According to reports, the Marvel blockbuster will receive a gala premiere in Riyadh on 18 April as part of a deal done by US theatre chain AMC that will see 40 cinemas open in Saudi cities over the next five years.
Friday, April 06, 2018
Black Panther to become first film shown in Saudi Arabian cinemas in 35 years
According to reports, the Marvel blockbuster will receive a gala premiere in Riyadh on 18 April as part of a deal done by US theatre chain AMC that will see 40 cinemas open in Saudi cities over the next five years.
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I wasn't aware of the cinema ban in Saudi Arabia but I think it's very important that a.) the ban is being lifted and b.) the first movie that will be shown is a movie about black people prevailing. Relations between black people and Arab people are very shaky still to this day. As a person who grew up in a house with a black father and a mother who grew up in Palestine, I've always been very aware of this fact. Obviously the international slave trade of black slaves was started by ancient Saudi Arabians. The lasting hatred of dark skinned people holds its legacy in many Arab communities. So the fact that a movie about black people being overtly black and overtly proud of their home is going to be shown in cinemas as the first movie that has been shown in Saudi Arabian cinemas in 35 years is incredibly exciting. I hope this aids in some of the colorism in that country because everyone in that film is a dark skinned black person.
I too did not know there was a complete film ban in Saudi Arabia. But I can not be more proud that a movie about black heritage will be the reason in not just one of the first to push Saudi officials to the point of lifting the ban on film and western media in general. I think the reasoning for the change of heart to have happen now, is that for the first time a western Hollywood movie will tell a story on black and brown people in a completely positive way. I think its because its a never before seen pivot in our society, and how we are starting to treat all members of the human race. I think Black Panther was so important to how brown people are looked at in the world that they might have felt compelled to release this movie to show that the world is finally almost ready to accept people for more that their skin, more that their history or ancestry or where they come from, or possible in the future, what they believe in.
This is historic on so many levels. First this is a crowning achievement for black excellence in Hollywood. Not only have they made a movie that is so powerful and interesting, but it is so financially successful and viable that has been chosen to be the first movie shown to a sheltered people, in a country not particularly known for its championship of diversity and human rights. This great achievement for Director Ryan Coogler and star actors Chadwick Boseman and Lupita N’yongo. Furthermore this represents a historic moment in the history of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in general. This extremely repressive country has taken a major step forward towards modernizing and opening itself up to the rest of the world. Black Panther does a great job portraying women in this movie, and hopefully young Saudi Arabian women will see the powerful women in this film and it will inspire them to change their country for the better.
I think the motivation behind Saudi Arabia’s decision to bring back movie theaters is very interesting and one that I really would not have expected. Their motivation to bring back the public cinema is one of economic desire. They are wanting to become less economically dependent on oil, so the way they are combatting that is by increasing their economic gain through the entertainment industry. I think this goes to say a lot for the entertainment industry. For the lack of finding the arts gets and how people say there is no money in the arts, the arts sure do bring in a lot of money. I’m curious why people can see how much economic revenue entertainment industries like the movie business can bring in, but they fail to give the arts the same amount of funding as other industries, sports for example, to compensate for all of the revenue that they put into local and larger economies.
The opening of the movie theatre is not only significant because of the movie that opened but more so because of the personal rights that are opening up in these other countries. It is not the only country to see these movie bands lifted recently. A small country recently released the ban on movies from America with the playing of the emoji movie. In this case, though it was more a two-sided thing both a ban on the American side and on the Saudi Arabian side of things. This is great though; it will allow the development of seeing how other countries are through the silver screen. The lens through which we often see how other people in this world live is the film and television industry. It makes these views and thoughts available to an incredible amount of people. Hence why it is so often used as propaganda in other countries, but those times are starting to change.
I had no idea that there was a cinema ban in Saudi Arabia in the first place. In the face of that this article was very enlightening. Of all of the films to be the first film to show at the new cinemas being opened, I can’t think of a single movie in all of history that would be better than Black Panther. The black representation in that movie is off the charts. I don’t know very much about racism in Saudi Arabia whoever, I hope that people are able to put that aside while they enjoy this movie, and perhaps the movie will even lessen whatever hatred is present. As an added benefit, the cinemas that are opening offer jobs that aren’t reliant on the oil industry in the middle east. I think that this is a big step in the right direction towards less reliance on oil as a basis for the entire economy.
Wow, I did not realize there was a film ban in Saudi Arabia. Of course I think that lifting this ban is an incredible and good thing. Black Panther is a great film to begin to reintroduce movies to the country with because it shows people of color as powerful, confident, beautiful, and, as Joss said, prevailing, a way they have rarely been seen in cinema in the past. However, I also find this situation a little heartbreaking. People in Saudi Arabia have been deprived of film. And having Black Panther be the first movie shown is almost like someone who is colorblind seeing the world in color for the first time. It might be overwhelming. Black Panther is one of the best of the best in modern cinema. Obviously, I am not saying they should start with something of lower quality, but I cannot imagine what Saudi Arabian people will be feeling as they step into that theatre and witness Black Panther for the first time. It might be a little astonishing. It was astonishing to me!
What an interesting article this was to read! I, like my peers have stated before, had no idea there was such a harsh ban of movies in Saudi Arabia until now, and this article gave me some good insight into how that ban has affected the Saudi Arabia social community. I love that Black Panther is the film that is ending this conservative and controlling ban, as I hope that it gives good lessons of power and acceptance to Saudi Arabian audiences. The thing that was most interesting about this article though, are the quotes that the reporter got from spokespersons about the release of this ban. The quotes end up focusing less on why Black Panther is the movie to lift the film ban, but instead on how the lifting of the ban will help the Saudi Arabian economy and about how great the huge cinema buildings are. I hope that Saudi Arabian audiences see through this surface level reasoning for the ban lifting, and get something out of Black Panther in particular.
It makes me happy to see positive news about a Middle Eastern country come into the news cycle. I have seen an incredible amount of islamophobia in the two decades I have been alive, and seeing something like this, that might seem very minor is up lifting. I think it is good for people to see that people from Saudi Arabia are not that much different than everyone else in the US. I can not think of a more appropriate movie to be the first one showed either. Black Panther has already done such a good job of bridging the gap between white America and the rest of the world with its wonderful portrayal of life in Africa. I am glad to see things like this becoming more normalized in our society, because they are normal and there is no reason what so ever to treat them as anything else.
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