Women going to work is not a sign of progress. It's a sign of economic changes that FORCE women to work due to financial pressure. What is not right is not being able to work BECAUSE your a woman. However that being said great video. Just a few fallacies needed to be pointed out.
What you see is not Americanisation. What you see is globalisation in action. For some reason, you tend to see the American brands, but not the other brands that come from other countries… probably because you don’t know them. At least in the GCC, it’s an open market for all…. But am happy that you notice the local brands, which you should have tried…. Btw, Americana is a Kuwaiti brand of frozen foods, go figure ;p
@Dumy sébastien we are in 2021 so globalization is the normal thing. But to be honest and I'm speaking about Saudi Arabia the American influence is bigger due to that English is the second language here trading Hollywood and thousands of students who are studying in US and coming back since 80s. Like right now there are more than 110K Saudi students in US not mentioning the people who are living between the 2 countries or having business there. I mean if we compare the number of Saudis who living abroad US is the second after Egypt.
It is slightly more Americanised in food than globalised. A lot of countries around the world are full American brands due their influence and market easy entries.
@@abood6643 that's Globalization economic politics social and culture were food and entertainment parts of it. We are living in a small town butterfly effects can be in every thing.
@@Mk-rd1xd in that case, the only form of globalisation is solely American lol. It's true that globalisation has been dominated by Americanisation for many reasons, and I personally find it negative and a new form of colonisation.
Lived in Saudi Arabia for many years... And yes we grew up going to these restaurants in Riyadh. And the American products and restaurants were already available for decades, it is not new.
I was watching video of the Expo and the Global Village and in the US tons of people would be walking around with a big cup of beer. It's nice to not have to see that. I'm not a fan. I do like a glass of great wine now and then, but i can very well do without alcohol.
I don't think it's americanized, because almost every countries basically have American fastfood chains like KFC, McD, BK, PH, Domino's, Baskin Robbins, Wendy's, etc
I was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I went abroad for college in 2015 and when I got back this year after graduating (6 years later), a lot has definitely changed. I was surprised how these changes were implemented quick in the country. Great video, Uptin!
Instead of Americanization we can call it consumerization, that's synonymous with Americanization I think in my opinion. Consumerization is all about adapting to the consumer needs in other words playing to the gallery. This is what is happening, it's just like google search engine, just show what people like more, customisation is the key
Don't brother , there are still few restrictions which will make the life living hell. Better wait for few more years , they have started lifting these crazy rules still it it doesn't feel comfortable. You better visit here in Dubai , so relaxed . I tell from my experience of traveling regularly to Saudi ,oman, and my base location Abu Dhabi . UAE is the best
It's always been like this. But now all these forign brands are loosing the market for Saudi brands. For example a location here in Riyadh for Applebee's closed and century burger, a Saudi brand opened in its place. Pizza hut is now bankrupt because of maestro pizza (a Saudi brand) Saudi brands have far higher quality and innovative menu items
@@Fauzanarief-n7i albaik. This one in particular has the same alure American brands had when they first opened in Saudi. The lines have been full for 20 years hahaha
Yes I explain this at 8:30, Also so many entrepreneurs now in Saudi creating their own so competition is fierce. I guess you didn't watch the second part lol
That's all the same in GCC. All these brands can be found in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Also, many of the workers in these establishments are Filipinos and they control the music which explains the American music.
Well the world doesnt know bcz Saudi Arabia use to isolate from the world before the new Prince era... The only thing for us to know abt Saudi Arabia is from BBC, CNN, DW, ABC etc...
For information, Saudi Arabia was one of the reasons for the economic renaissance of America, because it was buying oil at discounted prices globally at the beginning of the discovery of oil, and this is the reason for an economic revival for America. America was one of the reasons for the Saudi renaissance by discovering oil and building a number of petrochemical plants, and the strength of human resources by embracing thousands of students on scholarships to study in American universities. There are brands of Saudi restaurants that rise to compete with the best American restaurants whenever they find financial support.
