Political ideology and the shaping of modern Arab cinema

This chapter examines how political ideology and conflict has shaped Arab cinema as it evolved from the age of decolonization in the mid-20th century to today. It looks at the social and political themes that dominated commercial cinema when it first flourished in Egypt’s liberal era, how it began to incorporate anti-colonial nationalist ideology during the Nasserist period, and how conservative themes gradually grew in prominence from the 1970s. It then outlines how neoliberalism has impacted cinema since the 1980s, reinforcing and validating the authoritarianism of regimes across the region such as those in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. With popular cinema’s ability to influence public discourse heavily circumscribed in this manner, critical film d’auteur has only been able to operate in marginal spaces – though often with remarkable results.