While in some areas of Egypt everything has changed, it feels as though in others, nothing has. For example, the made-for-television movies and television series produced especially for screening during the holy month of Ramadan are a tradition in the Middle East. And it seems that, despite the Egyptian revolution and regime change, economics and black listed stars, this is a constant.

Despite economic issues in Egypt, film and television producers are still spending large amounts on the production of these Ramadan epics.

While in some areas of Egypt everything has changed, it feels as though in others, nothing has. For example, the made-for-television movies and television series produced especially for screening during the holy month of Ramadan are a tradition in the Middle East. And it seems that, despite the Egyptian revolution and regime change, economics and black listed stars, this is a constant.

Despite economic issues in Egypt, film and television producers are still spending large amounts on the production of these Ramadan epics.

Ramadan is a holy month, during which the religious fast daily, refraining from food, drink or sex during the day; at night, they meet friends and family to break their fast and it seems, settle down to watch new seasons of television series, that will often have a Ramadan theme too.

Most also have more than a touch of soap opera about them, dealing with double dealing businessmen, rags to riches tales, dreams come true and even the Arab-Israeli conflict.

It is almost impossible to work out exactly how much money has been spent on Ramadan series and made-for-television films in 2012. Some figures suggest the total number is close to EGP1.5 billion (around US$245 million) but a source close to the Egyptian drama production industry says it’s half a billion Egyptian pounds less (around US$160 million).

The source says that only tax officials can know the real figures because production companies will often exaggerate their budgets, so that real profit margins are higher.

The real salaries for Egyptian stars are also a mystery. The country may be grappling with economic issues but the most popular actors and actresses will still get between an estimated EGP2 million (around US$330,000) and EGP10 million (around US$1.6 million) per series.

It’s also worth asking where the money to fund all of these series is coming from. Some attribute the number of new series to the fact that new channels keep entering the market place. Hardly a month goes by without some new Arab channel launching, while the authorities in Egypt prevent the launch of any local channels.

The revolution doesn’t seem to have impacted on the popularity of some of this Ramadan’s stars either, including those who overtly supported the regime and who may even have disparaged the protestors in public.

In 2011, a group of revolutionaries compiled a blacklist of the latter and published it on the Internet. They called for Egyptians to boycott the work of entertainers, such as the actresses Ghada Abdul Razaq and Yusra, who publicly supported Mubarak’s regime as well as actor Nour al-Sherif, who was noticeably silent during the revolution.

Some of these entertainers have since spoken out about their fears of the new Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government and what the regime may do to the arts and culture in Egypt.

A good example is one of the most popular Ramadanic series, called ‘Naji Atallah’s Gang’. It is about one man’s personal vendetta against the Israeli government and his attempts to assemble a gang of misfits to help him with this. But the series stars Egyptian actor and comedian, Adel Imam, who publicly supported former Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, and who was, in fact, a good friend of Mubarak and his family.

Both Razaq and al-Sherif also had television series coming out during Ramadan 2012.

And what of the entertainers who did support the revolution? Where do they feature in this year’s batch of Ramadan series? Outside of young actor Asser Yassin, with a Ramada series called The Bully, they are hard to spot on Egyptian screens.

It is hard to say why the pro-Mubarak artists haven’t been boycotted yet. Maybe it’s because today’s revolutionaries have other matters to attend to and there’s no time to hold these artists and entertainers to account? Perhaps they know that, during Ramadan, the Egyptian TV audience isn’t feeling quite so dedicated to the sentiments of Tahrir Square and wouldn’t boycott that many series?

In conclusion, it seems that the Egyptian audience doesn’t care a lot about how much money is being spent, where the money is coming from or who is doing what onscreen, as long as it’s entertaining. The average Egyptian may have resented the political statement some entertainer or actor made in support of the former Egyptian regime, while they were on a news channel or in a general interview. But it seems they are more than willing to watch them pretend to be someone else in a drama series during Ramadan. 

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