Well it's not about economic renaissance of America, it's about market. Here in Indonesia, almost everywhere even in smaller cities i can find anything that related to America/Western products like fastfood chains or other companies
And if USA didn't buy your oil you still be like Pakistan Pre medival times Trade is a two way street You benefitted from the great western technology by selling your oil Cheap is relative ,you were competing with iran kuwait Russia Nigeria venezuela etc in the oil market
@@robertmitchell8630 Actually, Saudi Arabia is not benefiting from the US oil consumption because the main market of the US oil imports are Canada and Mexico. The largest consumer of Saudi oil is China, so have some reading Robert! Neither of the countries mentioned by you are even in the game regarding the US oil consumption
@@mrSNEKERS True at no time have USA imported more than 15% of it's oil from Saudi But 70% of global trade is invoiced in the almighty USA$$$$ The Almighty USA$$$$ is the grease of the global economic engine
Saudi Arab has always loved Americanisation! I grew up there, Baskin Robbins, Applebee's, tgif and etc were there back then too. Do check out their channels, they show so much of the American stuff.
As a Saudi i can tell you this guy is trying so hard to add that drama factor to the video, he went to one place the mall and filmed only American brands. If there is a place that got affected by the American culture it would be east of Saudi specifically Khobar city because The company Saudi Aramco back in the 80s and 70s had a lot of American employees and they passed on their culture to the people of that city. I’m sorry but I got too annoyed he’s basically saying that we lost our culture or about to lose it in the upcoming years which is a lie.
Thank you ! The Dhahran /Khobar area is the only city which was heavily americanised due to Aramco. Even the roads and buildings were designed according to American design codes back in 1950s.
as an arab i totally salute to you it boils my blood to see these people soo happy that we lost our culture and religion and unfortunately saudis are being shown as westerners in every video about saudia
Its not only Saudi. Kuwait and Qatar are exactly same. Especially kuwait. Basically they see American culture how we see Japanese culture. Hollywood movies mainly play a big role in exporting American culture. When you are living in america you think the country doesn't have a culture . Interestingly new york city is roughly same distance to Saudi as it to Japan.
It's not really that complicated, the same process happened in my home country. As we opened up to the world the first place where you could get fast food, see movies and go shopping was at the American Military base at Keflavik. On weekends people would go there to shop, eat and party. When teh country started developing it's own shopping malls, own movie theatres, own restraunts, own discoteques etc. the one we made were all on teh american model and often using american franchises, especially the ones already established by the US military (easier supply chain). The same will have happened for Saudi, only here it's not just the US military providing the seed, but also Saudi Aramco, which brings in tens of thousands of foreigners to work who want the comforts of home.
lol i’m saudian and this isn’t the truth saudi wasn’t even close to what you see right now I’ll admit our country has changed so much over the past 6 years but if i compare ksa back in 2010 to 2020 it will be 2020 is what makes the most change in here i’m happy for this change but no saudi was a whole different country 20 years ago
i'm a saudi and each region has many types of traditional foods that foreigners know nothing about americanisation harmed us more with its unhealthy food and high obesity rate
Love the saudi-based content. it would be great if you could make a video essay like this - on expatriates in KSA - the kind of impact they leave in the Kingdom :)
Let me help you find the answer: ultra-capitalism (aka oligarchy) which both countries share. This American culture of popularised everything and overconsumption is at the centre of capitalistic societies. The more capitalist the more American.
I dont get it when they say ‘modernise’.Is modernisation restricted to concerts, a change of attire or cinemas? If you want to modernise, start with educational institutes, encourage the exchange of ideas, ease of business. But instead the entire focus is placed on indulgence of the youth, while schools remain closed. Indulgence is not wrong, but a lot of it without any sense of responsibility for the youth is dangerous. Conducting business has been made extremely difficult and expensive. Outsourcing employees and materials is a hassle. The market is extremely hostile for small business owners.Saudi has good points, it is peaceful and laidback, but racism is also prevalent. The treatment of people of any Asian ethnicity is completely different from other Arabs or Caucasians. Improvement doesn’t come from building skyscrapers and concerts, it comes from internal improvements, ethics and a focus on education.
I’ve been in the US for more than two years. The restaurants in Saudi are way better than here especially McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Applebees, Chili’s, etc. I don’t know why but you can’t feel the difference until you try them
The reason is that alot of US brands invested in Saudi during the 20th century and Saudi to this day has the largest percentage of EXPATS compared to other large countries.
