Before it even premiered, El Tawoos TV show has been raising a lot of questions and controversy. Yeah, basically because it tackles group-rape and strongly draws its inspiration from the real-life Fairmont case. Of course, the show-runners didn’t officially announce that but who are we exactly kidding?
But aside from the fact that many actually find it to be a good show and are now even rooting for it against the banning decision (underway), we had a totally different question in mind. Is it even ethical to air a show based on a true story whose legal case is still ongoing?
Despite the fact that some would heavily argue over how the TV show is shedding some serious light on sexual harassment and is even considered meritorious for raising awareness, how do we exclude the theory of..
jumping on the trend for personal gains?
We are talking about a case that has become a matter of public opinion in Egypt for over a year now. And a victim who still awaits her justice after all the atrocities and crimes committed against her. We can only imagine how seeing herself being portrayed on national TV (all character differences considered) and having to live through that horrible night again and again must have felt like….
Don’t get us wrong, we believe that art is a great medium to reflect societal issues. We even think that we could use more and more progressive narratives tackling sexual harassment in drama and cinema. NEVERTHELESS, isn’t it completely thoughtless and insensitive to take advantage of someone who is currently suffering for profit?
Valid or not, this thought hasn’t stopped the makers of El Tawoos to create it and compete with it in the Ramadan marathon that is mainly meant for likes, views and shares. It didn’t even stop them from turning the character by default into a typical damsel in distress coming from a modest background; as if only women of lower socio-economic classes are bound to face sexual harassment!
On a side note, some fans on social media are actually romanticizing the on-screen rapists and complementing them on their good looks. In return, some of the actors are taking pride in the matter and are re-sharing the compliments on their social media accounts. What do we make of this? And how is this helping victims of rape anyhow?
We are not passing any judgments here. We’re merely opening up a discussion that can no longer be delayed. Especially after the news about how the Supreme Council for Media might ban the show altogether. The thing that sparked a lot of anger among social media users and resulted in the hashtag #ادعم_مسلسل_الطاووس
Some celebrities are even starting to take the show’s side as well, after being called out for remaining silent about the whole thing. Unlike, the times when they literally launched a hashtag to support a fellow actor.
