West Bay Lagoon

          One of the most popular compounds in Qatar right now is West Bay Lagoon. It is known for its beautiful houses, large parks and international atmosphere. During class this week, we spoke about subcultures and the interaction theory, which I believe relates to this modern compound. Westbay Lagoon has a specific identity as they are portrayed as open minded individuals across Doha. They are considered a subculture as they have distinct characteristics that separate them from the rest of Qatar's population. Although there are a variety of different cultural backgrounds that live in this area, they consider each other family whenever they meet one another. This also relates to the looking glass-self theory as the residents in West Bay lagoon would not have this image if it was not for the rest of the society believing they are active individuals. In addition, the residents flaunt this image through their dress code and daily activities.

          When I was at the compound, I tried to relate it to the interaction theory. This concept is implemented when culture is created, diffused and consumed through social interactions among small groups of individuals such as friends and neighbours. West Bay Lagoon compound have a specific culture and it is especially exposed amongst their parks. The compound can also be classified as a subculture as we are a smaller group from Qatar’s population with certain beliefs and habits. A majority of residents in the compound have the same hobbies and most families have similar reasons to why they chose to live in West Bay     
           I visited one of the parks which is a 'scene' to this subculture. It is a place where members of this community interact and create a shared identity. I saw many families dressed in sportswear playing outdoor activities such as tennis, football and cycling. If one were cycling anywhere else in Qatar, the cars driving by would stop and stare. However, it is considered a norm in this community. This park is classified as scene because it caters to every single person in this compound. They have sections for different activities and therefore it became popular in a very short period of time. The residents demanded for more parks and thus every street number have a park to themselves. Although this decreases the chances of families interacting with one another from different streets, it is common to jog through all the parks of West Bay Lagoon, allowing them all to be filled with life and happiness.

       

      While walking through the parks, I tried to think like a sociologist and observed the activities that were being held. Every park had a tennis court, basketball court, a large grass field and swings for the younger kids. It was interesting to see how every park consisted of families doing the same activities even though they all came from different backgrounds. It was the norm for children to be playing sports while their parents walk around and enjoy the scenery. This standard behaviour could only be considered ordinary and expected through the interaction of families within this compound. In addition to the park being defined as a scene in the West Bay Lagoon subculture, I would classify it as a symbol as well. The families interact in this space, they exchange thoughts and ideas of what they do during their spare time. Therefore, this park symbolises friendship and is one of the main reasons this subculture was formed.

Identity through Covers

Today, I have been to Virgin Megastore at Landmark where all the awesome music and video games can be found. One thing that grabbed my attention was how each music genre has a way to express its music theme through CD Album covers. An example would be rock music . This type of music culture has many prominent and district features in its CD covers. The overall look of such covers is sort of gothic with skulls and people screaming and all. However, we can also see that rock music is divided into many subcultures such as metal, hard, emo and alternative. Each division has its own way of presenting its music and the overall look. I am honestly not suprised at how the identity fluidity had increased in the past couple of years given how music from all types of cultures is sold everywhere.

One of the interesting rock genres that should be touched upon is emo rock. Emo rock bands try to express their sorrowful way of life through singing. The emo fashion is getting more and more widespread especially these days. The performers usually have lengthy dark hair, with highlights, covering their eyes and wear tight fitted jeans. And whether the performer is a girl or a boy, the makeup is all over their faces. I think it is pretty interesting that this sort of subculture has local, translocal and virtual scenes almost everywhere in the world. Although emo is not very accepted in the middle east, there are some concerts that occur in Dubai in the “Dubai Rock Festival.” Below is a self-explanatory video of how emo people act and dress

Anyways, so back to Virgin, my friend showed me one pretty interesting thing. The cover of the Transformers Collector’s edition has the regular Optimus Prime character icon on it. However, when you flip the cover upside down, you can see Darth Vader from Star Wars. This is a very impressive form of product placement. Although the producers of the Transformers and the Star Wars movie franchise are not the same, this indirect form of advertisement happened. I find it amusing that companies find these indirect ways of advertising. This is much more interesting than watching a movie trailer about Star Wars on TV. This is mainly because people hate watching advertisements especially while they are watching their favorite TV series. It sort of feels like we are being interrupted somehow.

