized in ice cream in Maarif area, Casablanca as elsewhere). So, I have pity for Khaliji women when pretending that Moroccan women are husbands-eaters & don't hesitate to use black witchcraft for that (As if they don't use it. My eyes!) I laughed a lot for the misplaced use of "sharwita" (In Moroccan dialect, it means a sheet of used & dirty cloth or apparel) & the attitude of the 2 Moroccan sisters.

Other topics was treated by the 2 "special Morocco" episodes such as the naive nostalgia of some in Arabophone world to reconquest the Andalus in a way that it could be considered as against Arabs & Muslims if makers weren't Kuwaitis. Personnally, I appreciated the way it mocked the behavours of some Khalijis which make them rich dumbs in the eyes & mind of people abroad. Needless to say that conceptors didn't pay any attention for details of cities or behavours of Moroccans.

So, I think clichés from both people of Gulf & Morocco & other Arabophone world the opportunism of some are the main problem. Maybe it's time to sit and discuss. I wish other bloggers from Gulf and Arabophone world join to it and to talk about this topic.

Waiting for what? Let's go!

Last thing: Here are videos of incriminated episodes. I let you judge by yourselves.