Subtext and Bad Egyptian Films

Okay, so now I'm going to start delving into the meat of the matter. Why are most Arabic films bad? Why is Jordan TV worthless when it comes to narrative programs? Subtext. The complete lack of subtext. Let's look at something almost every Arabic film has in common. When a character is sad, the director tells you to feel sad through the actor's behavior, through music, through statement and overstatement (the Arabic cliche "3indi suda3" "I have a headache"). There is no subtelty to the stroytelling technique. That defines bad directing.

So what is subtext? Subtext is anything and everything that is not said by the character. If the TEXT is the line from the script (ie "Hey, it's great to see you!"), then the subtext is the underlying meaning behind that line. Let's say the actor says this line to the other character while walking really fast and away from him/her. The truth of the line is not told by the actual line but by the mannerisms in the performance. The line is almost unimportant in film. Not always, but most of the time. Think about it. Intelligent dialogue is when the writer and director don't undermine the audience's intelligence. As a director, you have a gazillion tools at your disposal to convey the subtext of the scene.

The actor's eyes: they are the window to the truth.
Body Langauge: the actor's body language can be in complete contradiction with the words being spoken. This makes the audience think. It makes them wonder if this person really means what he/she just said. It engages the audience, pulls them into the story, and makes them part of your film. I hate films that dumb everything down. Now I know exactly why I hate Adam Sandler movies. They are the epitomy of bad filmmaking that dumbs everything down for a stupid audience.

So as a director, my job is to find creative ways to guide the actors and the surrounding elements to convey the subtext and emotional truth of the scene without stating the emotion through spoken word.