Tarneeb's Subculture; The old in the new generation

Cards “Shada/Kotshina” is a game most Arab parents teach their kids as means of entertainment. However, in the heart of Qatar, in a certain location in Qatar foundation, card games are played with so much seriousness, one would think it’s a life or death skill. “To me, cards is not just a game, there’re several skills that card games can teach. Observational skills, compatibility with your partner, counting cards, and speaking up. All these skills have to be perfected to have a flawless card game,” said one of the many participants of the card games. In this setting, I found that the game everyone has perfected is a game called Tarneeb.

In the 18th century, Tarneeb became famous in the Fertile Crescent area. After getting to know the players, I realized that most of them are from the Fertile Crescent area, Egyptians, Palestinian, Jordanian, Iraqis. Some players had learned the game from their parents and grandparents. Those players agreed that Tarneeb was taught to them for the seriousness and competitiveness of the game.  “When I play with my grandfather all hell breaks loose if we lose. Although, it’s fun sometimes but I don’t like being yelled at for a game” said a Palestinian, Qatari female participant who is nicknamed Queen of Tarneeb. Others who participate in the games said that they learned it from friends and that the game is a great ‘break the ice’ activity. When I started getting involved in the Tarneeb scene, I realized that there’s a whole subculture to it, where the best is at the top, the good is considered bad, and the bad is not included in the games. When I was looking at it from a sociological perspective I realized that this subcultural fulfills one of the main theories that we recently studied.

Functionalist theory in Tarneeb…
What is Functionalist theory?
Functionalist theory states that the society is an entity that has different parts. In order for the society to function all the parts of the entity must be present and working. Analogy: Society is like a machine; each part in the machine has to do its job in order for the machine to function properly. Thus, solidarity is created within the society itself.

When studying the groups who participate in the card games, I understood that card games are utilized as a tool of communication in this setting. The games are played in order to “have fun and enjoy our time”. Thus, I came across social statuses within the cards subculture:The ruling class which is marked by the best players, the middle class which is marked by the good players and the lower class, marked by the bad players and/or the audience. In these three classes in the subcultural of Tarneeb there’s solidarity and unity that is created in order to fulfill the general goal of playing the game, which is communication between the players and the audience, to induce the feeling of “having fun” and thus, to complete the function of the game.

Study note: I removed names and places from this mini-study with respect to the subjects' requests.

Motorbiking in Qatar

I chose to study the motor biking subculture in depth for this assignment. The reason that they are defined as a subculture is that they share the same values and interests. My interest in this subculture had grown since I had more time to look into this subculture and focus on other elements such as interviewing the motorbike riders. The places that I interviewed the motorbike riders were limited because most of them gathered in the same place. I interviewed a couple in Katara, and one by West Bay. Took photographs of the motorbikes and the motorbike riders themselves. I interviewed four motorbike riders. However, I had to have my brother with me the whole time because as a female in this society, people can look at me negatively. This addresses the gender issue in Doha, how a woman is perceived in this society. A woman cannot simply approach motorbike riders alone, they might think she is making advances at them, which they consider as “flirting” and that is considered to be unacceptable for a woman to do. It was a great experience for me because I got to see the two point of views of the people towards motorbiking. The younger generation and the older generation had completely opposite thoughts on motorbikes. Mostly the older generation saw it as being deviant and the younger generation thought it was kind of “cool.”

motorbikeslast from Sara Al-Darwish on Vimeo.

Female Participation in Equestrianism

This short video shows an insight of what equestrianism means to the Qatari culture and the subculture of female riders. Female horse riders are challenging the societal gender norms in Qatar by conforming to their culture and traditions, yet at the same time, 're-fashioning' what it means to be a woman. 

We should also keep in mind that, treatment of women in Islam has changed according to the patriarchal system and solely because male scholars have interpreted most texts.  This video examines how women have accommodated their role in society and still manage to take part of equestrianism. 

Mahdiyeh from Mahdiyeh on Vimeo.

