Star Academy: A new outbreak in Orientalism

Highly-popular TV show confuses society

BEIRUT - Faten Yaacoub

March/April 2004

Orientalism has announced its last days in Star Academy. For those out-dated, Star Academy is the Arab version of the famous French program for youths seeking to be singing pop stars.

Some may say that we should be proud that Lebanon is the first country in the Middle East that thought of adopting this program. But a question here pops up: is commercialized plagiarism nowadays considered an act worth the praise? Some may reply immediately that this so-called adoption is authorized and thus allowed by the French. But again, have Arabs gone so dry they can no more produce any new creative ideas to Arabize the French and the British? Such a question needs really to be answered and discussed.

Star Academy in its real essence holds an artistic purpose – singing, which can be considered the harmonized expression of the soul. But the participants have actually forgotten that aim. They are only stuck with the outer shell, the occidental culture and atmosphere. Such culture differs so much from ours, the oriental.

We, as Orientals, bear no grudge towards any artistic development even if it is derived from the west. However, we still care for our traditions and identity.

This identity should be never generalized. For instance, boys and girls live in the same house all day long where they take lessons from mostly francophone-oriented tutors. These young participants can't express their spirit of cooperation and sympathy except in warm kisses and hugs. What about Arabic? It really does not feel at home in Star Academy. Most of the participants converse in French though usually reminded by their tutors to speak Arabic. Ironically speaking, one of their teachers was once advising them to speak Arabic and suddenly she said they have to have "saboor" where she meant "saber”: patience.

Maybe some readers of this article grow mad at its content and accuse me of fanaticism. Not at all. I’m just trying to hold to my identity, for if we all turn to be one image, it’ll be really dull. It’s true we have to understand and interact with the "other”, but without ignoring the real "we”, for east is east and west is west.

This argument may sound logical to most of you, but still you'll watch the next Friday prime of Star Academy. I’ll never comment on that, for you can't entertain yourselves except with such a program, especially when you are living in the dull Lebanese atmosphere, resulting from the wrong policies performed all over the country by citizens and authorities.

Faten Yaacoub is an English literature student at the Lebanese University. She wrote this piece for Alternative