“Pop Culture in the Arab World” by Shereen El Feki

1. Who are the target audience of the talk?

The target audience of the talk was a cross-cultural audience,
especially non-arab people.
2. What is the message of the talk to the target audience?
It was about “cultural hybridization” and how it was applied in the
Arab pop culture. It also highlighted how cultures are intertwined in the
form of media presentation. It also talks about educating people and
creating coexistence through open-mindedness and acceptance of your
own culture as well as acknowledgement of the cultures of other nations.
3. What is 4SHBAB?
It means “for the youth”. It is a new Arab TV channel. It has been
dubbed as Islamic MTV. Its creator Ahmed Haiba, wants young people to
be inspired by Islam to lead a better lives.
4. What is The 99?
It is for a slightly younger crowd. The 99 are the world’s first
Islamic superheroes. They were created by a Kuwaiti psychologist called
Naif Al Mutawa and his desire to rescue Islam from images of intolerance
in a child-friendly form.
5. What are the 4SHBAB and The 99 for?
These are examples of Islamic cross-cultural hybridization. It is
where Arab people are taking up Western innovations and changing them
into things which are neither conventionally Western, nor are they
traditionally Islamic. The speaker described it as a mesh of civilizations,
in which the strands of culture are intertwined. Such a mesh is a very
Islamic concept to El Feki, who explains that Islam has always
encouraged borrowing and adapting from other civilizations. This is
underlined by the Qur’an, she states, and the following ayah appears as
a caption on the slide of Barbie and Fulla:
“We made you into tribes and nations so that you could learn from
one another.” Sura 49:13

OUTPUT--Fictional Hero/Heroine
 “GOLNAR VESTA”

Name: Golnar Vesta

 Golnar is a persian name for red flower, center of a flame.
Vesta is a latin for goddess of sacred fire and the hearth.
Together, the name “Golnar Vesta” signifies the women empowerment era
where women are the center of the flame and it is where women show their
unique traits. I have chosen this name mainly because other people think of
fire as something destructive but other than that it symbolizes the generative
power of life, energy and change which I believe women bring to this world. The
ability of nurturing a child is generating life itself. Being able to be the “ilaw ng
tahanan” is a form of power and can spark change in someone’s life by the
means of how a woman raises her child to be. Though sometimes women tend
to be very erratic and hard to understand like a wildfire, just like how
important fire was during primitive years, it is impossible to live without them.
Costume:
HEAD: Red hair and eye visor
Red hair signifies the fiery attribute of the hero.
Eye visor serves as a tool to hide the identity of the hero and serves as
an eye protection as well.
BODY: Yellow and black upper body suit, armor pants, wings
Yellow and black upper body. Yellow symbolizes sunshine, hope, and
happiness while black is associated with power, fear, mystery, strength,
authority, elegance, formality, death, evil, and aggression, authority, rebellion,
and sophistication. Together, it serves as a balance. It is somehow similar to
how the ego balances out or chooses whom to follow--the Id or the Superego.
Therefore, the heroine is focused on reality principle.
Armor pants. I decided that I want my heroine to break the stereotype
against women so I opted on making my character wear an “armor pants” not
to show superiority amongst other gender but it is to show strength and equity.
Wings. I have always wanted to have an ability to fly. This I guess is a
reflection of the want to have freedom and independence and I want my
heroine to have these attributes in the form of a skill or ability. Also, it serves
as an advantage to the hero when it comes to fighting the enemies because she
has the proponent of speed, height and altitude.
Power and Purpose:
Power: Fire manipulation. The user can create, shape and manipulate
fire.
 Purpose: I want my hero to be a long range fighter. I personally do not
like a close-range fight. If I can prevent something from happening, then I
would do something to end it before it comes close or before it is too late.
Also, one of the five major elements which make up this world is fire, the
spark that ignited genesis, the light which nurtures life, and the illumination of
judgment which vanquishes all evil.
Fire never surrenders. If it cannot burn through, it burns around. Block
its path and it sends sparks through the air, to begin the blaze anew
somewhere else. Fire
always finds a way.
Lastly, fire is
incredibly dangerous.
However, the purpose
of my heroine is not to
destroy but to purify.
To be able to control
fire, you should be
disciplined and this
takes a lot of time to
do.
To sum it up,
Golnar Vesta is a
representation of
women with a
purpose of purifying
the world.