• The New Media of Culture

The New Media of Culture

Despite the widespread everyday use of the modern media by a large number of individuals across the Arab world, including computers, the Internet with its thousands of websites in all fields of human endeavour, as well as the increasing number of satellite channels and electronic newspapers, it is noted that this mounting phenomenon does not reflect a parallel cultural or educational development, but is overshadowed by a high percentage of illiteracy and cultural retardation.

This state of affairs creates a wide gap making Arab manpower look like a train whose carriages are separated one by one, which may lead to a real disaster unless political and educational decision-makers control it in the coming few years.

Such a disaster does not mean that the locomotive moves forward driven by the use of modern media in culture, knowledge, management, etc to the detriment of the carriages, but means that the many indications of the wide use by the youth and teenagers of these modern media suggest that the majority use them not as a source of knowledge or culture but rather as a means of entertainment and chatting or looking for obscene websites, i.e. just a waste of time. Such a contradiction results from the use of a modern means of communication and knowledge out of place or for objectives that clash with the essence of the development and modernity process.

The gap between modernity and backwardness

Furthermore, if we assume that the authorities, particularly the educational and media institutions, in the Arab world can put the modern media to the best use according to specific programmes, what about the millions of illiterates whose numbers, unfortunately, are on the rise in many parts of the Arab world? How can development plans be based on such modern media that we have to cope with while illiteracy is increasing at an alarming rate and poses an obstacle to such development in the near or even distant future? The fact that such media are constantly developing in the Western world widens the gap between the Arab world and the civilized world which makes it impossible to cope with if the current status quo continues.

Interestingly, the general cultural climate, which is the product of light media, poor Arab education programmes, conventional curricula, confused values of Arab societies which promote money making through speculation, indifference to work and creativity, along with increasing poverty rates resulting in high dropout rates, influences the manner in which the majority of people use the Internet and modern media. Most Arab users are only interested in what in the context of human development is a waste of time, neglecting the spirit of the age, others culture and the ideas which enhance man s performance and develop his abilities.

Unenlightened, misleading views

In addition, many young users of the internet in the Arab world are also misled by traditional conservative forces using the Internet to propagate their views. There is obvious contradiction here, for, though they are retrogressive, they use modern media and other means of profiteering to spread superstitions and influence less educated people. Accordingly, these modern media could be counterproductive. That s why all media and educational institutions should join forces to show users how to benefit from these media and add to their knowledge and avoid the sites of ignorance and sedition.

Many Arab educational programmes have introduced computers into the curriculum not as a basic way for learning the language of the age, but as an auxiliary tool. This is due to many things: Educational programmes are conventional and mainly based on rote learning rather than creative, critical thinking; teachers poor skills and ignorance of such modern media; lack of funds for educational programmes which depend on computers and other modern teaching aids in some Arab countries.

Furthermore, most Arab satellite channels fill hours of transmission with tens even hundreds of programmes which waste viewers time in the form of entertainment, variety or quiz shows. Some programmes, such as oneironmancy, magic, fatwas, etc., promote ignorance and backwardness. Interestingly, Arab ministries of information, which enacted laws to regulate the work of satellite channels a step considered by some to be a restriction on the freedom of speech don t call for funding plans for programmes designed to promote culture and knowledge on many government satellite channels, presenting culture, thought and philosophy, urging viewers to use modern media through interesting, well-prepared and serious programmes able to compete with commercial private satellite channels or even motivate them to fulfil this role afterwards.

Arab ministries of education, culture and information, as well as all educational and media institutions, are invited to bridge the huge gap in the Arab world today between the generation of users of modern media and the millions of illiterates whose dire conditions deprive them of education, with the negative impact that such a situation has on their society in which reactionary views spread and resist modernity and development efforts.

Freedom of Thought

There should be concerted Arab efforts to modernize and develop educational curricula which are based on rote learning, and introduce new curricula which meet the requirements of modern living and train the new generations in free research and thinking to be able to use the modern media efficiently and make them means of human development or even of development in all areas of human endeavour, not just a means of entertainment and waste of time. This is particularly necessary in view of the fact that the Arabic script has recently been approved as a substitute for the Latin script on Internet websites, which gives Arab users, especially those who didn’t t learn foreign languages, a big push. Entering the information age through modern communication networks must in the first place be based on a change in man s thought and culture.

The media as well is required to increase the hours of transmission devoted to acquainting viewers with the most recent programmes in the world and the main websites which present a number of the sources of knowledge and introduce the latest developments in science, culture, economics, arts and the environment worldwide in a way that appeals to the viewers. In addition, all media and educational institutions should do their utmost to make reading a national project for each Arab country so that Arab society can become a society of knowledge and in turn abler to take action concerning its development. This can be achieved through special literature curricula, particularly for children, with selections of Arabic and Western literatures, designed to develop Arab students appreciation of art and literature and make reading a regular habit in search of knowledge, including the electronic culture, computer science and the modern media.

No doubt, educational institutions, in association with the NGOs concerned with social and human development, can carry out a number of programmes designed to eradicate the illiteracy of the youth and teenagers in an attempt to narrow the gap between the modernity and the backwardness society in the entire Arab world. It should be noted that such programmes and projects can only be effectively carried out in such societies that enjoy a high level of freedom of expression and thought, as such freedom develops man s awareness and ability to differentiate between what is useful or useless. Free, democratic societies are the ones able to develop their knowledge by various means, and prohibition and suppression drive individuals to look for what is prohibited at the expense of knowledge.

This can be seen in democratic societies where individuals enjoy full freedom to choose their lifestyles and have access to all sources of knowledge. This develops an early awareness and a sense of responsibility and not just a feeling that the individual is always waiting for someone to show him the good and bad without personal involvement. All this should not stop advances in the areas of computers, the Internet and software, as this is the language that the entire world is learning and on which all other areas depend investment, economy, tourism, science, education and the media as a whole.

Culture and the modern media

The modern communications network has brought about an unprecedented revolution in the free flow of information and removed barriers among peoples, whatever disparate in terms of culture and geography they are, through new social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, which made it possible for peoples of different cultures to engage in some sort of direct or indirect dialogue. This will definitely affect the moral, intellectual and social system in the coming years. This requires monitoring and analysing this phenomenon to build on its strengths and eliminate its weaknesses as far as the new generation of users whose numbers are expected to increase are concerned.

Likewise, these media have also brought about a resolution in the area of following the arts produced anywhere in the world which can be seen on such websites as Youtube a few hours following their production. This will profoundly influence the development of the concepts of intellectual property and encourage the exchange of views and ideas as well as mutual influence among creative writers and artists worldwide. This will also foster innovations in art and thought and in turn affect Arab culture and art in the coming few years as well as the expected change in taste as a result of such an exchange of knowledge, arts and views.

To conclude, we wonder what Arab culture will look like in the light of these media, and how we can develop our language to adapt to these developments and be able to assimilate advanced scientific culture and communicate with other cultures. We also wonder whether such media are a disadvantage for us in that they reveal our backwardness and failure, or whether they provide a golden opportunity for development and drive Arab culture to new horizons. This is a central issue that all intellectuals, specialists and creative writers and artists should address in this age the age of globalization which is open to anyone who wants to enter.

Sulaiman Al-Askary 

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