Decoding the political allegory in the Syrian comedy al-Kherba

Abstract

The Syrian television sitcom al-Kherba (‘the Ruin’, 2011-present) can be viewed as a political allegory that dramatises the authoritarian Ba’th regime in Syria (1971–2024). Analysing the village-setting and character dynamics in numerous scenes distributed throughout the entirety of the musalsal’s 30 episodes, the paper argues that al-Kherba invites an allegorical reading of the humoristic discourse arising from the integration of sociopolitical realism and idealism. The paper concludes that al-Kherba, making available an allegorical reading of authoritarian governance, testifies to the capacity of television comedy drama to transmit political messages beyond the limits of everyday laughter.

Keywords

authoritarianism Ba’th regime political satire Syrian comedy

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