Om Al Banat sheds light on a new side of society. Read more…
This Ramadan has witnessed a surge of shows hitting our television sets; of more than 120 shows, half were Khaleeji. Those Khaleeji shows seem to all start together at the same time on different channels all fighting for viewers’ attentions. Ironically most contain the same set of actors, which confuses us further since it’s the same person acting but in a different plot all shown in the same 30 day span, sometimes in the same hour. But like they say, “the winner takes it all”, and that’s just what Om Al-Banat did.
Om Al-Banat headed to the top of the Khaleeji TV show list since it was aired at the beginning of Ramadan. Not only did it make it to the top of the list, it also became a household name, and made it into our daily conversations – in which we predict what will happen, or discuss a character. Om Al-Banat has made it to our blackberries, with broadcast messages being sent filled with jokes, as well as spoilers that all seem to revolve around Om Al-Banat” solely, and not any other TV show found in the Ramadan arena.
Written by Heba Hamada, a young talented writer who also wrote the plot for of 'Fetha Galbha Abyath'- a successful TV show that was aired last Ramadan and which got rave reviews. Heba has a unique style in her stories where she discusses humane as well as social issues in a very professional yet realistic ways; her plots do not include ill-written scenarios, unbelievable events, or disrespectful scenes.
Starring noteworthy regional stars such as Soaud Abdulla, Ghanim Al Saleh, Ahlam Hasan, and Mona Abdulmajed among others, the show revolves around the life of a well-endowed family that consists of a strict inequitable Father (Ghanim Al Saleh) who persecutes all the women in his family, a weak hearted selfless Mother (Soaud Abdulla) who has put up with it all for 35 years, a son that is treated like a king amongst his six varied personality yet utterly oppressed Sisters. The show does not take the viewer on a day-by-day journey through their lives; on the contrary it gives the viewer snapshots of their lives over a five year period. This not only makes the show less boring, it also gives viewers the impression that they have known this family since forever, and not just in those 30 days of Ramadan.
Om Al-Banat focuses on a new side of Arabian society where the woman is persecuted, instead of being treated humanely, and shows the reader how this woman backlashes and succeeds. The storyline doesn’t just revolve around the family; it also gives each character in the TV show a separate distinct story that weaves into the main plot.
Heba Hamada discusses society’s different gender roles, focusing on the female aspect and the different aspects of what it feels like to be living in a modern forward-thinking society but under the rule of a father that still lives in the Stone Age. She shows different characters not in the family living different roles as opposed to the persecuted female who is caged at home, and can only proceed to do anything if she has her father’s consent. In my opinion, the underlying point of Om Al-Banat is the fact that favoritism, discrimination between genders, and harsh breeding are all factors that lead to an explosion; one that can be negative or positive, something that is shown in this TV show.
As we know, every successful thing/person is automatically shut down; it’s just a rule of thumb in life, “with success comes harsh criticism.” “Om Al-Banaat” got a lot of feedback-positive and negative. In my opinion, those who criticized the series did not fully digest or get the main idea behind the storyline, and it seems merely judged it from a couple of scenes. The point I am trying to get across is that Om Al-Banat holds a positive moral interwoven into it’s scenes; that which calls for better treatment of women and giving them full rights be they a mother, a sister, a daughter, or a wife. Harsh breeding and persecution not only cause social imbalance and problems, but also lead to psychological problems; factors that can lead to the destruction of society, since women make up half of it. Either that, or they can result in retaliation and empowerment of the persecuted women; such as what happened in Om Al-Banat where the females of the house run away from their father and searching for their lost freedom.
Overall, I highly recommend watching Om Al-Banat. The cast is really wonderful, the storyline is powerful, entertaining and bears a positive as well as beneficial lesson. If you think that the story is fictional and insults the viewer, then you do not seem to get the hidden message and sorry but in my opinion I’d have to say you might be wrong.
– Khaled Al-Bannay
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