CAIRO, Egypt – Bald, chubby underachiever Omar Shamshoon works each day at the local nuclear power plant owned by vulture-like millionaire Mahrooey Bey. Every evening, Omar comes home to a family that includes his blue-haired wife, Mona, hyper-smart daughter, Beesa, and troublemaking son, Badr.
Along the way, wacky high jinks invariably ensue, involving the moronic police chief, the television clown and Omar’s disturbingly perfect neighbor.
Sound familiar?
This may not: Omar doesn’t drink beer.
Instead, he spends time with his buddies at a local coffee shop. At home, he pops open frosty cans of Duff brand juice.
“The Simpsons” fans in the Middle East reacted with skepticism when MBC, an Arabic satellite channel, announced it would begin showing culturally modified, Arabic-dubbed versions of the iconic animated show.
The Arabic dialogue laid over existing shows is actually fairly faithful to the original script. Nothing seems censored, but episodes such as those featuring Homer’s gay roommate or the visit to the Duff brewery are unlikely to be chosen for translation.
And many of the more American inside jokes are simply glossed over.
Ned Flanders, the devout Christian neighbor, is now merely annoying – with no hint of religion. And needless to say, the relationship between Mr. Burns and his assistant, Smithers – make that Salmawy – has become strictly professional.
One month after the premiere of “Al Shamshoon,” voiced by some of Egypt’s top actors, many are asking whether this particular cultural divide can ever truly be bridged.
“They managed to make one of the funniest shows ever into something that is terribly unfunny, and one of the smartest shows around into something incredibly dumb,” ranted an Egyptian blogger who goes by the name Sandmonkey.
Others take a kinder view. Tarek Atia and Inas Hamam have turned the nightly viewings into a family event, watching raptly with their sons, Omar, 7, and Ali, 4.
“When I first saw it … I thought, there’s no way they’re going to pull this off. But now I think it might be funnier in Arabic,” said Hamam, marketing manager for American University in Cairo.
Executives at Dubai-based MBC sounded a little bemused by the strong, sometimes outraged, reactions to their venture among hard-core fans. Spokesman Michel Kostandi acknowledged that they had underestimated the depth and passion of the fan base.
“We’re fascinated ourselves to see how this works,” he said, adding that the show’s translators were “determined to keep the exact spirit and heart of ‘The Simpsons.’”
Well, not quite: There’s that little matter of Homer’s favorite pastime.
“What’s Homer without beer?” Sandmonkey told the Los Angeles Times. “This is a fundamental issue!”
MBC spared no expense, promoting “Al Shamshoon” and recruiting A-list film stars to dub the voices. Egypt’s top comedian, Mohamed Heneidy, provides the voice of Omar.
For local fans of the original “Simpsons,” it’s a wasted effort. The show’s real appeal, they say, depends on the multilayered dialogue, the often biting takes on American society and politics.
Still, “Al Shamshoon” may yet find its audience.
Playing on the TV screen at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, “Al Shamshoon” set off belly-laughs from one satisfied viewer: 9-year-old Farida Hassan. Quizzed about her favorite bits, she said shyly, “I don’t understand anything, but it’s funny.”
In Atia and Hamam’s home in suburban Cairo, the whole family gathers every evening at 6:30 to watch the show.
For young Omar and Ali, it’s a fun, silly cartoon about strange-looking people doing strange things to one another. Omar’s favorite character: Badr, because “he’s naughty.” The parents, meanwhile, enjoy it on a completely different level. Both were born in Egypt, but Atia grew up in suburban Washington and Hamam in London. They dissect the translations, recall the originals and debate what jokes do or do not work in Arabic.
Atia, a journalist, suspects a hidden pattern in the choices of which episodes to translate – a sort of subliminal America 101 course.
“They’ve chosen an episode about Thanksgiving, an episode about Halloween and even an episode about the writing of the Declaration of Independence,” Atia said. “They seem to have chosen these episodes that really touch on Americana.”
To which his wife responded: “I think they’ve eliminated the ones that feature Homer in a bar, and these are what’s left.”
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