Arab Blues by Manele Labidi (2020)

Directed by Manele Labidi, the 2020 film Arab Blues focuses on a young Selma who has returned to her home country of Tunisia after years of studying abroad in France. Met with suspicion as to why she would want to return, Selma reveals that she is intent on opening up her very own psychotherapy practice on the rooftop floor of her uncle and aunt’s apartment complex. Strongly discouraging this idea, her family warns her that she should go back to Paris, that she won’t find any business from Arabs, and that “Were aren’t in Europe. We have God here, we don’t need that bull****”. Initially everyone in the town views Selma’s therapy sessions disdainfully; however, it doesn’t take too long for a line to form outside her door with interested clients. Through her patients’ and family members’ stories, Arab Blues touches on issues of depression, parental trauma, alcoholism, and gender dysmorphia.

Selma recounts that she was unneeded in Paris with 10 other therapists living on the same block as her; thus, she hopes that by setting up her practice in Tunisia she will have a greater impact on her community than would’ve been possible in France. However, the culture clash between Selma’s life in Paris and her adjustment back into Tunisian society is quite vivid. She is often told that she is out of touch with the people of Tunisia and the way society operates, discovering especially strong rejection towards therapy. The film does a good job emphasizing the stigma surrounding mental health in Tunisia and the generally negative sentiment towards therapy across the Arab World (Al Horany, 2019). Scolded by her father, aunt, uncle, and younger cousin, Selma is told nearly every day to give up her practice and return to France. Despite all odds, her psychoanalysis business attracts quite a number of Arabs who are struggling with pent up trauma. Released relatively recently, this film deals with issues still relevant to Tunisian and the greater Arab society. Selma encounters a depressed Imam, a hairdresser with mother issues, a baker who struggles with feeling like a woman but being a man, all the while discovering that her own uncle is an alcoholic. Adamant that these people need her, Selma risks going to prison when she continues to hold therapy sessions without a permit. This looming possibility of prison hinders her practice for the majority of the film but the audience gets to celebrate her success when she is finally awarded her permit. Through a short montage at the end, we see that Selma’s therapy sessions have truly make a difference in her patient’s lives as many of them learn to cope with their struggles in their own way. 

I found this film to be very engaging, especially in using a comedic approach to address several important topics. All of the issues addressed in Arab Blues are prevalent in American society. While we may have a greater tolerance for therapy, this sentiment has only been adopted relatively recently. Many of the older generations in America still maintain a strong resistance to therapy and the idea of mental illness. In fact, even among our younger generations there is a relatively high perceived social stigma surrounding therapy (Digiuni, 2013). At the same time, our younger generations are the only reason our society has gradually begun to view therapy in a positive light (Digiuni, 2013). As for the ailments of Salema’s patients, these are struggles which individuals may face no matter where they live or their cultural upbringing. From my own personal exposure and encounters, I can say that depression is especially prominent in America; the same can be said for family trauma and gender dysmorphia. Thus, I thought this film was quite successful in being applicable not only to the Arab region but also to the West. 

                  Through the story of Selma and the opening of her psychotherapy business in Tunisia, Arab Bluessheds light on the stigma surrounding mental health in the Arab World. Using humor to confront universal social issues, this film encourages important conversations regarding mental health awareness across cultures in an entertaining and captivating way. 

References: 

AlHorany, A. K. (2019). Attitudes toward Help-seeking Counseling, Stigma in Arab context:

A Systematic Literature Review. Malaysian Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences, 15.

Digiuni, M., Jones, F. W., & Camic, P. M. (2013). Perceived social stigma and attitudes 

towards seeking therapy in training: A cross-national study. Psychotherapy, 50(2), 213.