Egyptian Women in the Cinema of the Nineties, published by the BA
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Alexandria, 27 December 2005— The Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center published a book entitled, Egyptian Women in the Nineties Cinema. The book portrays women"s image in the Egyptian Nineties Cinema.
Within a social context, the book describes the development of women in cinema. Cinema- as one of the most important mass media in the twentieth and twenty first centuries- is both an art and intellect. Cinema is a profit making industry and is an art of creation and creativity.
Women were interested to enter into the cinema field since its conception in Europe, America and Egypt. In 1976 pioneer actresses founded an organization based in France, Musidora, followed by the establishment of an international association for actresses based in Stockholm.
Joining the cinema field was a great challenge for actresses in Egypt, as it contradicted with their norms, traditions, and religious teachings. Therefore, actors were playing both male and female roles in early movies. Societal changes and the development of women"s status encouraged talented females to enter this field, one of which was "Fatma Youssef", also known as "Roselyoussef".
Roselyoussef was followed by many distinguished actresses, Dawlat Abiad, Fardos Hassan, Zeinab Sedki, Amina Rezk, and Aziza Amir. The latter was one of the founders of cinema industry in Egypt.
The book examines several positive images of women in Egypt; women"s ability to deal with social problems and to adapt to current beliefs. Women enjoyed their rights of dependence and decision making, in a manner that maintained the balance of the household and without infringing on their role towards husbands and children. Movies produced in the nineties highlighted women"s advantages and strengths in their struggle with men, such movies include Ightiyal Moudarrisa, Murder of a Teacher, directed by Ashraf Fahmi in 1990.
Other movies focused on women"s sexual relations with men and presented an over stated image of women as murderers, drug dealers, and addicts. Imra"a wa Khamsat Rijal, A Woman and Five Men, a movie directed by Alaa Karim in 1995, focused on the negative image of women in the nineties.
Movies attempted to represent the modern image of women; focusing on women"s figures, fashion, hairstyle, behavior; and ignoring the women"s educational, cultural, professional and social level.
The cinema failed to cover all traditional aspects of a woman"s character. It disregarded the social character of women in rural areas, villages, and bedouin districts, however, it focused on women"s different dialects and personalities, without considering their surrounding environment and to what extent it affected their personalities.
However, the book provides the reader "in layman terms" an overview of women in the cinema of the nineties.