From America to Egypt: Transcoding and Indigenizing Dick’s Do

Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into Sami’s The End

1. Zahraa Oday Hatem, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

2. Azra Ghandeharion* (Corresponding Author), Associate Professor of English

Literature and Cultural Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Associate
Professor, [email protected]
3. Josef Kraus, Assistant Professor, Masaryk University

Abstract

This article aims to study the shift of context in the adaptation of Dick’s Do

Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1999) from its American world into the Arab

World of Sami’s The End (2020). Through adapting the novel into an Arabic science

fiction series, Dick’s text travelled into a different world. Whereas the novel is set in

1992, San Francisco, America, the fictional setting of the series is 2120, Jerusalem.

This change of context is not just a matter of variation. Many forces and factors also

accompany this shift indicating the transformations in the adaptation. Benefitting

from Hutcheon’s theory of adaptation, this paper demonstrates the idea of

transcoding; in other words, it will be shown where the transposition of the novel’s

world to the series’ world required a set of adjustments or alterations in responding to

several purposes like that of the medium. Furthermore, this issue indicates the notion

of indigenization that denotes a wide-ranging of transformations governed by the

intercultural encounter like transforming the social and cultural connotations. By

focusing on the spiritual and historical values of Jerusalem in the Arab World, this

paper is able to highlight the shift of the apocalyptic vision from America as the

center of the world in the novel to Jerusalem as the series’ major setting. It is also

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attempted in this paper to stand behind the power of time and place in re-embodying

the story of the source text into the new Arabic version, including its religious and

political aspects, the characteristics, and the plotline. Therefore, analysing different

aspects of The End can show that the transformations applied by adapting the novel

were mainly inspired by the socio-political aspects of the current century. It is found

that the alteration of the political valance, language, and cultural association were

enhanced by indigenizing (Arabcizing) the context of the source text. As a result, the

significance of updating Dick’s novel rather than backdating it is to reduce the gap

between the early text of the novel and the contemporary Arab audiences.

Keywords: Adaptation Studies, Science Fiction, Indigenization, Transcoding, Dick’s

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Sami’s The End.

1. Introduction

In this paper, the first research question that addresses transcoding and

indigenizing the context of Dick’s American novel Do Androids Dream of Electric

Sheep? (1999) into Sami’s The End (2020) as its adapted Egyptian TV series will be

tackled. In order to achieve this aim, Hutcheon and O’Flynn’s theory of adaptation

will be adopted. Benefiting from the 20th-century American historical background

and that of the 21st-century Arab World will help highlighting those political and

social aspects that contribute to shaping the adapted work and its adaptation. In

addition, the analysis of the move from the novel’s world to that of the series will

draw on the various characteristics of American and Arab science fiction.

Hutcheon and O’Flynn (2013) state that while adapting, adapters often seek to

update rather than backdate adaptations in order to diminish the gap between the

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previously-produced and the contemporary works (p. 146). Subsequently, scrutinizing

the adjustments of Dick’s novel into Sami’s series such as the adjustments of the

context and the story will lead to the provision of a background for answering the

third research question; this question chiefly intends to examine the similarities and

differences between the novel and its Arabic adaptation regarding their plots, themes,

and characterization.

2. The Transformation of the Context of Dick’s Do Androids Dream

of Electric Sheep? (1999) into Sami’s The End (2020)

For Hutcheon and O’Flynn (2013), adaptation indicates re-embodying without

replication since a set of modifications for several aspects is inevitable, including

adapters, context, audience, and form (p. 2). Just like the adapted work, any

adaptation is constantly set in the frame of a context, where such features as time,

place, culture, society, and language are portrayed (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p.

142). What forms the dialogue of the adapted work with its adaptation is that they

both have a share in the ability of the context in modifying the meaning and the

reception of a story. It is because in adaptation the context of reception is exactly as

integral as the context of creation (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 149).

Besides, another valuable dialogue arises between works and their recipient

society. Still, what is more significant about the transcultural shift in adaptation is not

centered around a translating process; but, those cultural and social elements that need

to be signified and modified to the new context (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, pp. 142-

145). Therefore, the cultural, religious and philosophical changes would be liable to

make what is known as the “gaps” that require filling the dramaturgical respects

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which would be depicted as physical, linguistic, or even as kinetic (Hutcheon &

O’Flynn, 2013, pp. 148-150).

It is necessary for the adapter to adjust the story of the work and such aspects

as fashions and values in order to make it suitable for the new context of reception

(Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, pp. 142-143). This was represented in The End (2020),

where Yasser Sami reproduced Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in spite of the

several changes that were required. Sami transformed the time and place of the novel,

as Dick’s story was set in the 20th-century America, while the series is set in the 21st-

century Egypt. In addition, the changes that happen concerning the time and the place

of the adaptation have affected the interpretation of many aspects like the cultural

associations.

2.1.The Transcoding the Context

This section follows the process of transposing the American novel Do

Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into an Egyptian Screen adaptation of Sami’s The

End. The opening part of this section will emphasize transcoding the setting from San

Francesco into Jerusalem. The second part will study how the time transcoded from

1992 of the novel into 2120 of the series.

2.1.1. Setting: San Francesco into Jerusalem

The adjustments of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into an Egyptian

series required Yasser Sami to change the English language into Arabic characterized

with an Egyptian dialect. Likewise, The End series pushed Dick’s novel from San

Francisco Peninsula toward Jerusalem that is a religiously holy city. Along with a

long history, the city of Jerusalem represents a homeland for Arabs as it holds a

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spiritual and national value for them. Given the historical dimension of the city and

the plurality of religions that have settled on its land, Jerusalem often represents a

holy city for believers in the Monotheistic religions (Morris, 2008, pp. 1-2).

