Al-Yaum

As a start, we should admit that we are no different than other human beings and that our society is like any other Arab and Muslim society. We are no more pious and religious than others. We have good and bad qualities, just like other communities. We are not better or worse than others.

Most Saudis know that there used to be cinemas located in sports clubs a few decades ago and that many young men used to visit these cinemas. At the time, there was a cinema on the Aramco compound in Dhahran City and Saudis and non-Saudis went there to watch movies. Satellite television was unknown at the time.

Almost every home today has satellite television and everyone can watch a long list of channels showing various programs, including sports, entertainment, culture, news, movies, etc. In fact, satellite channels broadcast inappropriate content that cannot be viewed in a movie theater. Nobody can monitor and censor the content of satellite channels because of the nature of technology today, which makes it extremely difficult to restrict such content. We are living in an age of rapid technological advancements.

No matter how hard parents try to impose some kind of parental control on the content their children watch on satellite channels, they cannot succeed in protecting their children from inappropriate material. Most TV series, movies, programs, etc., broadcast some improper content every now and then.

Content shown in a movie theater can be censored and improper content can be deleted prior to viewing. Parents cannot do that at home. Some people continue to entertain contradictory views about cinemas. They seem to be scared of cinemas as if they were monsters, but not afraid of the content that appears in their own homes through satellite TV. Cinemas are one of the best channels of entertainment and we should not be afraid of them.