The Man Who Sold his Dignity for Money: Bab al-Hara Season 5 (2010)
Bab al-Hara is a famous Syrian made drama series that depicts Arab life under colonial powers in the 1930s and 1940s. At this time in history, gated communities like the one in this show fostered very close relationships amongst those who lived there. It is like everyone knew
one another and they had a shared paranoia of spies who worked and reported to the French Mandate.
This show did a wonderful job displaying the cultural norms present back then. They even went as far as building houses that looked like the work of 20 th century Arab architects. The houses consisted of a big shared living room that is surrounded with bedrooms occupied by
numerous members of the family. There are also many plants in the shared living room meant to keep the area cool and provided the family with basic vegetation like mint leaves, tomatoes and peppers. The clothing worn was also very traditional with men wearing a dishdasha (robe)
and the women dressed in a modest fashion. Just like many other civilizations, each member of the community had some sort of specialized skill or trade. By specializing in what each person was skilled at, people were able to accomplish more and have a functioning economy. Though I watched all the seasons, I am choosing to focus on season 5. This is because it ties into foreign occupation of Arab countries and the internal problems it brings. The French Mandate oversaw the daily lives of those who lived in this neighborhood and restricted their
freedoms. Freedom fighters in this series would often challenge the authority of the French and attempted to relay that they were not willing to give up their sense of self-identity. These freedom fighters were a huge obstacle to the French Mandate’s ability to maintain control of the Syrians. They would often hire a Syrian who was willing to rat out his fellow countrymen in exchange for money. In the case of season 5, this was a man by the name of Mamoun Bek. The suffix “Bek” is given to those who are wealthy and highly respected within a community. He
entered Hara al-Dabe with claims of being the neighborhood leader’s long-lost son, who was ironically killed in season 1 by a spy. This goes to show that people back in the day were quite gullible as means of research were scarce. He was able to marry a lady from the neighborhood
and build a life of lies, all while making great sums of money for reporting sensitive information to the French Army officials. As the season neared the end, community members began to suspect him. Any time an Arab is suspected of spying for a foreign country, they are put under the microscope. After gathering some evidence, the leaders of Hara al-Dabe dragged Mamoun to his home and placed his stash of money in front of him. An old man by the name of Abu Mahmoud arrived on the scene and told the leaders that he’s a liar and that he’s impersonated Mamoun. He then proceeds to tell them that the real Mamoun has been dead for years.
Whenever a spy is caught in the Arab world, they are sure to make an example of him. They do this to discourage others from giving into their desires and betraying their country. It is also a way of showing those who sent the spy that they are not falling for their deceptive war tactics. I
enjoyed the action-packed ending and how the turn of events played out.
The way Mamoun was cornered by all members of the community, with each person having something to say about him. To make the ending even better, a huge plot twist occurred when Mamoun’s wife
was the one who pulled the trigger. I felt like that gave her the necessary closure she needed after being lied to all of this time. Bab al-Hara did a great job in providing historical, political, and cultural context of what it was like to live in the 30s and 40s. Growing up and watching
Western classics, I always thought that the modern history was either cowboys, or industrialized city life. After watching a show like Bab al-Hara, you feel like you get a whole new insight into what you would expect modern history in the Middle East to be. If you would like to
take a look at the scene I wrote my paper around, here is a link so you can watch. Though I would recommend watching the whole video as it is packed with drama and action, you can
skip to 9:00 to see the final confrontation.
https://youtu.be/cwuAJBWNW2w