You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party - in Tunisia

[Alceste]

Tunisians Use 'Harlem Shake' To Challenge Islamism - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

A debate has been going on since Saturday [Feb. 23] over an online video showing high school students at the Imam Muslim School in El-Menzah dancing the Harlem Shake, which some deem immoral. That video, which is currently a hit on the Internet, shows students dressed in eccentric outfits dancing to the rhythms of an electronic tune.

Since then, all of Tunis has been shaking to the rhythm of this crazy dance. Since Monday, Feb. 25, several commercial sites have been following the spread of the Harlem Shake. Hackers have modified official websites — that of the Ministry of Education, in particular — by making the pictures on the screen move to the Harlem Shake rhythm.


Education Minister Abdellatif Abid was the first to take a stand on this juvenile gag that turned into a phenomenon. Abid told Mosaic FM Radio that he was outraged and that he was determined to investigate these actions, which he described as immoral. According to Abid, the school director should be held responsible.

​

[youtube]KSDJJsvzpbY[/youtube]
Gangnam Style & Harlem Shake Tunisia Version Père Blanc - YouTube

I'm loving this.
​

 

[Alceste]

And Egypt:
Harlem Shake Dancers In Just Underpants Arrested In Egypt For 'Scandalous Act' Next To Pyramids

The list of hazards associated with performing the Harlem Shake can now be expanded from just RSI of the hips and severe embarrassment to include arrest.


Four Egyptian students have met with this fate after filming their own version of the impossibly catchy viral sensation in front of the pyramids in Cairo.


Residents of the neighbourhood where it took place objected when the pharmaceutical students removed their clothes and performed the pelvis-thrusting jig in just their pants.

[youtube]BUdcTKxKqZo[/youtube]
Harlem Shake in front of the Pyramids - Egypt [Four Students Arrested For Doing Harlem Shake] - YouTube

 

[Alceste]

And Saudi Arabia

Harlem Shake in Saudi Arabia | TFOUR.ME

Harlem Shake Meme has been making waves globally. I was surprised to see a video in which some people pulled off the event on the streets of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and that too in broad daylight. It was an organized underground event which was eventually intervened by the police. There was another one successfully pulled off in a school in Jeddah.

[youtube]Sf70cPBtaTc[/youtube]
Harlem Shake (JIS School Edition) - YouTube

 

[apophenia]

We don't care what papa don't allow,
We Harlem Shakin' anyhow !

Woot !

 

[Father Heathen]

I...I..have to support the Islamists on this one...

Not really, but with every fabric of my being I have a deep, burning hatred for fads and memes like this.

 

[apophenia]

I...I..have to support the Islamists on this one...

Not really, but with every fabric of my being I have a deep, burning hatred for fads and memes like this.

With a deep burning hatred like that that, you should consider becoming a religious teacher. It takes that kind of motivation.

Transcendental medication could help you with your problem. But first you have to admit you have a problem.

edit ; just to clarify - these young folk are conducting a serious revolution, however flippant it may appear. It reminds me of ***** Riot. People need to think outside the box. This crazy 'fad' or 'meme' has become a global signal, whatever its genesis - a new generation in the arab world is letting us know that the game has changed, and papa can go **** himself. That is wonderful news.

 

[Alceste]

I...I..have to support the Islamists on this one...

Not really, but with every fabric of my being I have a deep, burning hatred for fads and memes like this.

then maybe you would prefer this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpZSdDj1IhA

 

[Alceste]

With a deep burning hatred like that that, you should consider becoming a religious teacher. It takes that kind of motivation.

Transcendental medication could help you with your problem. But first you have to admit you have a problem.

edit ; just to clarify - these young folk are conducting a serious revolution, however flippant it may appear. It reminds me of ***** Riot. People need to think outside the box. This crazy 'fad' or 'meme' has become a global signal, whatever its genesis - a new generation in the arab world is letting us know that the game has changed, and papa can go **** himself. That is wonderful news.

I totally agree. I'd be Harlem Shaking myself if you could get arrested for it around here.

 

[Father Heathen]

With a deep burning hatred like that that, you should consider becoming a religious teacher. It takes that kind of motivation.