Final Video: Gym Rats in Qatar

This video explores the emerging Gym Rats and bodybuilder subculture in Doha, Qatar. It features several segments taken from in-depth interviews with different members of the subculture: Saoud, Omar, Mai, Muzammil and Coach Raymond. Interviews and filming took part in the span of a week at different gyms in Qatar including the Al Massa gym, the Recreation Center gym and the Student Center Gym. The focus is primarily on what it means to go to the gym, why people are so obsessed with the gym and why it is such a large part of their life, what they eat and what they do at the gym, and the issue of authenticity and steroids. This video serves as a parallel to my final paper that focuses on the question of how gym rats establish themselves as legitimate members of the Gym Rat subculture in terms of performance practices and authenticity.

Gym Subculture from Caitlin Sewell on Vimeo.

J pop in Qatar

Through out the semester in my Youth Culture in The Middle East class, we were asked to locate a subculture. In a country as small as Qatar, one would be surprised to find subcultures such as the one I made the clip below about. They are a group of girls who are dedicated to their interest in Japanese manga, anime, Japanese Drama and music! As a result they study Japanese in order to understand what their favorite characters or singers are saying. Through their consumption of Japanese pop and their studies of the Language at Qatar Easter Language Center, the girls adapt Japanese style and manners. I hope this video that was shot at the center and at Dana’s house, one of the subculture members, would give you an idea about how the subculture is.
Try to enjoy it!

Mighty Jokerz

During the Doha Tribecca Film Festival, we came across a group of very talented B-Boys. After talking to them some more, we realized their lifestyle really defines what a subculture is. Check out our video below to learn more about the B-boys and B-girls that make up the Mighty Jokerz:

Hijabizing Graffiti

In this week's class, we discussed about cultural resistance and used Banksy's example to showcase cultural resistance. For this particular blog post, I will be analyzing the work of another graffiti artist, Princess Hijab, from the perspective of culture resistance.

So, who is Princess Hijab? Some refer her as the muslim sister version of Banksy while others claim her to be the founder of hijabism movement. Princess Hijab is an anonymous 20-year-old guerilla street artist based in Paris, who began her “noble cause” of attempting to hijabise advertisements in 2006. She does this by using spray paint and a black marker to cover women’s faces and bodies in ads, or by pasting “hijab” over models displayed in posters and billboards in the streets of Paris. However, it is unknown whether she wears a hijab or if she is even a Muslim.


Her profile page on Art Review states that, "Princess Hijab explores notions of space and possible types of representation, contrasting the normative representations of the public sphere with her personal iconoclastic approach […] She is known for her subversive work within the public space and for her “diy” and “grrl” attitude." She had initially started her work as a way of resisting the mainstream and sexist consumerist culture. In other words, the advertising culture is the dominant/ parent culture and the hijabized graffiti art is the subculture. Many people have also associated her art as way of expressing against the hijab ban in France. However, in one of her rare online interviews, she mentions," My work is nothing to do with the veil ban in France. I’ve repeatedly stated: No, that is not my message, neither in the form, nor in the content of my stuff. I started working in 2005 [before the ban was imposed] on top of that.The content of my art is more directly related to our archetypes, to the collective unconsciousness, our intimate reactions, to the closed space of the Metro and the street."







Cultural resistance comprises of 4 forms - content, form, interpretation and activity. The content of the message is aimed to attract people’s attention to what usually is unnoticeable For example, by drawing niqab on billboard models, Princess Hijab has attracted the world’s attention to the wall. Secondly, for this case, street art is the means (the medium) for culture resistance. According to her," Street art is how I build my universe, giving form to my imaginary representations. Paris - the city, the identities, fashion and society- it offers me nearly inexhaustible inspiration. It nourishes my urban expression". The interpretation part is related to the society and how they interpret the modern mainstream and consumerist culture. Activity refers to the art of graffiti, in this case, the black spray paint symbolizing the veil on poster models that attracts the attention towards those ads.





At the beginning, her art received negative reactions in the public. But now, however, Prince Hijab's guerrilla street art has gained widespread popularity and has been featured at several art exhibitions, including one in Norway recently.

