![]() ![]() This article argues that a subtle but notable shift in the semiotics of otherness-from a Levantine idiom to a less fluid construction of ethno-religious identity-occurs over this period in Egyptian cinema. By uniting these two characters along parallel tracks, The Yacoubian Building queerly couples the seemingly antagonistic forces endemic to the civilizational discourse of gay rights and offers us a means for imagining new constellations of queer politics.Įgyptian films from the 1930s through the 1950s reflected the diversity of Egypt's cities. Against the author’s remarks, I argue that the story is remarkable for staging an interplay between the putatively opposed characters of Hatim Rashid, an openly gay newspaper editor, and Taha al-Shazli, a young man lured into a terrorist group. My paper considers this conventional coupling of gay rights and civilizational discourse in the global reception of The Yacoubian Building. ![]() ![]() Faced with the possible censoring of the film adaptation of The Yacoubian Building, the book’s author, Alaa al-Aswany, responded, “Why aren’t Italy, France, or the United States defamed by movies dealing with homosexuality?” Implicit in his defensive question is a perceived distinction between First World gay rights and social conservatism in the Third World. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |