Racist tropes in Ramadan TV satires anger black Arabs
Two TV comedies in the Middle East struck the wrong chord with audiences when their lead actors appeared in blackface, a form of makeup that darkens the skin to represent a caricature of a black person.
The shows were aired in what has become a ratings bonanza for Arabic satellite channels during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Criticism was swift on social media, but failed to trigger a deeper discussion on racism in the Middle East.
The shows -- one produced in Egypt and the other in Kuwait—also poked fun at Sudanese culture, making a mockery of the Sudanese Arabic dialect and portraying darker skinned people from Sudan as either poor or lazy.