Expression of Fashion or Subculture ?

The concept of dramaturgy and subcultures are almost intertwined. From previous knowledge and from class discussions, I decided to visit an English speaking school to see if there was any sort of subculture or if I could apply the sociological concepts I learnt in class. I decided to visit a high school, keeping in mind that most youth subcultures are formed when they are separated from their primary socializers, their family, and not under the influence of the dominant culture. Therefore, for this blog post, I wanted to study whether there was a subculture amongst the students from the way most Muslim girls wore their school uniforms and adapted to a westernized environment.

As I was walking through the playgrounds at break time, I noticed how most Muslim girls had their hairs covered with the hijab. The normal school uniform was a polo shirt and a pair of trousers. The girls wore both long skirts and long sleeves, or simply long sleeved shirts with pants. In a sociological perspective, this can be seen as a bricolage. In this case, bricolage is how the young girls adapt to the western style fashion, but at the same time respect their religious beliefs by wearing the hijab.

The theory of commodity was present as Dick Hebdige describes it as “the conversion of subcultural signs into mass-produced objects.” It was tough to determine if the girls were expressing their sense of modesty in Islamic clothing, or conveying their sense of belonging to a certain subculture. Some of the girls had hipster looking glasses, converse shoes and even wore revealing clothing with their hijab on. Some also wore high-rise leggings with their uniform tucked in, which could be another indication of a hipster style.

On the other hand, some girls were holding designer accessories, for example; Chanel, Gucci and Burberry handbags, while others were wearing punk looking bracelets and shoes with spikes on them.  In the end, it is up to us to decide if they belong to a certain subculture, or whether its jut a form of commodity Hebdige refers to.

The world is mediated. In other words, corporations and the media normalize what was once a shock to us. Probably, the way most of the girls were dressed was once considered socially unacceptable, but through media and the fashion industry, these forms of clothing have become acceptable and normalized. Nowadays it is not out of the ordinary for a Qatari girl to wear revealing clothing, where it was contemplated deviant two years ago.

If I were to apply the dramaturgy theory by Erving Goffman, I would say that these girls are all actors on the front stage of a theater. In this case, the stage would be the school. The students, principals, cleaners, security and the teachers are the actors playing set character roles as part of their performances. The students managed their setting, clothing, language, and gestures to correspond the image they tried to project. Nevertheless, this is impression management. For instance, the girls were presented differently on front stage than if they were to be in their comfort zone, the back stage. At one point, the girls took off the hijab and started singing when they were in the classroom alone, and put on their hijab and acted all reserved once they walked out.

The female students could be part of a larger subculture or they could just be consumers of style through the mediated world. 

Once Upon A Subculture

Throughout the years the subculture of hipsters has evolved significantly. There has been resistance from society towards hipsters and what they embody and represent. I associate hipsters with being totally against the mainstream and conventional ideas. The phrase “don’t trust the system,” reminds me of the hipster style since it seems that the subculture strongly value nature, originality and freedom beyond the confinements of society. The hipster subculture is a culture within the larger culture. They have their own set of beliefs, values and interests. The subculture discussed is at variance with the larger culture. It seems to me that hipsters are completely against the materialistic way of life and the obsession with consumerism. However, that has drastically changed as the subculture has been accepted and incorporated into the larger culture.

Recently, hipsters have been made apart of the mainstream and larger culture. Websites like Tumblr has helped incorporate the subculture into the larger society. It has become the norm and popular to dress and have similar beliefs which were originally that of hipsters. Is it ironic that a subculture that is built on a belief that is completely against society become incorporated into the mainstream? Are we all hipsters at heart? Has the incorporation of the hipster lifestyle abolish the hipster subculture? All these questions formulated in my head when the hipster incorporation took place. It was confusing seeing a subculture resisted by the masses becoming a trend. However, further reading suggested that the taking on of a subculture by the popular media is a frequent occurrence.

