Before flat screens, streaming, synced subtitles, and content from across the world, we had a chunky satellite TV with a limited channel list. The dust, the fuzzy broadcasts, the blank screen when it rained, that was home for millions across the Middle East and its expats. And now, in an era of seemingly perfect technology so fast-paced we can hardly keep up, why is the current culture trying to go back?
The satellite TV was the first piece of technology that brought us together. Before the internet could connect us, the TV brought together family, often community, and bridged worlds. For those in Jeddah, it was ART, in Beirut, it was LBC, Melody Hits in Cairo and KTV in Kuwait. In Dubai, it was Dubai Channel 33—which got shut down and changed to Dubai One—MBC, and Rotana. It was here that kids filled their imaginations with cartoons, dads sternly watched the news, moms got together to watch Turkish dramas, and teenage girls copied everything Haifa Wehbe did. It influenced us in a way that Instagram can not compete—it was slow, but it was authentic, raw, and real, at least at the time.
And that’s why we’re chasing it back. It’s part nostalgia, part inspiration. The big, bulky TV was a source of comfort and by going back, all we’re looking for is that same comfort that fueled our creativity and bonded us all. Somewhere along the line, the hyper-perfectionism of new technology has not only isolated us but inadvertently made us realise the beauty in imperfection. The blurry pictures, the pixelated videos, it’s an aesthetic we cannot get back unless we reach out and recreate it ourselves. That’s why Gen-Zers are going back to flip phones, digital cameras have gained a resurgence, people are opting for physical books over a Kindle, and places like Gulf Photo Plus and The Flip Side have continuous crowds.
It’s not much, and there is no denying the reality that technology is only set to get cleaner, crisper, and more perfect. But these physical pieces of a bygone era were the foundation for most in capturing beauty and revelling in the human experience and that’s why we will slap on a VHS filter and continue chasing the textures of that time.
