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1. Sample Essay on Movie Industry in Saudi Arabia
Information sharing is an important factor in the growth and development of the society today.
Nations that allow their citizens to access and use information gathered from various sources enable
them to effectively handle the challenges that they are faced with. In usual occasions, people gain
access to information from a variety of sources like film, radio, newspapers, TV among others. In
Saudi Arabia, the state prohibits its media from making some kinds of information available to the
people. This has the ability of negatively impacting the performance of the people as well as their
general wellbeing. The Saudi Arabian government specifically prohibits the film industry from airing
movies. This has different effects on the entrepreneurs that wish to invest in this industry. Despite
the various restrictions on the country’s film industry, the director of Wadjda movie managed to
overcome all of them.
The government of Saudi Arabia considers the act of watching movies as a waste of time that could
instead be used for other constructive activities (Lacey 113). With regards to this, it argues that even
though movies are a source of entertainment, watching them consumes a lot of time. With respect to
the cost benefit analysis, the gains that are acquired from movies are minimal. Despite the economic
rewards that are acquired by the movie owners, the viewers do not get any tangible gains. As a
result of this, the government prohibits the production of movies and discourages its people from
spending time watching them. However, it does not prohibit the people from watching decent
television programs. These are watched via satellite television; however, there are strict prohibitions
from watching pornographic programs.
The Saudi Arabian government also restricts the production and watching of movies since it believes
that they have negative impacts on the viewers (Zuhur 284). Saudi Arabia is generally a
conservative society that is governed by the religious values and principles of Islam. Besides, the
country embraces strict adherence to its culture and traditions. Recently, it has been criticized by the
west for being overly conservative. Since the country’s values are not in line with those of the
western nations, it shields its citizens from exposure to the western ideals. The country also prohibits
the exposure of its way of life to the outside world through the media. This explains why Saudi
Arabia takes measures to prohibit the production of movies. With regards to this, the state
holds the view that exposing its people to western ideals would be harmful to the wellbeing of its
people. It can specifically influence the people to assume practices and tendencies that are in
contravention to its culture and value system. This has the potential of destabilizing the nation that is
governed by a monarch system.

2. These prohibitions in the movie industry are even much harsh on women because of various
reasons. One of them is that the culture restricts women from pursuing certain careers without
getting permission from the men. Besides, it also prevents the women from socializing freely with the
public and they are not allowed to make any form of face-to-face contact with men who do not
belong to their kin. This has made it very challenging for women to venture into the industry,
especially considering that it brings them into the public domain. Despite these cultural prohibitions
and a strict environment, Haifaa Al Mansour was successful in directing her movie calledWadjda in
2012. In fact, this is seemingly the first movie to be shot and recognized in Saudi Arabia (Jones 1). It
brings to light, the social injustices that are experienced in Saudi Arabia. The film was accepted by
the government; however, it has been viewed many times by the international community compared
to the local population. The production of the movie was faced with various challenges.
According to Rice, one of the major challenges faced in the production of the film was inadequate
funding (Rice 1). The potential funding agencies were reluctant about the film since they feared that
it would not be successful. This is because of the restrictive environment that does not support film
production, especially by women (Zuhur 285). Investors often prefer projects with the potential of
delivering beneficial results. They try to look for areas that can enable them to pursue their economic
interests without any difficulties. The production of films is quite expensive and requires adequate
finances. This would not have been achieved by the director alone. However, she was faced with
these hurdles in the earlier stages but managed to convince Rotana studios to provide financial
assistance for the project as a way of women empowerment (Rice 1).
On the other hand, Haifaa Al Mansour points out that it was not easy to find actors for the film. She
wanted young female actors yet most of the parents could not allow their young children to act in the
film because of the cultural and religious restrictions (Jones 1). As revealed earlier, culture prevents
women from publicly taking part in social activities. Therefore, although very many young girls were
willing to be part of the project, their parents could not authorize them. The director eventually got
actors from a production company that recruits young children to take part in religious festivals. In
order to make sure that things went on as planned, the filming process was not conducted in the
public.
Another hitch that was also faced by the production team is difficulties in convincing the well
established adult actors to take part in the movie. With regards to this, the script required that Saudi
Arabian males and females take part in the casting of the movie. Since most of them fully recognize
the nature of the film industry in the country, they turned down the request to be part of the project.
In fact, a significant percentage of these tend to prefer working for television producers.
Comparatively, TV is more profitable compared to acting in movie theatres (Lippman 118). In the

3. same way, female actors were pessimistic about the project. The popular TV star who played the
role of a mother of the young girl did not consider this as an opportunity that would be profitable.
This is because of the fact that social conditions in Saudi Arabia do not support the distribution of
movies. Gender segregation and strict cultural values prohibit people from taking part in the film
industry. The movie industry has very lucrative opportunities that can go a long way in empowering
the citizens (Zuhur 288). Thus, the government should consider reviewing the policies that regulate
the activities in the sector so as to open it up for economic exploitation.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the film industry in Saudi Arabia is faced with a series of
shortcomings. Despite the restrictions, Haifaa Al Mansour succeeded in producing Wadjda. The
government’s perception of the film is that it is a social aspect that consumes a lot of time. Further,
the tendency of watching movies has negative impacts on the viewers and can even compromise
social and political stability of the country. During the production of the film, the director was faced
with various setbacks that ranged from inadequate financial resources to lack of actors and poor
infrastructure. Despite all these challenges, she managed to successfully produce the movie that
ended up gaining the government’s approval. Since the movie industry in Saudi Arabia is lucrative,
the government needs to consider undertaking a review of its policies in this regard so as to
encourage exploitation. In fact, this would be a sustainable way of ensuring that the people are
empowered and enlightened.
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4. Reference
Jones Emily. Haifaa Al Mansour: Saudi Arabia’s first female film maker. The University of Sydney.
30th
January, 2013. Web. 21st
November, 2013.
Lacey Robert. Inside the kingdom: Kings, clerics, modernists, terrorists, and the struggle for Saudi
Arabia. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Print.
Lippman Thomas. Saudi Arabia on the edge: The uncertain future of an American Ally. USA:
Potomac Books, 2012. Print.
Rice Francesca. The 7 reasons we’re in awe of this woman: Saudi Arabia’s first female film director,
Haifaa al-Monsour. Marie Claire. 19th
July 2013. Web. 21st
November, 2013
Zuhur Sherifa. Saudi Arabia. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print
.