Mass culture and modernism in Egypt / Walter Armbrust.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Armbrust, Walter.

Series:

Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 102.

Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 102

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mass media.

History.

Popular culture.

Egypt--Civilization--1798-.

Egypt.

Civilization.

Popular culture--Egypt.

Mass media--Egypt--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xi, 275 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, [England] ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Summary:

This path-breaking study of Egyptian popular culture provides fresh and vital insights into the long struggle of modern Egypt to define its identity. Dr. Armbrust examines Egyptian television, recorded music, the press, and the cinema. These popular media have broken radically with cultural icons of Egypt's past, while offering ordinary people a way of coming to terms with the clashing values of nationalism, modernity, and Arab classicism. However, since the 1970s, popular culture has also become a site of contestation. The delicate balance between conservative nationalist imagery and a modernist ethic has been increasingly put in question by producers and consumers of the media, reflecting a sense that the representations of modernity do not reflect the experience of Egyptians.

Contents:

2 "The White Flag" 11

3 The split vernacular 37

4 The gifted musician 63

5 Classic, clunker, national narrative 94

6 Popular commentary, real lives 116

7 "Vulgarity" 165.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

0521481473

0521484928

OCLC:

33103801