Hebdige brought up two ways in which this occurrence happened. The subcultural styles are incorporated into the mainstream culture by the commodity form and/or the ideological form. The commodity form is “the conversion of subcultures signs into mass-produced objects.” This implies that corporate companies use these subculture styles to create new trends. The ideological form is “the labeling and re-definition of deviant behavior by dominant groups.” The two forms can be applied to the diffusion of the hipster subculture into the popular media. Since culture is not fixed it can take on many different trends and continuously alter.

Souq Waqif - The Kebabization Experience

As a CDA for the dorms on campus I am required to program events each month that engage the residents with the local culture. Last weekend I took the residents on my floor to Souq Waqif for a program titled “Kebabization”. Initially, I intended this program title to be a pun on the various terms in academia that are created with the “ization” standard. However, visiting Souq Waqif was a different experience this time around because I actually had those terms (that I used to come up with “kebabization”) at the back of my head. This allowed me to look at this experience from a relatively new lens.

Souq Waqif, with its fascinating streets filled with budging tourists and locals was as lively as ever. The bus dropped us off in front of a falcon shop. The falcons in the shop were pretty expensive but the falcon shop and other similar “performances” of the local culture reminded me of Cole’s notion of performance in “Bedouiness”. I regard this as a performance, as this is similar to the attempts for the “revival of tradition” in Petra and part of the quest for “authentic” presentation of the local culture. These performances are visible all over Souq Waqif in forms of the many Arab restaurants whose hosts are dressed up in elegant traditional dresses, allowing the visitor to “buy hospitality” as suggested by Cole in the same article.

I have always noticed a particular group of elderly men with carts around Souq Waqif. This time around I found out that they are called the “Hamali”. In sociological terms I would regard this group as a subculture. This is because this group shares unique instruments (their carts), uniforms and space. This aspect helps them stand out in the crowd at Souq Waqif. I have not seen them anywhere else in Doha so far.

Walking around Souq Waqif and noticing global brands like Baskin & Robins present along with the Shujja Iranian Kebab place that we visited hints towards glocalization to an extent. Souq Waqif, as previously mentioned is an attempt to revive Qatari tradition. Cole also describes this as the change from “the Bedouin into wealthy entrepreneurs of international tourism”. This is a confluence of various sociological and modern communications phenomenon presenting a very interesting situation. The architecture of Souq Waqif has always fascinated me. It reminds me of the Prince of Persia games that I played during my childhood. This time, however, with the set of academic inventory with me I observed a certain bricolage in Souq Waqif’s architecture. This is a consequence of the fusion of the modern with the traditional. The traditional, however, in this case is the general Arab tradition because many critics regard the Qatari culture as still in the process of development. The modern, for one, in Souq Waqif’s architecture can be seen in the form of beautiful lighting across the traditional alleyways.

Souq Waqif at first may seem chaotic as any marketplace because there is a lot happening at a point in time. A closer look enabled me to apply the concept of homology, which helped me consider the myriad of micro organisations in the large marketplace. One such organisation is the act of trade. Almost every entity at Souq Waqif engages in some kind of trade; whether you are the buyer or the seller or just a simple visitor, you are definitely taking or giving something either in terms of material and non-material culture.

In conclusion, it can be said that a place like Souq Waqif helps us experience the modern and the traditional in one place. It is a highly recommended place for first time visitors and a definite recommendation for locals who want to relive what Arab culture is all about.

Speedcubers - The Famous Rubik's Cube

Over the summer, I went to Jordan for a family reunion. While I was there, I encountered a group of young teenage boys who dedicate several hours of their week simply to learning how to master the Rubik’s cube puzzle. The community of speedcubers is very small Jordan, however their size has not prevented them from meeting, competing and developing their skills. The young boys (no girls were a part of this group) meet every other week to compete and try to beat their previous records. They all have a collection of cubes that they have chosen to practice with. They have learned the technique behind solving the puzzle through YouTube videos posted by competitors around the world. They all carry their favorite cubes with them at all times so that they can practice regardless of where they are.

The Rubik’s cube is considered to be the world’s best selling toy, with over 350 million cubes sold worldwide since its invention in 1974. Although the Rubik’s cube reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1980’s, there are many competitors who still enjoy competing in solving the puzzle in the quickest timing. Out of the small group of speedcubers I met in Jordan, one of them turned out to be the FIRST PLACE SPEEDCUBER in the MENA region, according to the WORLD CUBE ASSOSIATION.

