Behind the Scenes

When we look at Qatar, there are so many narratives that are a part of the everyday life in the small emirate. One can describe the glamor and sheer flamboyance engulfing the small yet wealthy state. It is an attention-grabbing, hopeful story that would easily blend into the general scene of international cinema. However, a group of Northwestern University-Qatar students are making a short film about the other side of the coin.

This young bunch is channeling their creative energy in a completely different direction. It is talking about the dream for a better tomorrow which is what most of the expats enter Qatar with. Only this dream is shattered to pieces. Jaser Al-Agha, the director of the film under the production of Menna Kamel are telling us the story of a young man from Syria with that dream of a better tomorrow. The main character leaves Syria in hope to provide for his family by opening a garage in Qatar in order to make more money. It takes us through the touching story of separation from the homeland and his family and the disappointment in Qatar. His life is nothing like he imagined; his dream of a better tomorrow turned into a nightmare of the present. I will not unveil too many details of the story as I recommend you to see this great film named Mitl El Aarous or Good as New .

In my humble opinion, the crew is creating an outstanding authentic narrative which represents a more realistic picture of Qatar. It is authentic on various different levels; I will view the levels of authenticity through the definition of Richard Peterson. Firstly, this idea is a true-to-life reproduction; besides the top tier employees in the myriad of companies in Qatar there is a great number of expats who do not necessarily live on a high leg. They work hard for their money and encounter various difficulties that are unimaginable to us. Also, this is an original idea as I have not seen any films that portray the life of the common man in Qatar; documentaries, shows or any coverage of Qatar shows us the metropolitan skyscrapers and supercars as opposed to men in overhauls working from dawn to dusk. The story is also very current, it describes the hardship of the lower class worker today and puts it into perspective. The enthusiasm and zest that these young people have for this project is refreshing and makes me as an Education City student proud. Their intentions are pure and sincere as I see them working on this project without regard for time or energy.

It depends, however, who is watching this movie. The interpretive community or the people who interpret or define some aspect of culture will have differing views about the authenticity of this film. If it is screened to an exclusively Qatari audience, the reaction will be quite different than the one of a group of workers in the industrial area. Also, there may be different takes on the film depending on whether one has ever lived in Qatar or not. Non-Qatari residents may interpret it in one way and Qatari residents regardless of nationality will interpret it in another. In sum, authenticity is a socially constructed concept that defines something as real,true or pure; as an objective viewer I think this story fits the definition and it is something worth thinking about.

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Life of a Code Switcher

Yesterday during the sociology class lecture I went into a world of class systems. Perhaps these are things that I’ve recognized all my life and have deliberately ignored them for no reason. I grew up in a middle class family where my dad went to work in order to provide for the family and my mom would stay home to take care of my sister and me. Since there are only so many times that you can make something work that would not, by the time I was six-years-old my sister had moved to live with some relatives and I was the only child of a single dad. My dad taught me to work hard in order to overcome my shortcomings compared to the other children in my school. My childhood was not about Barbie dolls and playhouses. It was about learning how to solve 2nd grade mathematics in kindergarten. Everything in life was about one single opportunity: use it, or I could reproduce the class of my parents. With my dad never being home mostly, I became a cultural omnivore. I watched a lot of movies and mimicked the characters during boredom. “Dear Lady, would you like to dance?” an imaginary gentleman would ask to which I would reply “Oh yes, certainly,” and dance around the house. During high school I dated an English boy from church and went to several dances and shows with him. I started socializing with people from different cultures and lifestyles, adapting some cultures as my own and rejecting others. I moved out of home after high school. (Moving out of home is not an ordinary thing for my folks)

Today I can’t place myself in any particular class. Here I am, a senior student of a prestigious University with skills in playing the piano and the guitar, I go for highbrow parties and hang out with friends and colleagues (some Qataris and others of different ethic groups). Last weekend after a gathering with my friends I went to Al-Mourjan restaurant. In this restaurant, it looks bad if each person does not spend at least a 100QR. It's even mentioned in the menu! Since I always make sure that I pay my own bills when I’m dining with men, I had a hitch in the back of my mind when I saw a 250-riyal bill. Although today I’m used to a variant culture, I’m constantly reminded of my beginnings.
 
