Violent Arab mean-teen drama better with cultural knowledge.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
It features disturbing scenes of young women being pushed, shoved, and beaten by their female classmates. Cyberbullying is frequent, and leads to extremely negative consequences. Girls are shown with bloody wounds and bruises, including black eyes, some of which are given by parents. A gun is visible in one episode (guns shots are audible in one scene), and honor beatings and killings are themes.
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Risqué selfies showing bra straps, and on occasion illicit dating. An older man attempts to sexually assault a teen; the teen is blamed for revealing too much skin. Girls are reprimanded, punished, or have their lives destroyed for dressing or behaving immodestly.
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The far-reaching negative consequences of bullying, and retribution, is a major theme. High school life, friendship, and family honor are also themes.
Positive Role Models
very little
While all the teen bullies in this series can be violent and cruel, they also demonstrate good sides, too. Parents don't always believe their children. The school's headmistress allows Layan and her friends to get away with bad behavior thanks to her influential father. Some of the girls' family members put honor above everything else.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that AlRawabi School for Girls is a Jordanian high school drama about the far-reaching impact bullying can have on teens. It also shows how some young Muslim women negotiate the social and cultural norms they are expected to abide by, and the potential consequences they may face when they go too far. Scenes of teens arguing, teasing, and threatening each other are frequent, and occasionally scenes of a young woman being violently assaulted are shown (bloody wounds and bruises are visible). There's cursing, some suggestive situations, and frequent conversations about a woman's virtue and honor. A gun is prominently featured in a few episodes, and evidence of honor beatings and killings is offered (but the actual acts are not shown). Parents of teens may want to watch it with them, and discuss the cultural context from which the story is told.
This show was very upsetting for me to watch. Yes it really shows bullying and the impacts, but it is also really intense. Rating it for those 12 and 11 is way to young in my opinion because they are too young to understand that payback is not a good tactic when it comes to bullying.
I’ve watched the entire first season of this show. I think it can be educational for teenagers (12 - 18) and fun for young adults (18 - 25). It’s mostly a teen drama if you’re into that. There is a lot going on that tells a lot about bullying in school. When watching it’s rather easy to relate to the main character of the show when you’ve witnessed similar behavior or when you’ve been through bullying yourself.
What's the Story?
ALRAWABI SCHOOL FOR GIRLS is a Jordanian miniseries about a group of bullied outcasts at a prestigious all-girls high school seeking revenge against their tormentors. Mariam (Andria Tayeh) is a top student who used to love going to school. But her obnoxious classmate Layan (Noor Taher), along with Rania (Joanna Arida) and Roqayya (Salsabiela A.), love to bully her and her best friend Dina (Yara Mustafa). They even start picking on new girl Noaf (Rakeen Sa'ad). But when Layan and her friends leave Mariam beaten and bloodied at the side of the road, and then manage to convince people that she brought it on herself, Mariam devises a plan to get back at each one. With the help of Noaf and Dina, she cleverly uses social media and other tactics to destroy each of her harassers. But as they do so, they begin to realize that Layan and her friends aren't all bad, and that what they are doing to them will potentially destroy their lives.
The troubling high school drama, which is dubbed and subtitled in English, shows the far-reaching consequences that bullying has on young people. It also points to how easily one can go from being the victim to becoming the tormentor when consumed with seeking revenge. However, the dark, mean girls-themed series, which was created and produced almost entirely by a cast and crew of Arab women, also reveals how being a victim of each other's harassment is further complicated by the social norms and customs to which these young, unmarried women are expected to abide.
The overall narrative is solid, and the message about the damage bullying causes is clear. However, viewers watching Alrawabi School for Girls from a Western point of view may find the way the topic ties into moral conversations about women's virtue and honor unsettling. But even those who understand the cultural context from which the story is told may be disturbed by the cold and calculated ways these teens seek to purposely manipulate their adversaries into situations that can lead to beatings, banishment from society, or worse for bringing shame upon their families. Some will find the series worth tuning into; others may find it more disconcerting than entertaining.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what motivates Layan and her friends to be so mean to Mariam and the other girls. Are Mariam's actions justified? Or is she just as bad as -- or worse than -- her peers? How are viewers supposed to feel about what happens to them in the end?
Alrawabi School for Girls features Jordanian women who are strong, educated, and social. How does this representations challenge common Western characterizations of Arab women, especially Muslim women? How might other aspects of the series reinforce Western stereotypes about Muslims, or about the Middle East in general?
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
