The Book

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What happens to our pop culture when it meets another culture head–on – especially one that according to some is completely at odds with our own?

In The Sheikh’s Batmobile, pop–cultural commentator Richard Poplak sets out on an unusual two–year odyssey. His mission is to see what becomes of his, and North America’s, obsessions — pop songs and sitcoms, Hollywood movies and shoot–em–up video games, muscle cars and punk music — when they make their way into the Muslim world.

Over the course of his journey, Poplak is body slammed by WWE fans in Afghanistan, hangs out with hip–hop artists in Palestine, head bangs to heavy metal in Cairo, discovers a world of extreme makeovers in Beirut, bowls with the chief of police in small–town Kazakhstan, and encounters a mysterious Texan building rocket–propelled batmobiles for a clientele of sheikhs.

With uproarious humour and keen cultural insight, Poplak asks some vital questions: How is American pop culture consumed and reinterpreted in the Islamic world? What does that say about how we are viewed by young Muslims? And can Homer Simpson bridge the differences that are tearing our world apart?

Praise for Ja, No, Man: Growing Up White in Apartheid–Era South Africa

“Brilliant.” — John Allemang, The Globe and Mail

“One of the finest, funniest and most tragic memoirs I have read in years.” — Heather Mallick, CBC, Analysis and Viewpoint

“Devastating detail comes via vivid and passionate prose. … Brilliant.” — Now Magazine

Buy Now on Penguin.ca            Explore the Chapter Guide

The Author

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Richard Poplak is the author of the acclaimed Ja, No, Man: Growing Up White in Apartheid-era South Africa. He has written for, among others, The Walrus, THIS Magazine, Toronto Life, and The Globe & Mail and has directed numerous short films, music videos and commercials. He lives in Toronto.

www.richardpoplak.com
Visit Richard Poplak @ Twitter	Join Richard Poplak @ Facebook	Join The Shiekh’s Batmobile Facebook Group

Praise for Ja, No, Man

“Richard Poplak’s Ja, No, Man is a breezy, witty memoir about his ordinary boyhood… Well, it is a boyhood that is both good and bad. It’s Duran Duran and Star Trek. But it’s also veldschool, the evil of apartheid and the fading innocence of adolescence.”
—Outpost Magazine

“Ja, No, Man! and the author’s caustic worldview…spares no one…. Seeing apartheid through his cynical but very smart eyes [is] a screwy place well worth visiting.”
—The Toronto Star

“Richard Poplak’s story of growing up white and, though it’s not probed too deeply, Jewish in South Africa is mesmerizing: nuanced, complex, appalling…. The genius of it is that the writer is able to both grab our sympathies and make us feel that, by dint of his status and colour, he got what he deserved. Brilliant.”
—NOW Magazine

“It is a gem, all the pleasure and pain and ruthless observation concealed inside the gleaming jewel of the book.”
—Heather Mallick, CBC

“Poplak stitches together the insults and indignities—mundane, suburban, absurd, tragic–of apartheid in its horrible death throes with such skill, such honesty and above all, such drop-everything-and-laugh-out-loud humour that I found myself having to re-read whole passages just to see what they sounded like without my shrieks of laughter thrown in. Apartheid was a disgusting experiment but Poplak’s bottom’s up view shows how it was able to work for so long—the complicit agreement of so many to be so violent for so long. Ja, No, Man is an absolute must-read for anyone who was there, anyone who wants to know what it was like to be there and anyone who hopes we never go there again—in other words, a must-read for everyone.”
—Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

Events, News & Media

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Soundtrack

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The Music of The Sheikh’s Batmobile

While traveling through the Middle East, Richard met many musical influencers and discusses them in The Sheikh’s Batmobile. Learn more about the bands, their messages and hear sample tracks.

