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“I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hasso, FS
Published in: International Journal of Middle East Studies
May 1, 2020

This article provides a close reading of two popular Egyptian action films, al-Almani (The German, 2012), the first blockbuster since the 25 January 2011 revolution, and Qalb al-Asad (Lion heart, 2013), both starring Muhammad Ramadan as a socially produced proletarian “thug” figure. Made for Egyptian audiences, the films privilege entertainment over aesthetics or politics. However, they express distinct messages about violence, morality, and revolution that are shaped by their moments of postrevolutionary release. They present the police state in salutary yet ambivalent terms. They offer a rupture with prerevolutionary cinema by staging the failure of proletarian masculinities and femininities that rely on middle-class respectability in relation to sex, marriage, and work. Even as each film expresses traces of revolutionary upheaval and even nostalgia, cynicism rather than hopefulness dominates, especially in al-Almani, which conveys to the middle and upper classes the specter of an ever-present threat of masculine frustration. The form and content of Qalb al-Asad, by comparison, offer the option of reconciling opposing elements-an Egyptian story line with a less repressive conclusion if one chooses a path between revolutionary resistance and accepting defeat.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

International Journal of Middle East Studies

DOI

EISSN

1471-6380

ISSN

0020-7438

Publication Date

May 1, 2020

Volume

52

Issue

2

Start / End Page

197 / 214

Related Subject Headings

  • Cultural Studies
 

Citation

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Hasso, F. S. (2020). “I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 52(2), 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743820000033
Hasso, F. S. ““I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 52, no. 2 (May 1, 2020): 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743820000033.
Hasso FS. “I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2020 May 1;52(2):197–214.
Hasso, F. S. ““I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema.” International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 52, no. 2, May 2020, pp. 197–214. Scopus, doi:10.1017/S0020743820000033.
Hasso FS. “I have ambition”: Muhammad Ramadan's proletarian masculinities in postrevolution Egyptian cinema. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2020 May 1;52(2):197–214.
Journal cover image

Published In

International Journal of Middle East Studies

DOI

EISSN

1471-6380

ISSN

0020-7438

Publication Date

May 1, 2020

Volume

52

Issue

2

Start / End Page

197 / 214

Related Subject Headings

  • Cultural Studies