This community might be small in Jordan, and other Arab countries, however, through globalization and the availability of the Internet, they are able to communicate and compete with people across the globe. They share common terms and have a special “language” in which they discuss the timing, type and size of the Rubik’s cube. For example, “16.21 12.66 15.68 11.34 12.52. Average: 13.62 NR Cube used: Zhanchi” Although they are opposing the larger culture, they are considered a “deviant” or “variant” subculture. To have the dedication and time to study and master the technique is difficult, and only some have done it. All speedcubers seemed to have a polished sense of style – nothing very distinct, but they do look very put together and uniform.
The video below is of one of the contestants being timed by the association in his house in Jordan:

Corporations saw the popularity of this cube as an opportunity to create different accessories or items that are in the shape of the Rubik’s cube. The images below are only some of what is available. Also, they have created cubes in different shapes and sizes. Some cubes are now collectables. The mass production of these products goes back to the concept of capitalism – making a subculture mainstream!

Homology is when the structure of any particular subculture is characterized by an extreme orderliness. This evident in the way that these competitors meet and compete. They have strict rules as to how the Rubik’s cube needs to be shuffled, rules on how to time it and standardized scores to compare against.

Although some cultures are formed through "Bricolage" - where the artists make-do with what they have, this subculture was formed through consumerism and the Internet. However, being loyal to this puzzle and setting up regularities and  community around it has defined those who participate as a part of a  subculture.

One can argue that this subculture is a "Spectacular Subculture" because it is out of the ordinary and certainly amazing. When you want someone solve a puzzle that is very difficult in a matter of seconds it is very surprising!

The community of players escalated the level of challenge of the competitions by having under-water, in-air competitions etc. This has allowed them to grow the puzzle and have more records to beat.

Hipsters i.e. the new punks

Hipsters started out, as having a “unique” sense of style that made them stand out, but lately seeing hipster-related fashion has become the norm in our everyday lives. We see the thick-framed ray ban eyeglasses, dip-dyed hair, studded clothes and galaxy printed clothes everywhere lately, thanks to the media.

Hipsters incorporated some elements of hippies and punks into their style, such as the long hair and studded shorts. This process of mixing styles and ideas together is known as bricolage. The subcultures bricoleur is typically the author of a surrealist collage and usually juxtaposes two incompatible realities, such as the mixing of spikes and jeans.

Hipsters were initially seen as a spectacular subculture since their style of life was seen as deviant and opposing to the dominant culture. Having different colors at the top and bottom of your hair used to be seen as a hair dye job gone wrong but these days it has been labeled as the must have hairstyle. Ombre and dip-dyed hair can be seen everywhere from tumblr to fashion magazines and celebrities. Ombre hair is less daring, as it appears to be a bit more natural than dip dying. Dip dying has gone to new extremes as people try their best to “make it their own”.

Ripped jeans are back in fashion, except now its jean shorts with spiky studs on the sides. Ripped t-shirts have also become the new fad and there are numerous videos on YouTube to show you how to rip your T-shirt in different ways. Nail polish has also become part of this hipster subculture and there are numerous creative styles that keep emerging.

Subcultures are concerned with consumption, as it through their commodities that they communicate the meanings attached to these commodities. When their purpose and style is normalized and becomes mainstream, their purpose is ruined. It is through the process of recuperation that the straying away from the dominant culture is somewhat repaired and the subculture is incorporated in the dominant culture.

There are two characteristic forms in the process of recuperation: The commodity form and the ideological form. The commodity form is the conversion of subcultural signs, such as clothes, music, into mass-produced objects. Corporations, clothing companies, benefit from this by incorporating these new styles into their market and gaining profit. The ideological form is the labeling and redefining of deviant behavior by dominant groups, such as the media. After the media normalized the concept of dip-dyed hair and socially constructed people into thinking it is fashionable, parents are more understanding to the idea, and there are more people doing it.

