Is it a Lost Culture in Egypt ALONE or Worldwide? To answer this vital question I need to go back in time when films used to feature in Cinemas for a week or more according to their success! Success was measures with the number of people who saw the film the more spectators meant more sells of tickets which means simply more income, which will encourage producers to invest their income in more and more such successful films!
Accordingly all elements involved in this industry from Actors, to Story Witters or Seine Directors and Film Directors will invest their best Ideas and efforts to participate in that success!!
In abbreviation to make the long story shorter such successful films I did see were counted in my hands like:-
1. Gone with the wind
2. My fare Lady
3. Loren of Arabia
4. Zorba the Greek AND
5. THE SOUND OF MUSIC!
I've seen all of the above and many more several times including “To Sir With Love” but (The sound of music) my all time favourite one just like all Naguib El Rihani films no matter how many times I saw them I'll see it over and over again!
In fact this film The Sound Of Music on top of its beautiful Music and Songs of TOP performance of Jully Andrews as a singer and actress it teaches us how families used to spend their times old old eras way before TV broadcasts and Radio as well! No coffee shops yet popular and the only family entertainment as a family would be Cinemas to watch a film or Opera to hear operettas or watch ballet which was not affordable to all families as kids would not stay silent for long hours therefore films was more affordable! But if films stay in Cinemas for several weeks this means the family has to find other ways of entertainment, and the family Von Trap was one of them!
In Sound of Music film we see this family Von Trap! Von Trap an ex-marine officer retired from the Austrian Navy but very loyal to Austrians and his country! We never saw his wife who gave birth to 7 beautiful kids before she did die, so the widowed father (Von Trap) needed a baby sitter who was Sister Maria -Jully Andrews- and we see how this family spent their time after dinner telling stories to each other or singing all together!
This is the Idea I wanted to discuss and show how today's Technology Radio, TV, and MOBILES killed old traditions and family gathering to pass on knowledge and traditions from generation to generation developing Culture with traditions!
The all time and OLD actor Mohamed Sobhi showed us more than once in his new program “No Problem at all” how new technology in mobiles and internet killed family gatherings, every one around the father upon the father's request but each one in his own Mobile world no one talks to the father including his own WIFE! It was repeated with the grand mother, the whole family decided to pay a visit to the gran gran, -gran gran is a nick name for Grand Mother- once again they are all around her but none speaking to her they are busy each in his own Mobile Internet world to the point it would had been way better for this poor grand mother to be left alone in peace to sleep!
Even TV new broadcasting channel “Maspiro Zaman” or “Maspiro Old-times” admits in lot of times and parts on the Talk Shows or portions of old films the lack of Culture or Arts of old times!
No more Writers or authors like Naguib Mahfouz or Taha Housein and Abas El Akad but is that just in Egypt? What happen to the inspirations of William Shakespeare, or La Fontaine and many more?A British observer even said it:- Thanks God we still have theatre! So true but what happened to our Theatre since our old old Opera at Opera square got burned? True we did replace it with a newer building but where is the Reda Troupe. Band exhibition Egyptian began at the end of the fifties of the last century under the leadership of Mahmoud Reda and made presentations to be accepted and applauded. The first special troupe of folk art. The band still there and performing but not as popular as they used to be under the leadership of Farida Fahmy and Mahmoud Reda as Dancers at the sixties! Reda is still the dance designer and trainer but not dancing due to age restrictions as for Farida who knows where is she?
Bottom line is Culture is lost due to technological innovations that killed inspirational imagination that motivates to innovations! 40 years ago way before Skype I saw the actor of an imaginary space film talking on the phone a special non existing then -40 years ago- device he could see and talk to the called like if he was talking to a TV both voice and image! Mobile technology and Internet force me to rest my case hopping that I did make my point clear enough; When Culture comes back and we start reading BOOKS and go back to old time habits of family gatherings and discussions exchange of ideas and elderly respects, education might find its way into our brains and life goes on!
May God keep blessing Egypt and Egyptians his peace be with all of YOU!
