Egypt Television Genuflect to Obama
The hype for Obama's visit to Egypt has reached a crescendo with his arrival in Cairo. The White House has pegged his speech at cairo university as the most important direct address to the muslim world by a sitting US president. With that the war of media and communication was in full swing as both #1 and #2 at Al-Qaeda have launched scathing attacks on Obama in two messages released within a 36 hour period online. But the most interesting engagment comes from the Arab media themselves. The popular Egyptian late night television program Al-Qahira Al-Youm (Cairo Today) hosted by the flambouyant and sharp-tongued Amr Adeeb, hosted a show dedicated to the visit. Adeeb spent the first 10 mins of the program scolding the Egyptian citizenry for complaining about the unofficial security curfews imposed in the city during Obama's visit and other inconveniences caused by his movement through the 18-million-person metropolis. Using rather condescending terms, he advised Cairenes to stay home, munch on their salad and babaghanouj (eggplant dip) and watch the Obama spectacle on TV. His support for the security apparatus in Egypt exuded disdain for any expression of public opinion, as he ridiculed demonstrators for/against Obama and impolitely ordered them to avoid the streets, complacently endorsing the arrest of activists. This is the level that media control has reached on Egyptian airwaves. The state no longer has to exert its influence by fear-mongering in the streets nor through the censors of the Ministry of Information or the State Information Service. Instead, it is the "independent" anchors of popular shows that are doing their propagandizing for them, by encouraging collective apathy and disconnection. This is the next generation in the trend towards subduing any form of democratic expression in Egypt. Unfortunately given the popularity of the term "Arab Street" in the western press (there's an excellent article on use of this euphemism in the Middle East Journal), it appears the connotation is predominantly negative rather than a site of collective organizing and public outpouring. So it is only ironic that the Arab streets are emptied for the visits of the world's chief advocate for democratization. Twenty-first century political engagement in the Arab world is now confined to the consumption of media messages rather than actual participation.
He was being sarcastic about the security measures. And the babaghanouj comment was about Obama bringing his own food and being locked up in his car.
Minotaur says
Perhaps you watch another video. Go back and view the posted clip where he is being INSTRUCTIONAL. He uses the babaghanouj comment frequently, here its at 5:50 mins.