In his lecture, Freund refers to examples of Arab music videos. To download and view those examples, please visit: http://www.aei.org/arabMusicVideos/
The Middle East has gone through a century of failed utopian political schemes, yet none have succeeded in breaking the region's cycle of conflict and stagnation. What may yet work in the region has worked elsewhere for centuries: commercial culture that dispenses with ideological delusions and instead addresses the personal desires of the audience. Charles Paul Freund describes the potentially revolutionary phenomenon of Arab pop culture--the new worlds of Arabic pop-music videos, reality television, talk shows, soap operas, etc. Such cultural forms are transmitting new and multiplying approaches to being an "Arab" to an obviously receptive audience, stretching the traditional boundaries of the Mideast "self," and potentially transforming the region's politics.
Charles Paul Freund is a senior editor of Reason, a monthly magazine on politics and culture. Mr. Freund has written extensively on such subjects as the political manipulation of culture, the ideological use of imagery and language, modern techniques of persuasion, and the process of disseminating ideas. His work has appeared frequently in the Washington Post, where he served as assistant editor of the weekly Outlook section from 1988 until 1992, and in The New Republic, where he wrote a weekly column from 1986 until 1988. He has also appeared on national and international TV and radio programs to discuss aspects of American politics and culture. A long-time documentary filmmaker, Mr. Freund has written many film scripts for Universal Studios's Documentary Division, United Press International Television News, and the United States Information Agency. Films that he has written or helped produce have received such nonfiction film honors as the Golden Eagle and a Special Jury Prize from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has also taught documentary film, film production, and film history at the university level.
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