@@n7eet dude most of our expat from west Aisa or maybe Egyptians never see them buying from and fast food restaurants they prefer cheap restaurants offers something close to their own culture food
No equivalent domestic stores? I would rather have an authentic Saudi meal or store where profits returns back to the Saudi economy rather than profits going outside and to foreign countries.
Yes there are local saudi restaurants when you can get the traditional white rice based meals, they’re everywhere along with the common arabian food restaurants
Hi Ali, I have subscribed to your site. Reviewing this video, It brings back memories. I worked in Jeddah for a year on the GSE Tunnel, engineering. I really love the Saudi's they are wonderful people. Small world. Nice video. David
@@pierrethetrex6106 No its not but its just more common that there are bars/liqour stores compared to milkshake spots.. in the 50's there was alot of milkshake spots but not anymore
This is True in Jeddah and Riyadh, but during my umrah trip in Mecca and Madina few years ago, it did not look like this, there are no movie cinemas in Hajj/umrah quarter of the both cities, all restaurants are separated between Men and Women. And all shops were indeed closed during praying time at least 15-30 minutes. The most international chain I saw in Saudi back in my umrah trip was international Hotel chain you name it, Hilton, Fairmont, Movenpick,Hyatt, Intercontinental, they have it all... I also saw one and the only Starbucks in Madina near Nabawi Mosque. Never saw McDonald's at Hajj Quarter in both holy cities. For the brands inside the supermarket, it is either Turkish, Egyptian, or indeed American.
أمركة السعودية ؟ اعتقد ان العنوان غير مناسب فالأصح أن نقول انفتاح السعودية لجميع المستثمرين بلا قيود لكسب الخبرات وتبادل المنافع خصوصا أن السعودية حاليا تعيش عصر ذهبي واقتصاد منتعش وأرض خصبة لكل المستثمرين المحليين أو الأجانب، أمريكا أثرت على العالم أجمع بثقافتها الغربية وهذا ناتج من قيادتها للعالم بسبب قوة الإقتصاد وحسن الإدارة لذلك من الطبيعي أن ترى الناس منفتحين لكل ما هو أمريكي وهذا طبيعي جدا في النهاية اتمنى لك رحلة ممتعة.
Dude! Saudi Arabia has a Sharp Pizza but we no longer do?! I’m so jealous! As an 80s kid, I have lots of good memories of the Sharp Pizzas we had in the malls back when we even had malls. 🤣🤣💕
The UAE designed it’s cities in such an old fashioned car centric way, developments like this would fail in the US and other western countries because malls are seen as trashy and suburban and people prefer shopping on bustling streets in neighborhoods
Well i wouldn't say that malls are considered trashy and suburban lol. I live at the border of switzerland with Italy and there are a lot of big (and i mean really big) malls only between my city and Milan. Also Dubai and The gulf countries are basically built by slaves
@@diegogervasoni3432 wtf you mean gcc built by slaves? It was work opportunities they came get paid for the job and don't say anything cuz if it's really bad for them why millions of them still coming until this day? Many of them built homes and provides their family support no other countries could offer them jobs even their own so stop spreading BS
@@Doai55 actually many "paid workers" are just pakistani, Indian and nepalese immigrants that the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia literally use as slaves since they stole their visas and passports and their working conditions are awful (more than 6000 deaths in just building the f*cking qatar 2022 stadium). And what i hate the most is that the western world criticize China, North Korea and Cuba but not those far worse totalitarian regimes.
You have to remember Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman have no production of their own. You also have to remember that the America literally owned and controlled the oil industry until the nationalization.
@@valmal2659 soft-power and English being the sole economic language that everyone understands- the Chinese won’t be able to replicate such things to the extent the Americans have in soft power.
I’m glad they have been moving with the times. The UAE did it a little over 20 years ago, now it’s time for Saudi Arabia to put themselves on the global map.