The Sheikh’s Batmobile – The Complete Soundtrack

Playlist: Session Daye — Ramallah Underground (Ramallah, Palestine) Aint Nobody’s Bitch — The Brandels (Jakarta, Indonesia) 9 — Farzad (Tehran, Iran) Min il Kaheff — Ramallah Underground ft DJ Lethal Skillz (Ramallah, Palestine & Beirut, Lebanon) Tentang Cita — White Shoes and the Couples Company (Jakarta, Indonesia) 14 — Farzad (Tehran, Iran) I Got Johnny In My Head — Teenage Death Star (Jakarta, Indonesia) Nateejah Bala Shughol — Ramallah Underground (Ramallah, Palestine) Cermin — Sore (Jakarta, Indonesia) Lachrymosa — Mamak Khadem (Tehran, Iran)

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Featured Artists

We7

We7, a shortcut name of "Boys of the Hood" and is pronounced "weh", is one of the leading groups in the Palestinian hip hop scene. Adi Krayem (22), Anan Qsem (23) and Alaa Bishara (21) formed the group in 2001 after deciding to share their writings together and create songs. They’ve been performing locally ever since. Anan and Alaa come from the city of Nazareth, located in the north of what is now called Israel. Adi comes from Kana village, a small village near Nazareth. We7’s lyrical content is a reflection of their lives as Palestinians inside the Israeli borders, and is very much connected to the Israeli – Palestinian conflict.   Playlist Intro Musika likul sha3bna alij sabab mesh hamimna

We7 Video:

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G-Town the Palestinian Hip-Hop Makers

	Playlist Intro Skit Iddarrdakh Sharq Awwsat Jaded Skit Isslam Inqarad Ilhilm Irramady Skit Alqudsu Lana Blady - Part One Inqilab Issalam Infarad Outro Skit Minal Qarn Almady
G-Town Video: G-Town live on the ( jerusalem cinematheque) stage on 28/10/2007

Chapter Guide

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WaWaWeeWa: An Introduction

On the icy border between Russia and Kazakhstan, on the eve of the North American release of Sacha Baron–Cohen’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Richard Poplak is sucked into a pop cultural vortex at the very confluence of two great ideological battles of the last half century — communism and radical Islam. And he learns just how powerful a piece of pop culture can be.

Chapter 1: How Do You Know?

Twenty years after an American bombing campaign swept over Libya (in response to a deadly terrorist act perpetrated by the Libyan regime), Lionel Richie has shown up in the Mediterranean capital. It is said that in Tripoli's old city, dozens of children follow him, re–enacting the famous video–clip for his smash–hit "Hello." Intrigued, our fearless hero tries to investigate the rumoured "Hello" incident, and uncovers a cultural history that is both undervalued and dangerously misunderstood.

Chapter 2: The Sheikh’s Batmobile

Dubai is a shining, techno city of the future, rising miles into the sky. But at its heart lies a desperate nostalgia — and not just for an Islam of the past. There is a pervasive reverence for American pop or the 1950s and 1960s, and nothing exemplifies this more than a bespoke American muscle car builder who crafts classic Yankee chariots for the Gulf elite. But his masterpieces — crafted in a secret warehouse deep in Dubai’s industrial district — are three rocket–powered replicas of a vehicle originally belonging to a certain masked avenger, late of Gotham City.

Chapter 3: So You Can Watch What They Watch

In 2005, an Arabic version of The Simpson’s debuted on the Saudi–owned, Dubai–headquartered MBC satellite station, to universal excitement. But the show bombed. No one at MBC would say why. Meanwhile, an animated sitcom called Freej — locally written and produced — is a massive success. In the contrasting stories of these two pop cultural products — both based on an ineffably American model — lies the heart of the cultural conundrum that besets the Gulf region: A love for American pop, but a need to be culturally distinct. And the battle rages on.

