The politics of love : sexuality, gender, and marriage in Syrian television drama / Rebecca Joubin.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: the televisuality of Syrian popular culture -- The politics behind Syrian television drama -- Political parodies and embattled masculinity: prison and marriage marriage metaphors in contemporary tales of the late 1980s and 1990s -- Fighting the dictator within -- The development of the politics of qabadayat and the state in early historical fiction genre (1990s) -- Fantasy of the masculine hero: qabadayat fighting colonial power in the bi'a shamiyyeh (old Damascus) genre (2000 onward) -- Subordinate and subversive masculinities as political protest in bi'a Shamiyyeh historical tales -- Embattled masculinity in contemporary tales: the crisis of qabadayat -- On the trials of love and sexuality before marriage in contemporary tales -- Cultural deconstructions of femininity and self-identity in marriage in contemporary tales -- Afterward: drama preparation amidst an uprising: debates, challenges, and new directions.