I mentioned Al-Mourjan, but I should definitely talk about the little tea stall and restaurant, I go to most days, for brunch. There are no high class folks here. Working class and middle class men (only men), come here for breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner. This stall-sort of a restaurant has been here for the past 30 years and although the original name of the stall is Al-Salihiya Tea Stall and Restaurant, folks who frequent the place call it “taxi.” This name stands, as 15 years ago several 100s of “orange and white colored” taxis would park in front of this stall before they would start their morning work. Today there are no more taxis waiting here early in the morning. But folks still call this place “Taxi.” As a code switcher, who hang out in prestigious restaurants with folks from different cultures and also in Taxi, with a bunch of Pashtun friends I made along the way, I understand what I learned in class yesterday: “ Differences in cultural consumptions are socially constructed in order to maintain socioeconomic class boundaries among the people.  

 

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Risk Management Strategies

          Today in class, I had to analyse the risk management strategies of Sidra supermarket in the Student Centre. I was extremely interested in this project and examining the way the store was set up and thus decided to do the same when I went to shop for make up today at 51 East. While I was walking around trying to find all of my favourite items, I was paying close attention to the conventions used by the store and how they appealed to their customers.
          I tried to answer the first question from the worksheet with this new scenario I was in. The standard items I would find in this section was obviously makeup, perfumes, body soap and face creams. I also expected to see organized stands that divide all of the different products, and a colourful displays for every different brand available.

          The second question on the worksheet involved pointing out different risk management techniques used by the business. The first was having well known brands and companies that are known internationally and locally. Their brands included both successful high-end companies and regular ones. Some high end brands also used celebrities as the face of their products. For example, Charlize Theron models for Dior make up and her photo was blown up on the wall of that section. This is considered to be a risk management strategy as Dior hired a prominent figure to be a part of their campaign.

Each brand also sold every make up product they have available. For example, the Chanel stand included eye shadow, blush, lipstick, mascara, perfumes, creams, soaps, nail polish and much more. This is called overproduction where you create more cultural products than the market can sustain in hopes that a few big hits will cover the numerous losses. This concept applied with every brand in the make up section.

Another technique was the use of product placement. At the entrance of the store, the first thing you would see in this section was a massive perfume display for Guerlain. It was a small-elevated stage by the escalator and was designed beautifully. One could not help and stare at the stand if they pass by it. This was intentionally done by the brand in order to promote their latest collection. If one likes it, they’re most likely to look at the other products by the same brand.

Lastly, they included a small coffee shop in the middle of the make up department. This was clever and appealing, especially towards men, as they now get to enjoy a cup of coffee while their wife shops for new make up.
          The last question on the worksheet asked if we saw any examples of glocalization. This is when a product imported from another country has been customized to appeal to the local audience. I personally did not see any examples of glocalization as you cannot modify a lipstick number or blush shade. As this may be inconvenient for the locals who do not speak English, many of the saleswomen spoke Arabic and therefore were taught to deal with this dilemma.

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Video Game Hits

During today’s lecture, we discussed about many techniques of how movie-producing companies minimize the risk of losing money or failure in the process of producing movies. Some of these techniques included sticking to traditional genres and hiring famous actors or producers. However, one of the very effective techniques is producing cultural products with built in-audiences. An applied example of this is the Resident Evil Movie franchise which already had a large audience because Resident Evil started out as a video game that got famous over time. Right after today’s sociology class, I went to Al Saqr Studio to explore this phenomenon further. One thing that I discovered for sure was that these techniques are not only used when producing movies, they are also used in the Video Game industry as well. Two examples that I found in Al Saqr Studio were Spiderman and Little Big Planet game franchise. Spiderman started out in Marvel superhero comics. However, Spiderman gradually became more famous and ended starring in cartoon Series, movie series and games franchises. The key to this success is that after Spiderman became a cultural icon, a large fan base was created, therefore, the producing company started to provide the fans with different types of products resulting into a bigger fan base. Although the Hulk and Ironman are Marvel characters that are as famous as Spiderman, we do not see them as much as Spiderman in the Video Game industry. This proves that all hits are “Flukes.”

