Humor in Middle Eastern cinema /

Presenting an energetic, even revolutionary, approach to humor in Middle Eastern cinema, Devi (Lock Haven Univ.) and Rahman (Univ. of Montreal) offer an erudite introduction and solid work from a variety of countries-Tunisia, Palestine, Iran, Israel, Turkey, India (Bollywood). Because of the nature of the political regimes of some of these countries, readers might be reluctant to believe true humor can exist in Middle Eastern cinema. Certainly much needs to be done to free film writers, directors, and actors (especially women) in the present era, but as Mikhail Bakhtin states (quoted in the introduction to this book), "Laughter has a deep philosophical meaning, it is one of the essential forms of the truth concerning the world as a whole ... history and man." The essays in the volume trace humor from Plato and Aristotle to Kant, Santayana, and Freud. As Rahman notes, politics may be predominant, but cinema shows "art as life." Among the individuals and topics covered are the noted Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926-2008) and the way Bollywood varnishes terra firma in the film Tere Bin Laden (2010). This is a groundbreaking study for those serious about film. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. --Andrew Mark Mayer, College of Staten Island