How Comparison Can Literally Be the Thief of Joy

 

Shereen El Feki’s comparison of media in the Arab world to American pop culture during a TED talk is an open assessment of how the Arab world has seemingly borrowed western elements of pop culture. Her first contrasting element was the American Barbie doll and Fulla, the Arab world’s answer to Barbie. Fulla, adorned in a long, black, draping outfit from head to ankle, is not the typically seen Barbie doll in the US. However, the comparison shows how the Arab world often modifi

es popular elements into a unique version to call their own. Though this can be seen in a negative light for copying or taking western ideas, rather the Arab world sees these widespread fads as a way to put their own spin on a growing trend.

Where Shereen lacks, though, is in the comparisons themselves. In class, we’ve often talked about the degradation comparison has on the thing being compared, or as the saying goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” By describing an up

-and-coming television show devoted to spreading Islamic ideas through positive music videos, 4Shbab, as “dubbed Islamic MTV,” it takes away the element of individuality 4Shbab has. While these shows definitely take inspiration from successful American media, it should be noted that they, too, have unique Arab aspects that can’t be compared to MTV.

Additionally, Shereen goes on to media targeted for a younger crowd, comic books. The 99 are the shown as the first Islamic superheroes, and she describes them very well in regards to giving them a light of their own. Going on to explain that each of the 99 superheroes exemplifies the 99 attributes of Allah, El Feki doesn’t realize that even the title is in English. Still with Arabic under the larger numbers 99, it’s hard to create an individualistic product when another culture seemingly bleeds into the next. And again, the comparison of The 99 to Superman and Wonder Woman takes an element of hard-earned Arab uniqueness away in the slightest way.

And just when I thought Shereen had a lack of attention to the grave mistake of comparison among Arab and American pop culture, she used the term “Islamic cross-cultural hybridization.” This might have been her saving grace. In this description she states that Arab and American pop culture are seemingly a “mesh of civilizations.” Rather than her previous alluding to the stealing of ideas, this hybridization allows for an even exchange of ideas across cultures. In this way, “strands of different cultures are intertwined” is actually a trend common in the Arab world due to the Qur’anic belief that nations and tribes should learn from one another. While it may seem that Arab pop culture takes up successful American ideas, an understanding of Arab ideals is essential to distinguish their admiration yet unique twists on western pop culture.