One other great Video Game success is the Street Fighter game franchise by Capcom which started out on 1897 and was the first forms of fighting games that were produced in the video game industry. What is interesting about this franchise is that it has many sequels and within each sequel, many remakes are made. An example would be Street Fighter II which has many versions including Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Super Street Fighter II: The new Challengers, Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Gold. The difference between these remakes is very small compared to the original (adding 1 to 2 new characters or adding a new fighting stage). Although the changes are not very significant, the loyal fans are buying each and every one of them. This shows that building a big fan crowd can be a big indicator whether the next sequel or spin-off would be a success or not. In spite all of this, when Street Fighter was translated into a movie, it was one of the biggest movie failures.

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Frontstage vs. Backstage

Today I decided to go to a casual café, one that is considered a place where middle-class people go. I wanted to analyze it using the dramaturgy theory. This theory states that organizations can be examined like plays or movies. They have a setting, actors, roles, an audience, forestage and backstage behaviors. I went to a café called Bayt Al-Shami.

I observed peoples’ behaviors, the customers, and the waiters. I listened in on their conversations and I observed their behaviors.

In Grazian’s chapter about interaction theory, he talks about the fact that culture is determined by the social contexts in which we interact with others.

In a cultural context such as the one I was in today, there are certain norms and behaviors I expected to see, and others I didn’t expect to see. For example I expected to see middle-class people, behave moderately classy, yet not as classy as what I would expect someone to behave in a hotel. The norm would be for them to, not yell in the middle of the restaurant, yet not whisper in order for them to be classy.

The setting was a very regular setting, casual middle-eastern seating, low Arabic music playing in the background, and mixed gendered groups of people sitting together, whether they were friends or family.



The front stage behavior, which is the behavior that takes place where it is visible to the audience, i.e. the customers in the restaurant, was also very predictable. People are socialized to act a certain way based on the setting they are in, and for a place like this, it was normal to see children running around, and people occasionally getting loud.



As for the waiters, they’re expected to occasionally hover, to be polite, however, they’re not expected to be as professional as classy as waiters are in a hotel restaurant, and not as trashy as they are in a cheap “guy sheesha” places. Which is also what I observed in the front stage.



The back stage behavior was particularly interesting. I got close to the kitchen area and snapped a few pictures hoping one of them would be slightly clear, and I hovered a little to listen in on their conversations.



Some were yelling, some were laughing really loudly, and one of them was sing Baby for Justin Bieber, as his friends were huddled around him.

The drastic change between front stage and back stage definitely proved that the setting really does determine peoples’ behaviors.

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Education City, a Culture

Education City, or Hamad Bin Khalifa University, is an interesting place. It is home to hundreds of students from a host of diverse nations, each with their unique culture and experiences. Students have the opportunity to continue their studies from primary to secondary school, from an undergrad to even an executive master's degree. One thing that we learned in class is that socialization is the interactive process by which people learn the ways of the society in which they live. HBKU operates by a set of sub-laws that, although not supra-national laws, are answerable directly to the authority of HBKU itself, which has its own policing force, rules and regulations, expectations, and codes of conduct. Students that enjoy the privilege of an education in HBKU that have attended schools in Qatar previously will notice the immediate shift in the social environment. They become socialized within the boundaries of HBKU that there is a much more lax dress code, rules against public displays of affection are not as oppressive, although still firm, and the cultural and ideological diversity breeds new ideas and interactions between people that previously would never have met. Grazian explains this as cultural diffusion, a process where cultures adapt parts of other cultures. Qatar has created a bubble here whereby the local culture adapts parts of cultures world-wide: the American universities hold vacations during Muslim holy days, a practice that isn't common in the US, is just one example. Karl Marx states in his theory that when there is a large group of people that are in proximity to each other, people start to talk. When people start to talk, ideas begin to spread, and new habits and cultural idiosyncrasies are developed. Grazian states that culture is determined by the social contexts in which we interact with others, and that subcultures are smaller groups that are distinct from the larger social contexts they exist in based on their values, beliefs, symbols, and/or activities. Each university in HBKU holds its own values, and each of the students have their own values and beliefs, and HBKU itself has its own values, beliefs, and vision of what it wants for its students. Members of HBKU have their own vehicle tags to allow them unobstructed entry onto the campus, each university member has his or her own ID and an assortment of office supplies, clothes, and other utensils that have either HBKU or the name of their host university on them. Upon graduation, each student receives a rather expensive-looking ring with their name engraved on it with a stylistic engraving of the HBKU tree's leaf. These things can arguably be called the totems of HBKU, or an object that serves as the symbol of the group. HBKU as a scene has its own idioculture, enjoying its own collective memory and shared experiences, its own ideology and attitude, and its own system of knowledge, all of which Grazian states are important tenets of microscenes and idiocultures. Ultimately, HBKU can be seen as a culture that is a fabricated and sped up modern-day "Renaissance," an investment in human capital and potential that touches on the experiences of the West with a vision for Qatar.

