In the year 1436, I wrote an article in my corner of the Okaz newspaper, entitled “The Return of Tash Ma Tash,” which dealt with the extent of the popularity of this series in the Arab world and its success from the Gulf to the ocean. The journey of its launch since 1993 is too numerous to list now, as some look at the series through one narrow-minded dimension, without trying to be familiar with all the dimensions through which we can evaluate it, whether technically or intellectually.
In general, artworks are criticized for many reasons; Including what is related to the content of the story itself, or due to poor directing, or the inability of the actors to embody the issues that the artwork deals with well, and I am certainly here not in the process of defending “Tash Ma Tash”, because I have no interest in siding with this or that artwork, but who The important thing is not to turn a blind eye to the fact that this Saudi series imposed itself on the artistic scene as an ambassador of the Kingdom throughout the world. As far as I know, the US Library of Congress has requested some parts of the work to keep it in its private archive, which means that this artwork broke the traditional local framework and became expressive. About the nature of Saudi society through the eyes of others.
In contrast, the series has many viewers in many Arab countries, because despite its Saudi identity and despite the fact that it discusses local issues, whether social, intellectual or otherwise, many Arab audiences follow it with passion and interest, which may mean that it is technically superior to some local works by many. From these countries, to the extent that they follow it along with their local artwork.
Successful works of art always create a wide audience of critics or haters who reject their success. Success tempts to form a counter front of haters and envious people. As for poor artworks, they have no audience. A work of art means that it was able to address some sensitive issues – such as issues of corruption or women's rights – that may cause inconvenience to some, and it also means that it was able to arouse their anger, which made them direct their harsh criticism, calling for stopping it or even rejecting it at the very least, which is considered an achievement that counts For those in the series itself.
It is certain that this artwork is part of the Saudi artistic identity and heritage, which has been reflecting their manifestations, changes and developments in all their differences for nearly thirty years, documenting all the events that occurred in the Saudi society and recording the way society members deal with them, all in the form of an artistic comic. Light mixed with feelings, so it is considered an artistic historical record of Saudi society and its civilization for a long period of time.
Perhaps the most important factor in the success of Tash Ma Tash is the ability of the two artists, Abdullah Al-Sadhan and Nasser Al-Qasabi, to penetrate the hearts of the masses. All the members of the artwork crew, which is what he produced in this interesting and attractive manner and gave him the ability to push viewers from the Kingdom and abroad to follow him on a daily basis, and even to prefer him over many other works of art that abound in the holy month of Ramadan.
Some may believe that this artwork is intended only for financial profit, and this may be due to the deterioration of “some” other artworks, but in fact there are many high-end international art academies and institutes that teach arts because they believe that art is the link between The citizen and his life concerns, because he embodies them in different and innovative ways, and perhaps the most famous of these methods is the literary genre known as satirical art, which is based on criticism of some political or social conditions and presents them in a light comic form that attracts the audience, and with a little careful consideration, we can clearly realize that the series Tash Ma Tash is a purposeful series that aims to present and criticize many negative phenomena in society.
Some believe that art is an insignificant recreational field compared to other sciences, but art in its essence is the construct that expresses the extent of civilisation, humanity and sophistication of any society. He is keen to communicate it, and during the current month of Ramadan, we saw many new faces in a number of national programs, which we hope will increase their number during the upcoming Ramadan seasons. We also hope that the next stage will witness a tangible boom in the production of local Saudi series and films. .
Muhammad Mufti