Hisham Wyne: Columnist, Copywriter

This should ideally have gone to the Wordpress blog in line w/ the policy that this site is published work only, but Wordpress sucks at video without paying for an enhancement. And we need video sometimes. 

Bold Talks was over a month ago - Feb 11th to be precise. Take a bow, Enida and Tamir, whose brainchild it was. A conference that isn’t afraid to be controversial - but not too controversial. I recall Tamer insisting that Dr. Phil Zimbardo of Stanford Prison experiment fame only take questions non-political in nature. No Bush-bashing, thank you. But such are the safety catches one must deploy while organizing stuff in the UAE - one never knows when someone who's anyone might take offense at a given meniality. 

 It was a brilliant experience. I was there, mucking around, per norm. A few weeks prior, I'd had this shower epiphany that creativity really only needs the will to overcome fear: the fear of creating something that belongs to you. Of telling your story, while feeling that others may be better qualified to tell it. Of subjecting yourself to feedback, of taking part in popular discourse, of stepping outside your comfort zones.

The troops were rallied. Thank you, Abdullah al Suweidi, Ashraf Ghori, Mohammad Fikree and Akhil Fikree for being such valuable companions.

 Our point was simple: there is no one better qualified tell your story than you. It is only by telling your story through pictures, sound, written and spoken word, or any other medium, that the region can benefit from home grown content. Creativity is simply the act of creating, telling stories using different mediums, generating content, and expressing ideas.

 Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO of Google, has said that less than one percent of the content on the Internet is in Arabic. Consider too the words of sociologist Michael Foucault that knowledge is power. Those who create knowledge have power to negotiate ideas, and influence others. At present juncture, most of our knowledge is being created elsewhere and consumed here. We are recipients, and not creators.

 At Bold 2011, we wanted to demonstrate how easy, fun and spontaneous creativity can be. We wanted to overcome the fear that prevents us from all becoming creators. We wished to demonstrate that collaboration makes creating easier and also more interactive. And subtly present the argument that we should all be doing a lot more than we really are. 

Here’s the edited video of the event courtesy of creative labs, the twofour54 project that funds content creation. There are quite a few glimpses of our demonstration too, as well as a few interesting interviews.

http://www.youtube.com/creativelabme#p/u/4/8sDj1FGfWBA

And what did we do?

 Well, using cues from the audience, including favourite Dubai landmarks and what people thought of them, we created a short video fusing English and Arabic text, voiceovers, live music and animation, all in real time within the allotted twenty minutes. 

 The final product, shown live in a darkened hall, is right here:

http://www.youtube.com/boldtalks#p/a/u/0/JzGciDKOEbE

Bold 2011 was great. Thanks, Enida and Tamer, for putting us up on stage. And thanks, Dr. Bastakiya, for allowing me to temporarily take over the MC mic. Can’t wait for 2012. Maybe we’ll do a demonstration on constructing hovercrafts, or something equally zany. Who's with me?

An interestingly divisive article on Dubai’s penchant for jailing kissing couples while allowing open prostitution has been published in the Observer UK, here. It can be found on page 23 of the print version, as per twitter sources.

 The piece draws a stark contrast between being jailed for PDA (public displays of affection) while being allowed to pursue with reckless abandon the sex workers Dubai is apparently famous for.

All us men are supposed to ‘transform in July and August into priapic stallions roaming the bars of Sheikh Zayed Road.’ Ah, but if only – those hot stifling months, for me, have not offered stuff to write home about, or even NOT write home about.

There’s a number of eloquently injudicious turns of phrase – for instance this gem: “For expats in Dubai, the summer months provide virtual laboratory conditions for infidelity.” The brushstrokes are sufficiently broad to paint the side of a barn.

But challenging hyperbole is not my remit here.

 An acquaintance, Alexander McNabb, has already pulled the piece apart assertion by assertion, challenging Mr 'Butler', as well as the actual author behind the pseudonym, to produce facts verifying his flights of prose. Mr. Mcnabb’s dissection of the piece can be found here.

But give Mr. ‘Butler’ his due. He has apparently lived here, and knows how the system works. There is more than a hint of garnish in the detailed escapades on offer, but the core of his argument remains sound. Dubai may not be absolute den of inequity he makes it out to be, but there is no denying that sex workers are turned a blind eye towards.

But herein lies the point. Dubai’s pact with its residents is the powers-that-be offer laissez faire in private matters as long as these don’t spill over into the public domain. That is what makes Dubai successful as an entrepot, tourism hub and inclusive place to live: there is no one single norm of behaviour. To each their own, as long as it is kept to one’s own. Of course, hydroponic herbs are excepted from this tolerance; even trace elements will land you in serious trouble.

The kissing couple Mr. Butler chooses as counterpoint was unfortunate. The authorities will mind their business and let you mind yours as long there is no official complaint.  In this instance, one was lodged for lewd behaviour by an affronted Emirati mother.

While there are many – both UAE nationals and expatriates – troubled by the details of that case, it has not changed the basic social bargain that Dubai offers. Despite the return of the old, more conservative, guard in the wake of Dubai’s recent financial pains, it still remains a city of grey, and one that affords freedom to the individual as long as said individual is aware of boundaries.

This is not an attempt to be an apologist for the city I live in. It has flaws that need to be addressed, both by Emiratis and expatriates who are invested in the community here. I’m merely trying to add some context to an article that, for all its elaborations, lacks any.

Mr. ‘Butler’ may have been sufficiently lucky to find company universally imbibing curry and beers before discussing sexual positions, but there are more mundane people out here. Some of us discuss boring politics and books over wine before settling to a game of cards. We’re now feeling deprived.