Rayya El-Zein has written about how the framework of neoliberal orientalism has built a fantasy about the Arab rapper. She explained that Western mainstream media are “eager to imagine Arab youth in non-threatening modes of resistance that are directly related to American culture. The rapper speaking truth to power is a very easy character for audiences to imagine; at the same time, he is a totally benign figure that caricatures authoritarian regimes as all the same bad guys.” El-Zein has argued that when the West focuses on creative youth, it does not have to understand how Western powers are complicit.
After the Arab uprisings (Part 1)
After the Arab uprisings (Part 2)
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