The Ethics and Politics of Laila Marrakchi’s Marock

Upon its release in Moroccan cinemas in 2005, Laila Marrakchi’s film Marock generated passionate and conflicting reactions from its audiences. The film’s exploration of certain “taboo” practices of the Moroccan bourgeois youth was certainly a catalyst for many conflicting reactions from its viewers. Despite its wide appeal to young and urban viewers, Marock was attacked by numerous media outlets as well as by prominent individuals in the political and the cultural arenas. The reception of the movie was obviously determined by the ideological positions of its critics. It generated a political debate that reflected the tendencies of divergent political constituencies during an important historical conjuncture. Secularists and liberals praised the filmmaker’s courage to embrace freedom of expression while conservatives, especially political parties, exploited the film to promote their ideological stances, castigating Marrakchi for using profanity and for showing disrespect for Islamic values that allegedly bind Moroccans together.