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Ithnayn Karak Please!

When I return to my home country and people ask me what Doha is like, I just pause and non-nonchalantly say "It's simply multiculturalism on steroids!". I honestly do not think i am too far off when I say that. From my modest experience in my three year stay in Doha, I can say that culture develops in Doha in a way that it develops nowhere else. On a daily basis I interact with people from at least 4-5 different nationalities which is amazing by any standard! My social network or a group of people I am connected with in one way or another is extremely diverse. Interacting with these groups of people allows for our habits, hobbies, cultures or even tastes to converge into this beautiful melting pot of civilizations which makes Doha today. It's amazing to me how culture diffuses and adopts parts of other cultures to incorporate it into a unique blend.

I will tell the tale of introducing my father to ritual of Karak in Doha. Rituals enable groups to gather collectively and reinforce collective identity, or in this case, converge with a part of a different culture. We had a conversation last night while having tea about Karak and he told me he's heard of it but that he's never tried it. To provide some background, he is a diplomat living in Doha for three years now. His interaction is limited to other diplomats or businessmen; the venues he visits are mostly hotels, malls, restaurants, diplomatic receptions etc. He has visited Qatari majlises and interacted with Qataris, but the way they treat him his very flattering simply because of the nature of "His Excelencly's" tittle. So, I decided to be the one to show him one of the most "Doha" things to do in Doha.

It was almost dusk and we had finished our family dinner so I told him that instead of tea, tonight we should head to get some Karak. He complied with a dose of skepticism simply because of the age gap and i don't think he knew what to expect; I had previously told him I go there with my friends in the late night hours so I can understand his reaction. Whilst driving to Bandar which is a place that serves Karak near the Corniche, i witnessed culture diffuse in traffic where he took his Balkan temper and driving etiquette and applied it in Doha traffic. I tried explain my fascination to my father but the response was "What Balkan temper?" so i decided to switch the topic. We reached Bandar and he unfastened his seat-belt and tried to get out of the car. I told him to stay and honk the horn; he looked at me doubtfully and asked me why. I just told him to do it so he did. Seconds later, a man knocked on our window and asked us what we wanted. My father looked confused and in awe that a man would come and serve us simply by honking the horn. I quickly responded "Etneyen karak, please" which means "Two karak, please" in English; the man nodded and walked off. I spent some time explaining the process to my father who found it unacceptable and disrespectful to honk in front of a store. The epilogue of such an action in the Balkans would have been quite different, but culture is relative after all!



While we talked about this whole ordeal, the gentleman came back with our karak. I took the karak, payed the man and we drove away to find a spot to enjoy our oriental chai. We found a spot which faced upon the beautiful Doha skyline. I asked him what he thinks of it so far, he responded he likes the view of our Charshija which is the equivalent of the Souq in Skopje and that our traditional Turkish tea tastes better than the karak. We laughed about it and I told him that this could be a modern substitute of his former favorite place. He suggested that one day we play tavla or backgammon some day while drinking karak. That is one of the traditional games people in the Skopje Charshija play while enjoying a small glass of Turkish tea . We just made a plan to glocalize a domestic ritual with what we have in Doha. The process of glocalization is adapting a particular aspect of a culture to a certain locality or culture. We were going to participate in cultural diffusion! I was proud to say that next week inshallah, I will be participating in the process that makes Doha amazing!

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I just sat back and reflected on the blend of culture that I participated in. Simply drinking the traditional karak while gazing upon the colossal skyscrapers that made Doha what it is, i thought of the magical blend of tradition and modernity and how globalization and glocalization occurred at the same time. I was going to participate into this process and bring our traditional game to our tea time; perhaps that will catch on and people will be going for karak and a game of backgammon or tavla soon. If you ever see that at Bandar, you know who started it! Selam Aleykum!

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