Her directorial choices undermine author Samar Taher’s good angles and clever writing. Although that does not exempt her from a tendency toward melodrama that is confused between sympathy and condemnation, between art and preaching, between understanding the dimensions of the dramatic character and lessons.
In the end, “Most Views” is not a bad series. But it is difficult to understand poverty or portray its misery through a bourgeois lens. Shaimaa’s survival depends on her being naive.
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مش كله اللي بنشوفه على السوشيال ميديا حقيقيورا الكاميرا أحيانا بيكون فيه كواليس صعب تتخيلها #أعلى_نسبة_مشاهدةخلال رمضانحصرياً على#Shahidأقوى النجوم وأضخم ال…
Poverty on TV
The series is credited with showing poverty and the crushing economic crisis. These topics are also missing on the Egyptian small screen, where the country only appears as a bright place without problems.
Beyond the issue of poverty, the series shows that what motivates young women on TikTok is the aspiration for an imaginary world and for attention. Followers and comments are top rewards in a world that does not see Shaimaa or its poor in the first place. She is ignored on all levels — by her family and by society. Even the person she loves only notices her when her videos go viral on TikTok.
Although portrayed as a dreamy, romantic character, Shaimaa is more willing to accept her situation and surrender to it than her sister, Nasma Charisma, who represents absolute evil. A showy, narcissistic character driven by hatred and desire Nasma Charisma is in the spotlight and leads Shaimaa into this world. While Shaimaa finds success on TikTok due to her innocence, her sister does not, causing a violent and horrific clash between.
Viewers sympathize with Shaimaa’s innocence and naivety even as she moves toward a world they morally condemn. She is reminiscent of the title character in Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot.” Her innocence reveals the ferocity, corruption and cruelty of the world around her, which is also a deceptive condition.
The world of TikTok represents an opportunity to escape from the oppressive pressure of poverty. Those who succeed on the platform are promoted to the upper classes. TikTok provides equal opportunity for such promotion among classes; the poor may outperform the rich, just as less-educated people may outperform those who had the best educational opportunities.
A new type of capitalism is taking shape, in which wealth and poverty are calculated by the number of views, rather than the accumulation of capital.
Two kinds of poverty
The series distinguishes between two types of poverty. One is linked to ancient and popular origins (the most important of which is having dignity and self-chastity) and to a set of traditional values that are no longer valid today. Women who fall into this category are the most vulnerable. Shaimaa’s innocence and naivety makes her vulnerable to exploitation by a human traffickingnetworks that exploit women and girls. This is consistent with the song and the theme of sinful children and parents who should impose more control over their children.
Shaimaa’s behavior is doubly problematic. Dancing on a TikTok video (even if her clothes are not sexy) or at a pre-wedding party makes her devoid of these values. Yet these acts are allowed and normal for upper class girls.
The second type of poverty is one that has been distorted by bad economic and educational policies. The value of dignity has little weight against the opportunities offered by TikTok. The character Heba Tatu, for example, builds her TikTok fame on applying oils and breaking eggs on her face, or faking a marriage to attract more viewers.
Tragic end
Heba Tatu’s TikTok ventures do not bring profits, but turn her into a clown. We see this on TikTok in the real world from people of all classes, which are disintegrating as dignity is replaced by false self-confidence and arrogance.
Being a clown is the last trick of the poor. And while TikTok has made it a potentially profitable act, only 1% succeed on TikTok and there is no clear rule for fame and success. Fierce competition for attention can result in violent conflicts both in the real world and in the series, where Shaimaa and her sister, who turned their tragedies — including the burning of her house and her beating of her sister in the street — into TikTok videos.
The series ends with a heartbreaking, melodramatic black and white fantasy scene. Police arrest Shaimaa at the palace of her wealthy husband, who married her only to take advantage of her TikTok fame. Her father, who cut ties with her and doesn’t know where she is, appears in the background, extending his hand from afar in sorrow. This preachy logic rings alarm bells.
While the series creators clearly focused on poverty, they missed an good opportunity to focus on condemnations and preaching. They don’t address the root of the problem; laws must be amended to address this new societal phenomenon.
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