Only a few hours after the presentation of the original and Jordanian Netflix series, "Al Rawabi School for Girls", it ranked first in the most watched works on the platform in various Arab countries on the one hand, and on the other hand, it sparked widespread controversy - especially in Jordan - because of its content, which some found bold and contradictory. The customs and traditions of the Jordanian society.
🚨 I have an important announcement 🚨
A new Netflix original series directed and written by Tima Shomali and Sherine Kamal!
Welcome to Al Rawabi Girls School #AlRawabiSFG https://t.co/jXhhVhSKcA
— Netflix MENA (@NetflixMENA) April 13, 2019
Bullying is a ticking time bomb..don't defuse it
The action takes place in a school for teenage girls, where a group of girls bully others who are weaker than them, and because of the influence of one of them's father, they can get away with it.
However, with their persistence in harming one of the girls and the fear of the rest of supporting her, she decides to take revenge for herself and her dignity and all other vulnerable women, so she devises a plan to teach bullies a harsh lesson that they will never forget, which is what is happening in a framework that combines drama and suspense.
It is the plot through which the work makers reviewed some inspiring issues and addressed them in a modern way, including the impact of social media platforms on the lives of young women and their self-confidence, and how some can exploit minors through these platforms, in addition to sexual harassment, social stigmatization of psychotherapy, family disintegration, and bullying. Parents with their children, and some teenage girls closed in on themselves, preferring loneliness, and other important issues.
Contemporary reality or an attempt to distort?
Highlighting such thorny issues angered the followers, as the series presented issues of the dissolution of some young men and women, and how many became bold and drifted behind the current of openness and sexual liberation, which annoyed some who considered this a stigma for Jordanian society, or at least would open up The eyes of the sons of conservative classes, especially girls, and aims to spoil their innocence.
Even if it exists in reality, but it does not represent the Jordanians, and God suffices me and is the best agent for everyone who contributed to this disgraceful act #Al Rawabi_School_for_Girls
— hatemabuorabi (@hatemabuorabi2) August 13, 2021
It does not represent the Jordanian people, nor our customs, nor our traditions #Al Rawabi_School_for_Girls
— Alaa Al-Kanji |
Ala'a Al-kenji (@al_kenji) August 13, 2021
But at the same time, there is another segment of viewers who found the series an embodiment of thorny realistic societal issues, and it also does not represent all social segments in Jordan.
Al Rawabi School for Girls series is an awareness series and a realistic series because in many of our schools there are private schools and government schools in which the topics discussed in the series are
successful and beautiful.
— najd.Alabadi 🇯🇴 (@NAlhwarat) August 13, 2021
O group
series Tima Shomali on the
Net Flex "School Rawabi Girls" does not represent all the
schools of
Jordan for girls
but eat a
slice present and many Mango Barafha and studied them in a
school -
like hillocks
This is
not circulating that the
daughters of
Jordan their money Washi do not have a
problem
but put up a
real teenage problems And speaking...
— momen.alzoubi 🇯🇴 (@momen_alzoubi1) August 13, 2021
Diligence without soul
In turn, editor and critic Khalil Hanoun praised, through his Facebook account, the artistic and productive effort, stressing the excellence of the work compared to the previous works of its director, Tima Shomali, which were mostly comic and modest. He also expressed his admiration for the main actresses who have acting experience.
And if he found that the work simulates Hollywood series that dealt with the same conflicts and bullying among high school students, which resulted in the series missing the Jordanian spirit, which he commented on, stating that the work needed more effort in writing and more details about the motives of the characters and their social and family backgrounds.
While the director of the series stated to some artistic sites that this work is the closest to her heart, as it deals with the problems of young Arab women from a perspective that many avoid offering it with transparency and honesty, explaining that there is nothing better than raising women's issues through the eyes of a woman like them, and through a rich and huge cooperation with a famous platform such as Netflix.
Tonight on Netflix, I hope it will be a good artwork and not be on the same scenario as Jin pic.twitter.com/M4ASV08aEf
— Berlin° (@belal_abdeen_) August 12, 2021
Netflix and Jordanian content
It is noteworthy that this work is not the first Jordanian to be shown on the Netflix platform, it was preceded by "Jin", which was the first Arab series presented by the platform and released in 2019, and its story revolved around teenagers who succeed in summoning one of the elves, and then events follow in a fantasy-drama framework.
At the time, the series caused a huge uproar since the first day of its presentation, as the audience accused it of outraging modesty due to the bold words and footage that it contained, contrary to public morals, which resulted in the Public Prosecutor’s order to stop its show immediately in the capital, Amman, in conjunction with the statement of the Mufti of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan that The series is a moral decline and does not represent the customs of Jordanians or Islamic teachings.
Therefore, whoever watched the two works was able to realize the great difference between the previous and current Jordanian experiences, noting the development in the quality of the drama presented, although this does not negate the presence of objectors to this and that.
People who frustrate every artistic attempt that happens to us in Jordan. My friend Jordan is a country that has no art and modern day singers in Jordan. They spent their careers singing for public security, civil defense, population census and housing. I hope we respect any production attempt that happens in the region, and from the Jinn series to the Rawabi School series, there is a noticeable improvement
— 𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐈© (@eyadazouni) August 13, 2021
Arabic drama for everyone
The series “Al Rawabi School for Girls” is a short dramatic work of 6 episodes, distinguished by its graphic music and songs carefully chosen to highlight the events, as well as its shocking end that bears interpretation. It is directed by Tia Shomali and co-written by Sherine Kamal. , Rukin Saad, Nour Al Taher, Salsabila, Joanna Arida, and Yara Mustafa.
The ending of Al Rawabi Girls School is the definition of "you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain".
This show was remarkable and touched on many sensitive subjects that girls in the Middle East face!
Highly recommended.
Kudos to the female Arab creators!👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/E8EruFOIQy
- Bookworm Hind🪴 (@BluetoTheEye) August 13, 2021
The work was classified for those over the age of 16 because of its bold dramatic content and some of the words that came on the tongue of its characters, and it was also translated into 32 languages to become available for viewing in more than 190 countries around the world, and it is also available with text description for the hearing impaired, and audio description in Arabic, whether For the blind or visually impaired.