'Culture Shock Within Their Own Country': Saudis Come To Grips With Swift Changes

[Dulcinea]

On a balmy Thursday evening, dozens of young Saudis stream into the AlComedy Club in the western port city of Jeddah. It's the start of the weekend, and the crowd snacks on popcorn and ice cream before grabbing some of the sagging seats in the theater. Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" blares from speakers hanging above a tiny stage.

Comedian Khaled Omar takes the mic and begins his act, lamenting how he has no baby pictures of himself. His parents ripped up the family photos in the early 1980s, when ultra-conservative religious authorities deemed photographs haram — forbidden, they said, by God.

The audience is lively. Some women wearing abayas and headscarves banter with Omar and men in the audience.

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/02/607193358/culture-shock-within-their-own-country-saudis-come-to-grips-with-swift-changes

[3Hotdogs]

1. That'l be cool until some Wahabi decides God don't like it and its time to do somethin' bout it.

[Nitram]

2. Good article. It is interesting how comedy is one way we get used to new ideas and changes in

society's norms. Helps us see the absurdities and even the idiocies of customs we take for granted. Seinfeld's comedy is a good example.

[malthaussen]

3. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy.

The continuing problem with rule-by-strongman is what happens when a new strongman takes over. It's one reason why people cling to religion, because it is supposedly more invariant. When religion and the current strongman collide, the results can be... interesting.

-- Mal