Church City in Qatar

This Sunday, almost like every other Sunday evening, I drove all the way to the Mesaimeer area, in which the Church City or Church Complex is located. As usual, there was a huge traffic jam and there were too many policemen around who were trying to redirect the traffic in different directions and resolve the issue. The roads nearby are still under construction and this was causing a lot of trouble to church goers and more importantly, for the residents of the Barwa Housing Complex which is located nearby. While I was waiting for the traffic to clear, I just thought about how things were in the past and how things had changed over the last 5 years.

Inside the Catholic church in Qatar

Flashback to year 2000, and I remember going to small villas and houses for Church and Catechism classes. At that time, there wasn't a definite location set for the church and there wasn't a proper setup for conducting religious classes as well. To be honest, even talking about the Church or the idea of having a large space dedicated for practicing Christianity was doubtful. It was almost impossible to see a Christmas tree around in the malls or Santa Claus costumes for sale. Last winter, I remember the huge Christmas tree that was erected in the City Center mall and I saw so many Santa Claus costumes for sale at various malls. So how did this happen? I mean there was a drastic change and it happened sequentially.

Interaction between communities:
In the readings in the sociology class, we read about Grazian's theory of interaction. He mentions that culture is to some extent conditioned by interaction and the context that surrounds it. Over the last decade, there has been a strong influx of expatriates from various nations. A vast majority of the expatriate population in Qatar today comes from the South Asia, particularly the Philippines. Moreover, there are large Christian members from Western countries, some African nations and also from Southern India. It is perhaps the interaction between these cultures and the predominant Muslim culture in Qatar that led to a better understanding and the permission from the government to go ahead and build the Church.


Globalization:
With the entry of several global corporations into Qatar, there have been so many high level/executive level professionals entering into the country. A growing country like Qatar does need to keep up to the standards of other international countries in order to cater to international customers, corporations and clients. In fact, the organization of the Asian Games in Doha, 2006 perhaps triggered the need for the establishment of a church complex. While bidding to host key tournaments such as the World Cup, Olympics etc., these are some aspects that the judging committee would evaluate the country on. So there is definitely a capitalistic idea of growth behind it as well. Now that the FIFA World Cup 2022 has been awarded to Qatar, it's only fitting that the nation provides services for all the diverse communities in Qatar.


Communication:
After attending the church session (mass), I wandered into a nearby building in the complex. I noticed that there was an Arabic service going on at that time. It was really interesting to see a fairly large Arabic speaking community in the church. There are many Christians in the Arab countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Egypt etc. On the church website, one can find the timings of the various masses and the different languages they are being offered in.
http://www.rosarychurchqatar.com/mass.php?pg=timings

There are masses in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Tamil, Tagalog, Sinhala, Malayalam etc. There are various subcultural groups that exist within this complex. The whole group of Christians in Qatar can be seen the complex and yet there are special areas in the complex assigned for each group. However, there are special occasions in which all communities get together to celebrate mass together. The picture below was taken on one such occasion where two Indian Catholics can be seen alongside Indonesian Catholic members.

        

During the church inauguration 

Dramaturgy:
The term is defined as a theory by which organizations or groups can be examined like plays or movies. In this case, the entire setting of the church before a service begins can be seen as the arena. The priest and the alter servers can be looked at as the stage. They play various roles during the service. Also, the religious members present in the church make up the audience of the 'drama'. Additionally, there is the church choir for the music aspect of it.


Below is a video taken during the occasion of "Holy Communion" which was a function common to all Catholics regardless of their language/ethnicity etc.

Within all these, I looked closely at the identities of the individuals present there. In my opinion, the members attending the regional language services were making a strong point about their identity; for instance, their identity as Arab Christians or Indian Christians. In the reading about the Identity Expression on Facebook earlier this week, we discussed that personal identity is different from group identity in the way that we define the features. A group/subcultural identity is formed and developed by the heads of groups or a group of accomplished members rather than by an individual.

The major change in Qatar took place during the last decade, in which the society and the government in general has become more tolerant and open towards different cultures and religions. This is a good sign, especially since a large proportion of the population is made up of expatriates. The government has thus far done a good job in catering to the needs of the expatriate community without harming the needs and preferences of the local population as well.

