After watching 50 Shades of Grey’s trailer, we deduced that this film will be a hit in Egypt. This is a logical assumption, considering how huge of a hit the books were. The film, which will be released next year on Valentine’s Day, follows the same story of the book. An innocent girl meets a mysterious, great looking, filthy rich businessman. They engage in an affair almost immediately. Soon after, she realizes her love interest is into BDSM, and is deeply disturbed. She then has to make a choice to either stay with him or leave him. This is pretty much the main plot. Why would that be a hit? Here are the reasons:
Egyptians Love Porn
Statistics have shown that Egypt is one of the top countries in which the word “sex” is looked up on the Internet. 50 Shades is not exactly porn, it’s an erotica. That’s still close enough! The book trilogy is actually a fan fiction erotica, based on the main characters from Twilight. If you look closely at the film’s stars, you’ll see the similarity between them and their Twilight counterparts.
The Film will probably be banned in Egyptian Cinemas
This will only benefit 50 Shades. Keep in mind that most YouTube video titles in Egypt start with the word “Scandal”. The film’s banning will result in nationwide interest. Everyone will want to know why it was banned. Talk shows will discuss what BDSM is, religious clerics will speak up against it and politicians will warn us about it. Naturally, more people will look up the film and watch it.
Melodramatic Love Stories are a National Favorite
Egypt can single-handedly support the romantic film industry. Think of how long it took Egypt to get over Titanic, and you’ll know what we mean. Some may argue that the audience’s idea of romance is juvenile. And others will say that Egyptians just love a hopeless, tragic love story. Regardless of the reason, this film will join the ranks of Titanic, The Notebook and Sweet November.
BDSM and Egyptians do Mix
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Egyptians have always demonstrated that some indeed do like it rough. We even have a famous proverb saying “a cat loves its strangler”! Egyptian politics only prove this theory. We’ve mentioned this in an article in last year’s September/October Issue.
Hopelessly Romantic, but Emotionally Abusive
50 Shades of Grey is not about BDSM. I can say this with 100% certainty, as someone who read the books. The book is about an emotionally abusive relationship. Something which plenty of Egyptian women, unfortunately, see nothing wrong with! Our patriarchal, chauvinistic society leads women to believe that emotional abuse is not a thing. When, in fact, it is one of many ways to break someone’s character.
Egyptian Women’s Sex Lives could use a Boost
Many Egyptian women don’t even know what an orgasm is. They are not fulfilled sexually. And in such a traditional setting, most women only have “vanilla” sex. So, even if the BDSM in 50 Shades is not extreme, it will still be something new and exciting. Who knows, this might not be so bad after all. 50 Shades might get women to open up and communicate with their husbands.
Real Art rarely gets a Chance in Egypt
When was the last time an independent film reached a wide audience in Egypt? Mainstream entertainment has taken over a few decades ago. And until now, it is still going strong. Sadly, this is the case all over the world, not just in Egypt.
50 Shades of Grey is a poorly written book. It contains embarrassingly inaccurate references, terrible grammar and one of the most boring plots ever to be written. And just because it was successful elsewhere, it garnered a lot of success in Egypt. The film will be no different. All we can do is just sit and wait as 50 Shades takes Egypt by storm.