Transcendental medication could help you with your problem. But first you have to admit you have a problem.

edit ; just to clarify - these young folk are conducting a serious revolution, however flippant it may appear. It reminds me of ***** Riot. People need to think outside the box. This crazy 'fad' or 'meme' has become a global signal, whatever its genesis - a new generation in the arab world is letting us know that the game has changed, and papa can go **** himself. That is wonderful news.

It should be obvious to anyone who's spent any amount of time here that I oppose censorship and support defiance of tyranny. It's just that when it comes to pop culture fads and memes (gandam style, planking, bronies, yolo, swag, cool story bro, u mad?, u jelly?, cOLD, took an arrow to the knee, Chuck Norris jokes, etc.) it reflects people's lemming nature to chase after anything perceived to be popular, no matter how insipid.

 

[apophenia]

It should be obvious to anyone who's spent any amount of time here that I oppose censorship and support defiance of tyranny.

Yeah, I know. I 'had a loan of you' as we say here in Australia. Let me say without any qualification that I appreciate your attitudes and posts, and I hold you in high regard.

It's just that you gave me such a good line to work with

It's just that when it comes to pop culture fads and memes (gandam style, planking, bronies, yolo, swag, cool story bro, u mad?, u jelly?, cOLD, took an arrow to the knee, Chuck Norris jokes, etc.) it reflects people's lemming nature to chase after anything perceived to be popular, no matter how insipid.

I get that too. It is easy to feel very cynical about 'viral culture'.

This particular case though has elements which genuinely warm my hardened middle-aged heart. I have been watching and waiting for signs from arab youth that they're aware of the rest of the world, and that they are wanting to take part in something beyond the established stereotypes which they are being offered.

Sure, you can say it is only superficial. But then, you don't face serious punishment for spontaneous superficiality, so it is easy to underestimate its significance.

 

[Straw Dog]

these young folk are conducting a serious revolution, however flippant it may appear. It reminds me of ***** Riot. People need to think outside the box. This crazy 'fad' or 'meme' has become a global signal, whatever its genesis - a new generation in the arab world is letting us know that the game has changed, and papa can go **** himself. That is wonderful news.

Agreed. Even pop culture fads can become tools of liberation in the right context.

 

[Alceste]

Agreed. Even pop culture fads can become tools of liberation in the right context.

In this context, I find it genuinely inspiring. The fact that it's so silly, so completely and obviously harmless, and purely for a laugh, really highlights the brutality and absurdity of the authorities who want to put a stop to it. That is exactly what civil disobedience is supposed to do.

 

[YmirGF]

I...I..have to support the Islamists on this one...

Not really, but with every fabric of my being I have a deep, burning hatred for fads and memes like this.

Admittedly, it is pretty pathetic, but it shows how desperate people are in the face of abject religious tyranny. One would hope that they might consider something a bit more constructive however.

 

[Alceste]

Admittedly, it is pretty pathetic, but it shows how desperate people are in the face of abject religious tyranny. One would hope that they might consider something a bit more constructive however.

Beats holding signs and chanting in unison.

 

[YmirGF]

Beats holding signs and chanting in unison.

My guess is that the given "authorities" will beat this one down pretty darn quick. Back to boring signs and chanting slogans....

 

[Alceste]

My guess is that the given "authorities" will beat this one down pretty darn quick. Back to boring signs and chanting slogans....

This meme will die a quick death, as do (and should) all internet memes, but I doubt these particular instigators are the chanting, sign holding type. Internet dissidents are pretty unpredictable.

 

[YmirGF]

This meme will die a quick death, as do (and should) all internet memes, but I doubt these particular instigators are the chanting, sign holding type. Internet dissidents are pretty unpredictable.

Indeed, but the options available to the disenfranchised are a tad limited.

 

[BSM1]

I like to see "streaking" come back. Bet that sand is hot on the feet.

 

[Alceste]

Indeed, but the options available to the disenfranchised are a tad limited.

So true.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

It really reminds you how ridiculously oppressive, restrictive and controlling some cultures and societies can be. A good thing for many of us in freer societies to be reminded of from time to time.