• Here’s a link to the Freej site, a second sitcom discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 4: The Genie is Out the Bottle

Meet Amro Hosny. Egyptian. Poet. Comic. Head writer of Disney’s Arabic content. It may surprise some to learn that Disney has existed in Arab countries since the thirties, but lately — due to the great offence caused by Disney’s Aladdin (a film that took Arab stereotyping to new lows), the House of Mouse has run into trouble. The license is now owned by powerful and wealthy Saudi’s, and Amro Hosny is locked in a battle for the Arabic soul. And his enemies are not, as most would suppose, Americans

 

Chapter 5: Turn Up the Noise, Turn Down the Suck

The El Bodega Village, within sight of the pyramids of Giza. A heavy metal gig is underway beneath the shadow not only of those great monuments, but also of Egypt’s secret police, who linger outside, watching. This is the opposition Egypt’s metal heads — who call themselves Metaliens — must face when they gather to bang head. And with Saudi and Jordanian Metaliens also in attendance, does this concert represent the early days of a youth culture movement? These kids only want to rock out, but at the heart of their quest, is there also a nascent political reformation?

• Wasted Land – Saudi metal heads
• Deathless Anguish – Saudi metal heads
• Odious – Egyptian metal heads
  Watch YouTube Video
  

 

Chapter 6: Ain’t Nobody’s Bitch

Jakarta is where punk lives. It is ground zero for furious, three–chord, sweat–soaked mayhem. In studios dotted around the vast city, young people try to reconcile their religious, cultural and political beliefs, all of which coalesces in a spirit of punk, indie and hardcore DIY movements. But can the roar of their music fight an increasingly militant and radical Islam that promises to tear down all that they have built?

• Indonesian Indie Labels:
  http://www.aksararecords.com/
  http://www.myspace.com/ffwdrecordsindonesia
  

 

Chapter 7: You’re the Terrorist

Hip–hop’s final frontier — the blazing heart of the Middle Eastern conflict. It may seem surprising — or perhaps, its not so surprising at all — that hip–hop and rap have found a home here in the danger zone. As a voice for the voiceless, hip–hop has defined a generation. But the genre has ties to the region, and there are legions of Arab hip–hoppers who claim it as their own. This is the story of hip–hop rhymed to the sound of an AK–47.

• Dam website

• Dam video clip:

 

• Dam video clip with English subtitles:

 

• Ramallah Underground

 

Chapter 8: Skeletondude vs. Superdude

Atop a Byzantine tower, one of Istanbul’s classic landmark, a superhero battle! KiLiNK fights the Flying Man — foot to the face, knee to the gut — with all of Turkey below them. Their enmity is a metaphor for a country that has long used American pop culture as a stopgap for the Muslim extremism that lies at its heart. Here, we chase down a virulently anti–American film called Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, and see how it relates to those two superheroes high above a city, where Europe and Asia meet.

Chapter 9: Stop Watching the News and Get Into the Game

One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. That’s the premise behind a series of games from an outfit called Afkar Media, based in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Afkar have created a series of first–person shooters called Under Ash and Under Siege. Both have caused media storms, with their portrayals of Israelis as murderous scourges. But underneath all the controversy is a company trying to come to terms with what gaming means in a world that insists on portraying Arabs as bad guys.

• http://www.afkarmedia.com/en/index.htm
• Download game demos

Chapter 10: Book for a Nose Job

Zaven is an international phenomenon, and the biggest name in Arabic talk show history. He has helped usher in an era of reality TV in the Arabic world. Now, shows like Star Academy and Perfect Bride run 24 hours a day. But there are many who believe that reality TV — and personalities like Zaven — are a threat to the status quo. And there are others who believe that with all the televised talking, nothing at all is being said.

• http://www.zavenonline.com/

Chapter 11: Full Nelson — Afghanistan

This is where it comes full circle. Afghanistan. Battle ground of the past and of the future. In Kabul Shahir and Melek Zahine are building a media company among the ruins. They believe that the only thing that can save Afghanistan from the Taliban and their ilk is a vibrant popular culture. Their weapons are music videos, sitcoms, pop songs and a belief that popular culture can make you free.

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