ONCE again, many members of the public have called for the opening of cinemas in the Kingdom. Personally speaking, I cannot help but wonder why this group of people are so persistent and insistent in their demands. They belong to the enlightened or educated classes, who should not make such demands for the simple reason that technology has advanced and we can sit at home and watch a movie on a large plasma screen in full color and get the same experience that cinemas offer. In fact, I believe that if cinemas were to open, they would dispel the claim that Saudis travel abroad to watch movies in cinemas. This is untrue. Let us be frank and admit that most Saudi tourists travel abroad for different purposes that have nothing to do with cinemas. I will never buy the lie that Saudis travel abroad and spend huge amounts of money just to go to cinemas. I simply do not believe it. Of course, if cinemas were to open in the Kingdom, movies would be censored and immoral scenes would be deleted. Over time, many people would lose interest in cinemas and stop visiting them. It is strange that people want the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE) to open a cinema even though we do not have any Saudi movie stars. There are only three Saudi films and all of them, in my opinion, are clumsy and repeatedly get the same award when they appear in film festivals: "First Saudi Film." The GAE should focus on organizing concerts for well-known singers like Abadi Al-Johar and Muhammad Abdu.