🙃it is very normal to see a foreign company in any country not just saudi. we do our business the way we want not bcs of america . even street designs we chose it our selves not bcs of you
Idk fam.. i could go to the lulu hypermarket or indian and say that saudi is indianized.. saudi was a hub for globalisation even before vision 2030 was proposed but of course cant blame your presuppositions either when we have narrative crafting press establishment in the mainstream (..i mean some do) but yeah you did actually showed the domestic owned ones so.. u cool
@@December202 the only way for you to live forever is science more specifically genomics. You won’t see these days but future generations will be almost immortal. So your stupid religion will die as well
@@Jess-737 Show respect? Here is a quote from Quran for you Jessica. "Men are in charge of women, as Allah has made one of them superior to the other, and because men spend their wealth for the women; so virtuous women are the reverent ones, guarding behind their husbands the way Allah has decreed guarding; and the women from whom you fear disobedience, (at first) advise them and (then) do not cohabit with them, and (lastly) beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek to do injustice to them; indeed Allah is Supreme, Great.""
dude this is the world in 2021 you can see a lot of famous reastaurants in every where you go in the universe, whatever where it is from and not just reastaurants actully every thing, cafes ,clothes brands etc... and this is a good thing 👌thx
To be honest you can see most American product in almost every countries in the world . The american brands has wider reach than most people ever realised. Even before the saudi started being more open & slightly more liberal , most american products and brands has been there much longer
@@thepoorsultan5112 i am talking about brands and not about where it is made. Yes the majority of product is made in china . 🤦🏻♂️ Almost all categories of brands you can see there is a company own by USA . Tell me the name of a food outlet under a company own by china in saudi arabia ? 😏 Is it big like Starbuck , McDonald ..etc ?
Fast food chains do not represent development, it will have a negative effect on peoples health, obesity is sky rocketing in Saudi Arabia, There are several articles about that, Not a good move, they should focus on more organic food market. Looks like Crown Prince is more focused on Americanisation than globalisation. To implement a new ways of economic stability they should not focus/rely on just one country, it will affect Saudi Arabia badly in future.
This kind of modernization will disappear when oil price is below the profitability of production. When the economy goes down those stores will be the first one to go. You have to modernize in social and cultural aspect of society. When i say modernize I'm not talking about listening to American music, or smoking. I'm talking about having a society driven by knowledge, where your main resource is your human capital. Society and government built based on meritocracy. Where people can not just study quran and the gov pays them. What is the point in saying this because nothing will change.
You came to Saudi to try Applebee’s!!Instead of going to a more local Saudi restaurants you decided to go to Applebee’s ??? Saudi‘s not Americanized just because it has Macdonald or kfc and having cereal in the supermarkets 😭😂😂 if that’s so more than half of the world is then, doesn’t make since
Americanisation is not new to countries like KSA. In fact, it's very popular across the GCC, especially Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I was raised in Kuwait and lived there for 16 years before moving to Australia. Ive been to Saudi a couple of times too. Just have a look at the cars they drive. Crown vics, Chevy Caprice, Tahoe's, Suburbans, Expeditions, durangos. Americanisation has been happening since the early 70s in these countries. Kuwait had its first KFC in 1971. Nothing new here!
@@plataoplomo9096 YOU had to remember that didn't you. Yes, he said that and was holding up a copy of a contract of some thing ...so disgusting and oh gee, we coud possible get him back!!!!! I'm glad I'm old.
Nah, actually we love to welcome people to work here but this is just a mall Saudi Arabia is bigger than Germany 5 times 😂 so used your mind and come here to see
It only happened during MBS time where he enforced western culture and oppressed all religious and traditionalists. Hence, it can backfire very soon. Or he continues in his spanish inquisition.
6:50 thats not neal story, my sis used to go to mall with her friends every weekend ( still they does) its from very before also i used to go to mall alone
Consumerization or Globalization might be a better world. BTW those restaurant owners could be Philippino, Indonesian, Chinese, American ,etc and they decide the music.
*While malls are dying in the US, they are thriving in other countries. These countries are still living at least 50 years behind. Not to mention, more organic and healthy food chains are growing in the US.*
@@knightara My point of view is not narrow, my point of view is 2021. Why don't you ask MBS about his point of view where he sends his squads around the world on a killing spree? Remember Khashoggi?
