Well done, Nervana! (Excerpt: read on Human Rights Watch, Egypt, and the Oscars)
International human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a recent article titled: ‘Egypt should win an Oscar for hypocrisy over praise for Rami Malek.’ Neela Ghosal, a senior researcher in the organisation, wrote that Egypt’s positive reaction to Egyptian actor Rami Malek winning the Oscar for his role in the film “Bohemian Rhapsody” as gay music legend Freddie Mercury of Queen, was hypocritical.
Ghosal, who described Mercury as “unabashedly, flamboyantly queer,” cited a quote from Malek’s acceptance speechin which he said, “We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself.” To support her claim that Egypt was being hypocritical, Ghosal said that if the Egyptian government and its apologists “want to own a piece” of Malek’s Bohemian Rhapsody triumph, they should “own up to the facts” about the appalling treatment of homosexuals in Egypt. In her view, Rami Malek “gave life, joyfully, to a queer icon,” but Egypt, under President Sisi, would not allow either Freddie Mercury to thrive on its soil, or a Malek to celebrate him.
Even if we acknowledge the writer’s view that Mercury’s sexual orientation was the core part of the film, the researcher’s argument is still deeply flawed.
Firstly, the celebration of a young man of Egyptian origin, who was passionately proud of his Egyptain roots, is not hypocritical and has nothing to do with homosexuality. Secondly, the idea that the Egyptian government has no right to celebrate Rami Malek’s Oscar, unless it recognizes homosexuality is frankly absurd. By that logic, the Egyptian government must recognise prostitution, sex outside marriage, and all other taboos in Muslim societies in order to celebrate any film that addresses those issues with any degree of positivity.
Perhaps the researcher did not follow the history of Egyptian cinema. For over a century, Egyptian film-makers have challenged taboos and produced daring movies about various controversial topics, including homosexuality. Films such as “Cat on Fire” and “The Yacobian Building” bluntly deal with homosexuality, and despite creating an uproar and controversy, both were eventually approved by the governent censorship authority. Furthermore, film critics and the vast majority of Egyptian audiences praised both Nour El Sherif, the main actor in Cat on Fire, and Khaled El Sawi for playing the daring roles of gay men. Along with homosexuality, Egyptian cinema has addressed other social taboos, such as sex workers, and even portrayed them as victims.
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