Becoming the image: Words of gold,talk television,and Ramadan nights on the little screen

Tarek ‘Allam is currently the most popular interview broadcaster in Egypt. An impromptu appearance last year on his widely‐watched program, “Word of Gold,” created instant celebrity for the author in Egypt, the Arab world, and among diaspora Arab communities that receive the Egyptian satellite channel. I suddenly became the image I study, simultaneously viewer and viewed, a participant in popular mass culture. The experience underscored the power of television to shape public culture, prompted deeper reflection on the resiliency of particular televised images, and emphasized the advantage of turning our gaze from the established texts of dramatic serials to the numerous “on‐the‐street” interview programs aired on Egyptian television.