I love your channel. It helps me to understand middle east much better. Could you tell me where you are oridinally from? Okay where your ancestors come from.
Jeddah has always been the most liberal city in Saudi Arabia by far. Even before the liberalization wave they had private beaches with bikinis while the rest of the country had public floggings and executions.
sorry but those stores was here for the past 20 years and probably even more. that guy your maneuvering with is clueless. only thing sort of new is cheesecake factory which was like 6-8 years ago
Awesome video. It’s very similar here in the UAE. Think a balance needs to be struck between modernising and holding onto some of the remarkable cultural elements of the Middle East.
@@EMKWANREVIEWS yes you're right that's why more middle eastern women run to the west and tell their horrific stories. Eg:- Ruler of Dubai's daughter and his wife. And many more!
@@alystero8838 you believe mainstream media as always which tries to make the middle east look more dangerous and EMKWAN REVIEWS isn't wrong so called rahaf al-qanōn left to canada only to commit adultery give birth to a child and abandon many men mates such advanced societies you have
Arabian gulf countries always had Americans brand in there market long years back but the produc is in suadi. Beside we have to many other brands as well
That is not americanization it is globalization. See US been there for almost 250+ years which obviously explains the advancement in all aspects there. Saudi Arabia (3rd kingdom) is only 90. And with all that sudden wealth due to oil there’s a huge demand, there are many restaurants, coffee shops, etc other than American. Due to this huge demand many companies flood into saudi markets, which also explains why most shops belongs to foreign companies. Anyways it is now changing, and we can see new local coffee shops and restaurants chain taking back the control. Overall excellent video Thanks
@@shazzadahmed2682 As if there's only two countries in the world that produce oil. Oh you might be an Indian and your economy thrives on scamming people you scammer
Not only that, even famous American programs such as Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Bell, American series are accepted, but there are still a lot of local products that exist, but they are not accepted by the general public
No it’s not surprising trust me, the mall was empty because a hot country like Saudi Arabia is a night country (What I mean by this is that malls and everyone starts leaving home at midnight because the weather is not hot at that moment) so when people start leaving at night you will see this very commonly, just don’t get brain watched by media, the “Human rights” or “Women rights” are just a political tool.
As I forgot at minute 8:15, there are two women with her hair, Saudi Arabia is a diverse country and everyone is free in their appearance and clothes, go yourself to a shopping or entertainment center and you will see a great diversity in appearance and dress, the issue is personal freedom and not coercion
@@robertmitchell8630 I hate liberalism and I support Islamic law strongly in our Muslim countries. I am a proud Muslim woman . Modern humans because of liberalism are becoming like animals ( no disrespect it’s true sadly ) Look at the USA 🇺🇸 it was a Judeo Christian country with morals and dignity now they’re discussing killing babies in their Congress all in the name of their satanic freedom.
Lol, uptin is so immersed in American culture to the point his family migrated to the U.S. and now he is vertue signaling cultural preservation! The level of hypocrisy is so sickening
11:35 its not that attendant was missing, the Ministry of culture keyosk wasnt operable, its usually on to sponsor events (Fine Art / Performance Art) on weekends or holidays and usually the evening time.
You need to understand the Saudi people love and hate mentality toward the West "U.S" , we love buying and consuming their products but , we hate their women and LGBTQ rights agenda , democracy , freedom of religions , expressions and choice .
@@tallllloo you are so insecure about saudi arabia that even if anyone praises saudi arabia, you get offended by it. Well, I was my mistake to say good thing about saudi arabia in the first place.
Glad to see increased liberalisation in economy and ideas in Saudi. Hoping to see abolition of enforced dress code for women and it is left to them to choose veiled or not.
Keep dreaming Why don’t you abolish enforced dress code for women in the western world and left it to women to dress or walk naked Would you make walking naked legal? Keep your liberal opinions to yourself
I live in Saudi and no one force these women to be veiled or even abaya as matter of fact. They wear it assume because they are used to it and its their culture I guess. But no there is no law for abaya even. You just have to wear modestly.
It's funny when Americans talk about human rights and freedom about other countries. Sometimes the villain isn't in some place far but in your own home