      

   

UTURN on Youtube!

Subcultures make our life interesting! Subcultures can be define as a group who looks different, shares different beliefs and activities as a result of resistance against the societies’ problems and norms. However, what defines youth subcultures are music and style!

Uturn is a youtube channel. The people behind it can be seen as an example of a subculture or they are trying to be one. They are a group of Saudi youth who shares the love of creating interesting videos on YouTube. Currently they produce 15 different shows discussing local news, popular YouTube videos and social issues in a comedic manner. The channel got so popular that many western news channels, such as CNN talked about it.

Click here to watch the CNN video

Subcultures, such as Uturn, emerge in societies as a result of struggle. When the hip-hop subculture emerged, it was the poverty and discrimination that led to its emergence. People might wonder what might be the struggle in the rich Saudi society that led to the creation of Uturn? It is the corruption and the social problems the conservative Saudi society suffer from. One of Uturn members is Omar Hussain, who presents the show 3al6ayer. He discusses the Jeddah floods in many of his episodes. He focuses on the financial corruption in the infrastructure. For example, the person who was supposed to spend government money to fix Jeddah streets did not use it in that way resulting in the floods.

The Labeling Theory is one of the theories used in studying subcultures. In his book, Goths, Gamers and Grrrls, Ross Haenfler explained by saying that the theory “proposes that actions or people are deviant only when society label them deviant.”
Referring to the Labeling Theory, the Saudi society labeled Uturn as deviant. There is gender segregation in Saudi Arabia. Even in restaurants lines, men stands in separated lines. The people at Ururn are a mixed group of men and women. This might not sound like a big deal, but in Saudi Arabia this is considered deviance. Deviance is one of the things that make a subculture one.

The pictures below, are from the show Alfe2a Alfala. The episodes end with rap songs most of the time. Their pictures on Uturn pages of show how they are trying to look deviant by trying different styles.

One of the essential elements in a youth subculture is style, such as language and fashion. The group refers to their fellow members as “Youturenii” (Youturner). They use weird slang words such as “Shamangahabash!” This is the word used when a situation is missed up and confusing. The other part of style is fashion. Bader Saleh, EyshElly presenter, has an interesting style in fashion. In some episodes, he wears a normal Polo shirt. However, instead of the Polo logo there is a drop shaped logo. This logo says “Marka Muya” (Water Brand).
Another example of fashion is Omar Hussein. Sometimes he plays a superhero role in his show. The way he dresses when he plays this role is abnormal and deviance. This reflects their want to be a subculture. The superhero is called Abu Serwal wa Faneela.

He dresses in Serwal and Faneela, which are what men wear under their traditional thob. He also uses a wezar, traditional fabric men wear around their west, as a scarf around his nick. Although this weird way of dressing is for the show only, it is a fashion statement. It is about breaking the norms and keeping traditions that reflect their identity. This shows their cooperation of Arabic culture on the global website YouTube. Their sense of fashion make their subculture special.

Globalization in its simple definition relates to the blending of cultures. Globalization affected many of the ideas behind these shows. One cannot help but notice the similarities between these shows and western ones. 3al6ayer with Omar Hussain is similar to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show was glocalised by having a Saudi young man talking about local issues. They are also making a superhero look more local by dressing him up in Arabic clothes.

Globalization cannot pass in a sociology blog without talking about its deeper meaning. Globalization is also about capitalism and resistance. It cannot be mentioned with out bringing up the big corporations who are making money out of it.

Big corporations started getting advantage of Uturn big fans base. Mobaily, the telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia is sponsoring Uturn shows. In return, Uturn advertise for them. Nestle Nescafe is doing the same thing too. Now, many other companies started paying Uturn for advertisements. This might be moving Uturn from being a cool subculture to being part of the mainstream type of media.

This subculture is making our life interesting through their videos on Youtube. Still, the Youturners receive lots of criticism in the comments section on YouTube. Many people resist them because of the bold topics they discuss and their including of girls in the show and behind the scenes. However, Uturn are resisting back and being themselves.