The Struggle of Entertainment and Neoliberal Postcolonial Capitalist Politics in New Saudi Arabia

Anas M. Alahmed

doi:10.5771/9781498593755

Summary

Anas M. Alahmed argues that the Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia created in 2016 was meant to introduce a “new Saudi” to the Western outsider audience and that the “new Saudi” state is on a mission to transform the country from a traditional and conservative kingdom to a new state dedicated to social modernization and openness. Alahmed contends that globalization and the neoliberalism capitalist mode of politics have reinforced the transformation of cultural production into global entertainment production. Therefore, the author shows how the entertainment sector relies heavily on reproducing the Western culture of entertainment production and depends on Western businesses to bring entertainment into the country instead of investing in local entertainment businesses, which forces the state to adopt neoliberal capitalism. The author provides evidence on how the new modernity of Saudi Arabia has become a political tool through which neoliberal capitalists can create positive relationships with Western capitals as part of the postcolonial struggle of neoliberalism in the Global South. Alahmed argues that there is a connection between the role of geopolitical power in globalization and postcolonial studies that explains the struggles of indigenous cultures related to providing their own production to society.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-9374-8
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-9375-5
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 196
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
3. Foreword No access
Why Write This Book? Why Saudi Arabia? Why Entertainment? No access Pages 1 - 18
Theorizing and Researching the “Saudi” State‌‌‌‌ No access Pages 19 - 44
Entertainment, New Saudi Arabia, and‌‌‌ the Question of New Class No access Pages 45 - 66
Political Economy of Cultural Production and the Struggle for Modernity No access Pages 67 - 88
Policing the Fun and Politicizing the Entertainment--The Struggle for Cultural Production No access Pages 89 - 106
The Neoliberal Politics of the Cultural Production of Entertainment No access Pages 107 - 132
What Does the Future Hold for the New Saudi Arabia?‌‌‌‌ No access Pages 133 - 150
Conclusion No access Pages 151 - 156
Epilogue No access Pages 157 - 166
Bibliography No access Pages 167 - 186
Index No access Pages 187 - 194
About the Author No access Pages 195 - 196