By Madeleine Mezagopian*

Efforts targeting to bridge different cultures did and continue to receive momentum in Jordan. However such efforts remain mainly limited to seminars and conferences with one quite recently conceived constructive exception.

Celebration of national days in the hosting countries by foreign missions is an occasion to highlight and pay tribute to the contributions of the relevant country and celebrate the different forms of cooperation realized with the hosting country.

This week, Jordanians joined their Swedish friends and partners in the celebration of Sweden's national day at the Royal Cultural Center (RCC) when the opportunity was seized to present an unprecedented cooperation through screening the Swedish film "Hamilton" where the two countries cooperated. Unexpectedly, just a couple of hours before the screening, a couple of scenes involving love, were blocked from the film upon directives from the director of the RCC resulting in the resentment, anger and disappointment of the Jordanian friends of Sweden, the country of Anders Zorn, IKEA, Ericsson, Gamma Knife, Olof Palme, Karolinska Institute, Count Bernadotte, Nobel Prizes, Gunnar Jarring, inter alia.

This particular event resulted in a civilized and constructive discussion among the concerned on whether the censorship was justifiable or not, touching upon a cultural - if not a behavioral - issue which needs to be addressed and stop being a taboo.

In public official places to watch intimate scenes is a sensitive issue which many in the region, not only in Jordan, feel uncomfortable with. Hence the Embassy should have well considered the local culture exhibiting the required cultural sensitivity before deciding to screen the film at an official venue.

This being said, one needs to acknowledge that many Jordanians, including some conservatives whose sex lives and relevant skills gain priority if not supremacy, do watch different types of movies involving intimate scenes. However such activities are not public events, meaning people do not come together, specially at official venues, and watch intimate scenes which are quite private issues for many.

It stands as a good argument that at a time when efforts are exerted to bridge different cultures, such productions surely do not contribute to this end, especially once conservative segments of the society, of quite considerable proportion, learn of the film receiving the blessing of the concerned.

Equally, another argument becomes quite relevant on whether such censorships are promoting hypocrisy rather than decency and respect of peoples' dignity.

Further, the complete overlook of violent scenes of the film which well documented data support the negative impact of such violent scenes on peoples' behavior reveal yet another aspect of whether the region embraces a culture tolerant of violence but not of love, tolerant of war not of peace, tolerant of suicide bombers who are revered as martyrs and not of peacemakers who are degraded and perceived as traitors.

Yes, love is private, yes love needs not to be commercialized, yes foreign missions need to exhibit cultural sensitivity and respect of domestic code of conducts. But it is equally correct that it is high time to embrace true decency, abandon hypocrisy and discuss constructively sexual behaviors with one aim of freeing our youth from fear and frustration and find the middle way between destructive conservatism and confusing illusion rather than true liberation and thus bridging between different cultures at least in one aspect however a crucial one.


Madeleine Mezagopian is an Academic Researcher, Advisor and Analyst in the fields of Conflict Resolution/Peace and Socioeconomic and Political Development. She contributed this article to Ammon News English.