Media became so integrated in our life that we do not separate if anymore from our daily life. People became so attached to the visual and audiovisual screenings that they became a part of them. Media became a way of interconnecting audiences and ideas. Lebanon for instance, has been producing a lot of its own Tv series and recently, started making international movies. But what separates us from the West's movies, is our taboo towards kissing scenes.
Based on the report below conducted by Zaven on FutureTv, the first kiss ever on Lebanese TV was in 1963 between the great actors Wahid Jalal and Wafaa' Tarabay. It was a quick kiss but it stirred controversy in the society, thus the Lebanese supervision had to put a censorship on kissing scenes and make a law against it in TV shows. A few years later, the law became flexible, and the 2nd kiss was recorded. It was the first on screen french kiss in the Lebanese history and the longest. It was between the married actors Fouad Naim and Nidal Ashkar and it lasted 50 seconds.
The 3rd most famous kiss was in 1979 between Antoine kerbej and Nabila Karam in a series that mocks the Ottoman rule and how the ruler himself can be seduced by a beautiful woman. Later in the 90's, Melhem barakat and the dancer Dani Bostros shared a kiss on stage which was filmed and later used for promoting the play itself on TV.
After the 90's, people forgot about kissing and TV shows became conservative. Meanwhile, Lebanese audience focused more on foreign movies and were very accepting of their kissing scenes. Around 2006 the actress Karmen Lebbos tried to break the ice and re-initiate an on screen kiss with the actor Bassem Moughaniye in a show called "zahrat elkharif" (meaning autumn's flower). The story was about a woman (herself) and a younger man falling in love and out taking the obstacles they faced in society because of the age difference.
There was a lot of controversy around her role and her kissing scenes. But she insisted on moving forward, in the following years she had another on screen kiss with the actor Youssef elkhal in another TV series with a similar story. Her bold act stirred a huge controversy in Lebanon and in the Arab world. A lot of negative responses and comments were provided and most Lebanese viewers refused to watch Lebanese actors kiss yet gladly enjoyed watching long kissing scenes in foreign movies. It is believed that on screen kiss is not actually a crime, yet it's deemed a crime because Lebanese society collectively judged it and criticized it. It is because of the Mass response from the audience that the Lebanese on screen kiss was forbidden.
I was able to find a post on the "Lebaneses memes" page on facebook that asked the following question:
- Because usually the kiss is out of context. They just put it there.
- Because Lebanese people pretend to be open but they are narrow minded.
- Because kissing in public is already a taboo in Lebanon, while outside it's normal to kiss on the streets.
- Because they look fake.
- Because we shouldn't take bad habits from the West such as Public display of affection.
As we can see, Lebanese viewers have different points of view towards Lebanese kissing scenes most of which are negative. This is creating an obstacle for Lebanese actors to break the Taboo and challenge themselves and their acting skills.
Based on the report below conducted by Zaven on FutureTv, the first kiss ever on Lebanese TV was in 1963 between the great actors Wahid Jalal and Wafaa' Tarabay. It was a quick kiss but it stirred controversy in the society, thus the Lebanese supervision had to put a censorship on kissing scenes and make a law against it in TV shows. A few years later, the law became flexible, and the 2nd kiss was recorded. It was the first on screen french kiss in the Lebanese history and the longest. It was between the married actors Fouad Naim and Nidal Ashkar and it lasted 50 seconds.
The 3rd most famous kiss was in 1979 between Antoine kerbej and Nabila Karam in a series that mocks the Ottoman rule and how the ruler himself can be seduced by a beautiful woman. Later in the 90's, Melhem barakat and the dancer Dani Bostros shared a kiss on stage which was filmed and later used for promoting the play itself on TV.
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| Longest kiss - Fouad Naim & Nidal Ashkar |
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| Nabila Karam & Antoine Kerbaj in "Barbar agha" |
After the 90's, people forgot about kissing and TV shows became conservative. Meanwhile, Lebanese audience focused more on foreign movies and were very accepting of their kissing scenes. Around 2006 the actress Karmen Lebbos tried to break the ice and re-initiate an on screen kiss with the actor Bassem Moughaniye in a show called "zahrat elkharif" (meaning autumn's flower). The story was about a woman (herself) and a younger man falling in love and out taking the obstacles they faced in society because of the age difference.
 |
| Karmen Lebbos & Bassem Mghaniye |
There was a lot of controversy around her role and her kissing scenes. But she insisted on moving forward, in the following years she had another on screen kiss with the actor Youssef elkhal in another TV series with a similar story. Her bold act stirred a huge controversy in Lebanon and in the Arab world. A lot of negative responses and comments were provided and most Lebanese viewers refused to watch Lebanese actors kiss yet gladly enjoyed watching long kissing scenes in foreign movies. It is believed that on screen kiss is not actually a crime, yet it's deemed a crime because Lebanese society collectively judged it and criticized it. It is because of the Mass response from the audience that the Lebanese on screen kiss was forbidden.
I was able to find a post on the "Lebaneses memes" page on facebook that asked the following question:
126 person answered, each with a different point of view. Some of the most common answers were:
- Because usually the kiss is out of context. They just put it there.
- Because Lebanese people pretend to be open but they are narrow minded.
- Because kissing in public is already a taboo in Lebanon, while outside it's normal to kiss on the streets.
- Because they look fake.
- Because we shouldn't take bad habits from the West such as Public display of affection.
 |
| One of the common answers from the post |
As we can see, Lebanese viewers have different points of view towards Lebanese kissing scenes most of which are negative. This is creating an obstacle for Lebanese actors to break the Taboo and challenge themselves and their acting skills.
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