Over the past two decades, and perhaps more, the comedy industry in Algeria has lost its common sense of humor. This soul that has become hollow to the point of falling into monotony and boredom. I do not think that it is possible to cite a comedy that made the difference at that stage, or that we would like to watch it again.
When Ramadan comes, “sketches” and “sitcoms” comedies sweep the private TV channels without any presence of a real comic production, despite the considerable budgets allocated to it, which made us far from art. All the works that are presented “stigmatize” the Algerian viewers, and even incite them to dislike him, and one of the questions that came to my mind: Why do the current comedians fail to make the audience laugh?
The Algerian audience is looking for entertainment and fun of any kind, and they cannot find it. It longs for the comedy that lived its golden age in the eighties and nineties. We rarely find an actor who is good at the art of comedy, and creates entertainment and fun.
Nostalgia for a bygone era
With the low level of what is shown today, we can easily notice the nostalgia of young people and adults for artistic figures that made joy, such as Haj Abdel Rahman, the Algerian actor, author, and director who became famous as Inspector Taher and appeared in a number of police films with the late Algerian actor Yahya Ben Mabrouk in the role of The assistant inspector, and the late artist Hassan al-Hassani, known as “Bouqara”, this man who is considered a school of laughter, as he was known for his many personalities, and recorded his presence in many works such as “Wind of the Auras” and “Hassan Tiro”, and the comedy movie “Hassan Tiro”, and The Hidden Taxi, which was produced in 1989.
What is remarkable is that most of the young people (comedians on social media), if we do not say all of them, have no knowledge of acting, and I do not think that this type of youth will provide an artistic addition to the comedy scene if there are no training courses in the field of acting.
What is remarkable is that many of these films are still able to capture the audience’s attention. When it was popular, I was eight years old in the late nineties, and it is still closest to my heart, although some of it was broadcast in black and white via the small screen, and I still memorize its minute details by heart, and among the most famous comic phrases that I remember from childhood: “ Yema habibi entekia, meaning “my mother, I want to vomit,” which has become one of the most famous sayings of Algerian cinema, was delivered by the actor Arezki Rabeh, known as “Abu Jamal” in the movie “The Hidden Taxi”.
When the Algerian watches one of these performances, he finds spontaneity and spontaneity, because the actors were translating the reality of the simple citizen without adhering to certain controls, and during the eighties and nineties the cinema hall was crowded with an audience that came to enjoy these cinematic creations that reflect the local identity, culture and dialect, which is what appears in the film The famous Algerian comedian “Carnival in Dashra”, which was filmed in the early 1990s in the province of Biskra (an Algerian city, located in the northeastern side of the country and 400 km from the capital), starring Othman Ariot, Mustafa Haymoun, Salih Ouqrut, Lakhdar Boukhars and directed by Muhammad Waqasi, and this artwork represents a distinctive sign in the record of laughter, and it still constitutes a fertile laughter material in the Algerian street and on social networking sites. The mayor of Dashra (a town), uses eccentric personalities, and organizes a big campaign to win the purchase of consciences and souls. After his victory, he organizes the Carthage Festival.
Hybrid artistic reality
“The first generation of Algerian comedians left a strong impression with their professionalism. It is a generation that knew how to calm people’s hearts, attract viewers, and enter homes with respect,” commented journalist Darban Mahdi, telling Raseef22: “They were professional actors, and they made us live with them in the world of cinema and television.” And their professional and conscious appearances drew what attracts the viewer and reconciles with him automatically.
Today, however, the situation is very different, according to Mahdi, because “artistic reality does not allow distinguished energies to continue their approach to acting in the world of comedy.”
“Programs that are far from professional and professional, and aim to make people laugh by force, threats, and sometimes with contempt, just like what happened when the hidden camera (humiliated) the great international novelist Rachid Boujdara”… What happened to artistic comedy in Algeria?
He criticizes hidden camera programs, and their negative social and creative impact, saying: “Inverted time allowed us to enter into a world of artistic vulgarity represented in the invasion of the hidden camera that dominated the programming of television channels, to say the least, that it is programs far from professionalism and professionalism, and aims to make people laugh with force and threat.” And sometimes with contempt, just as it happened when the hidden camera (humiliated) the great international novelist Rachid Boujdara and painted for us a terrible artistic decline, framed by a hybrid reality, that has nothing to do with what we lived with actors such as Boubaqara, Ruwaishid, Othman Ariyawat, and Saleh Ouqurut.
Mehdi’s criticism reminded me of the words of film critic Abd al-Karim Kadri in a post on Facebook: “We are far from art.” Art, even flashes, is repulsive to the product you are promoting.” Abdul Karim Qadri addresses the producers: “Beauty is in one valley, and you are in another valley.”
Film critic Halim Zerrouki blames the “intruders” and holds them responsible for the deterioration of the artistic level due to their lack of talent, so that some of them have become dependent on what is shown on social networking sites similar to the world of “Tik Tok” and then shown on television.
Regarding the decline in the emergence of new comedians, he says: “Unfortunately, nepotism and mediation have become dominant in quality standards. These factors greatly affect creative and brilliant people because their job opportunities are reduced.”
Why do some shine on social media compared to professional works?
“Unfortunately, nepotism and mediation dominate quality standards. These factors greatly affect creative and brilliant people because their job opportunities are reduced.”
He added, “Some producers rely on young artists to escape the cost because their wages are low compared to the wages of professional artists.”
“Perhaps the tyranny of the comic model on social media has not changed anything, but on the contrary, the crisis has intensified,” according to actor and theater director Halim Zadam, who says: “Everyone who wants to express his opinion or talk about himself or about a social phenomenon in a comic way without any restrictions has become “.
He criticizes the status of “comedy” on social media, and its adoption by people, which reflects the intensification of the crisis. He says: “It is remarkable that most of the young people, if not all of them, have no knowledge of acting, and I do not think that this type of young people will provide an artistic addition to the comedy scene if there are no training courses in the field of television acting. Their work sometimes lacks professionalism and seriousness.” “.
Zadam adds: “The most dangerous thing is that these works will negatively and greatly affect comedy, and art and the artist cannot advance this type of work, with my respect and appreciation for a few that can be purposeful and seen by the general public, because what these young people present is directed specifically to their peers.”
And he continues, “The platforms are professional because they present very high-end works with considerable potential. They deal with specific issues with great professionalism to ensure a high percentage of followers in order to provide a large income.”