Middle East Studies Lecture Series

Hayek discusses the role of Lebanese cinema in articulating anxieties over emigration by exploring the long history of Lebanese engagement with the African continent. By drawing on and modifying the conventions of extant Western film depictions of Africa, Lebanese films attempted to dissuade their audiences from emigrating, continuing and expanding upon earlier cultural texts. The talk examines the manner in which the new technology of film modified and and contributed to this cultural anxiety.