politics
08/16/2007
You Only Have God to Count On
In this video, a cool young guy is living fast and loose -- gambling, drinking, and smoking with his biker friends, bombing his presentation at work, flirting with women who are not his fiancee. And what does he have to show for it? Flat tires, workplace stress, and a fiancee who flings her ring on the floor at the mall. But then, after a life-threatening accident, he finds his way back to God, and he starts living the life he should have had all along.
Pretty standard Christian pop, right? Well, no. Because "You Only Have God to Count On" is actually translation of "Malak Ghair Allah." This is a Saudi video, and the God our wayward young man finds his way back to isn't Jesus. And this isn't just a Saudi video -- it's the first Saudi video. Ever.
Filmed entirely in the kingdom, with an all-Saudi cast and crew, this production is one of a kind -- a music video produced in a country where music and all forms of non-religious entertainment are banned in public places. In order to cast a Saudi woman as the fiancee, the director had to go to the actress' parents for permission -- and they, in turn, consulted the entire extended family. So, yeah. This is a big deal.
No, it ain't "Bootylicious." But the times, they are a changin'.
