Most of the Western movies shown on the screens reflect on our culture. The movies display desire, identity, fantasy and extravagance. Globalization is on the rise, and the Arab countries are not left out of the process. Thus, the media has made it easy to access everything that one needs without much effort. It is possible to get all the movies and music that one wants in all parts of the world. The western movies tend to reflect the Western lifestyle, which is luxurious in nature and full of freedom. When people watch the American lifestyle from these movies, the shows are bound to affect their attitudes (Hachten & Scotton, 2011). The movies may make such individuals question what they have always believed in for a long time. Hence, many youths are often influenced by these lifestyles since most of them want to live the way the actors live.
There is the fear that Western movies are affecting the Arab Youth. Parents believe that these movies are the source of the queer behaviors among the youths. Even though most youths are passive audiences, there is the fear that they tend to pick the wrong ideas and practices. Arab youths are most likely to be affected given that they are very flexible both culturally and socially. The flexibility allows them to shift easily from one culture to the next. Arabian youths are the main targets due to the high rate of unemployment in the Arab world (Mahdi, 2003). The youths have a lot of time at their disposal, and most of them spend it watching the American movies. In fact, the Western movies are easily accessible. Some of such movies are shown on television that most youths watch through satellite, buy or rent from the internet.
With the ease of access, the question of whether the western movies affect their attitude and beliefs rise up. The level at which the exposure to the Western movies is influencing the Arabian youths identities has increased. Arab youths have adopted the western culture and have stuck to their native cultural practices and Islamic religion. The relationships between sexes have increased (Kraidy, 2008). The Arabian girls’ modes of dressing have changed to be revealing and daring. The conservative nature of Islamic is slowly being eroded out. The Arabian youths use their strong faith in Islam as a filter. The faith of the Arabians youths in Islam cancels anything that is not right according to the Islam faith. They only incorporate what is in line with the religious and cultural beliefs.
Arabian youths prefer the western movies to their local movies. The occurrence is not derived from the fact that they want to learn the new culture, but since the Arabian movies are often of poor quality. The western movies have used advanced technology and quality graphics (Khalil & Kraidy, 2009). Most of the Arabian movies are politically based despite being under constant supervision of the government. Thus, to get various topics about a movie, their youths turn to the western movies. The movies also address issues that affect the youths namely marriage, employment or education that are often not discussed at home or in the Arabian movies.
Arab youths are not affected negatively by the western movies. In fact, they only pick what works for them and in line with their cultural practices. The Arabian youths hardly do what every movie displays, but only those that please them. The youths watch western movies founded on the fact that they have no other alternative unless the content of the local movies is changed. Their faiths ensure that they stick to their beliefs and are not negatively affected in any way by western movies. In most cases, religion guides them on what is wrong and right. Finally, the Arabian families are strict and opposed to the western culture (Khalil & Kraidy, 2007). Thus, these families would not easily allow their children to slip founded on the Western movies.
References
Hachten, W. & Scotton, J. (2011). The world news prism: Challenges of digital communication. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Web.
Khalil, J. & Kraidy, M. (2007). The Middle East: Transnational Arab television. The Media Globe, Trend in International Mass Media. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Web.
Khalil, J. & Kraidy, M. (2009). Arab television industries. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Web.
Kraidy, M. (2008). Youth, media and culture in the Arab world. International Handbook of Children, Media and Culture. London, UK: Sage. Web.
Mahdi, A. (2003). Teen life in the Middle East. Portsmouth, NH: Greenwood Publishing Group. Web.