For the Jews, the whole land of Palestine and the city of Jerusalem in

particular, hold a religious cachet. They believe that this land signifies the divinely

promised homeland for the Jews. Similar to the Christians, this land also holds a

special spiritual value for them as Jesus was born, preached, and died there. As for

Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. At the beginning

of the Islamic expansion and the imposition of prayer on the believers in the Islamic

religion, Muslims were heading towards this city in their prayers. According to a

Quranic interpretation, it was from Jerusalem that Prophet Muhammad started his

nighttime journey to heaven (Morris, 2008, pp. 1-2). Al-Aqsa Mosque is also located

in the city of Jerusalem and many other historical and religious monuments, which are

highly valuable particularly for Muslims (Morris, 2008, p. 2).

The geographical history of Palestine is divergent, principally as it is part of

the original homeland of man (Casto, 1937, p. 235). The center of the old world

represents the precise location of Palestine in the Asian southwest where the southern

part of the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean is (Casto, 1937, p. 235). This

distinguishable location leads the country to be a land bridge that connects separate

areas of the world, such as Asia with Africa, the Atlantic with the Indian Ocean, and

the Mediterranean with the Red Sea (Casto, 1937, pp. 235-236). As for the Arab

World, Palestine is fixed in the Asian portion in the southwest of the Levant, exactly

between the Mediterranean in the west and the Jordan River in the east (Casto, 1937,

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p. 236). Furthermore, the geographical location of Palestine is in the middle of many

Arab countries, and hence it is easy for Palestine to link land with the neighboring

Arab countries (Casto, 1937, pp. 236-237). The Palestinian coastal plain forms a link

between the coastal plain of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and North Africa, moreover,

Jezreel Valley is considered as one of the most important links between Palestine and

the Jordan Valley (Casto, 1937, pp. 238-239).

The importance of the geographical location of Jerusalem often stems from

many geographical, religious, and even commercial reasons. It is located on a plateau

on a mountain range called Jibal Al-Khalil which settles its location between the Dead

Sea and the Mediterranean. What stands for the importance of this geographical map

is the ease with which one can reach the different parts of the country. In addition,

many commercial lines take Jerusalem as a transit point. From a military point of

view, Jerusalem’s geographical location has a dual effect that derives from being

geographically fortified, providing natural protection to the city, and having the

possibility of facile connection with the surrounding areas; this was the reason for the

growing danger of occupation on Palestine and its surroundings in case of conquering

Jerusalem (Mushtaha & Al-Louh, 2015, pp. 92-93).

Throughout the history, Jerusalem witnessed several conflicts, including the

Roman Empire, biblical times, and Crusades (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 4). In

December 1917, the British seized control over Jerusalem. Subsequently, Edmund

Allenby as a British general disposed of the Ottoman Turkish defenders (Boshnaq et

al., 2017, para. 1). Out of respect for this holy city, Allenby entered on foot to the Old

City after dismounting his horse, and ever since, there have been fights over the city

6
by Muslims, Jews, Christians, in different ways (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 2). The

current Israeli and Palestinian conflict over this land with roots in nationalism,

colonialism, and anti-Semitism passed through pivotal moments of the 20th century

until the modern days (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 4).

Religious visions were not the only motives behind the Zionists’ existence in

Palestine (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 8). In 1947, the United States usurped control of

the Palestinians’ destiny by promoting the establishment of the Israeli state and

amalgamating it with Palestine on one land (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 11). In fact,

Americans approved of a partition plan of the country with a special international

regime that governs Jerusalem owing to its distinct status (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para.

11).

The partition plan of Palestine strongly intensified the Arab-Israeli conflict as

the Arabs rejected the plan and attacked the newly established state of Israel only after

one day of announcing its independence in 1948 (Boshnaq et al., 2017, para. 12).

Throughout the history of the Arab-Israeli struggle, the American attitude and manner

has shown support and solidarity with Israel, and until the present day, the Zionists

have been mostly able to endure in their war against the Arabs through the

Americans’ cooperation (Morris, 2008, pp. 50-55).

Moreover, the first decades of the current century insisted on the American-

Israeli collaboration under the pretense of fighting a common conflict against terror,

especially when the Israeli politicians took advantage of the suicide bombings that

accompanied the Second Intifada to convince the United States of having a common

intention (Rogan, 2009, p. 238). Arab nationalism holds the dream of Arab World’s

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liberation from the dominant external powers that are largely represented by the

American and Israeli domination, which triggered an everlasting conflict against the

enemies (Rogan, 2009, p. 238).

All those mentioned facts about the religious, geographical, commercial, and

historical status of Jerusalem and its extremely valuable position for Arab nationalism

stand for choosing Jerusalem as the promised future city in Sami’s The End. In The

End as the adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which was first

publicized in 1968, Sami traveled from the world of the novel that settled in 1992 San

Francisco, America, toward 2120 Jerusalem, Palestine. Philip K. Dick in his dystopian

text set the novel’s events in the post-apocalyptic peninsula of San Francisco.

The description of the novel’s world demonstrates the remaining damaging

effects of the apocalyptic event occurred on earth, which is represented by a nuclear

global war called World War Terminus. World War Terminus caused the devastation

of much of the earth and diffusion of radioactive dust, the “dust which had

contaminated most of the planet’s surface” (Dick, 1999, p. 20). Therefore, many

themes of the novel like encouraging people to leave the earth and move to the space

colonies, the extinction of most animal species, and the domination of technology on

human life are viewed as the predictable results of the war.

Such issues as Dick’s demonstration of the nuclear global war, his

representation of America as the world’s dominant power, and the insecurity out of

San Francisco denote the world’s picture at the time the novel was written. Dick lived

through the most crucial events of the last century like World War II that ended up

with America and the Soviet Union as two leading superpowers in the world. Dick

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(1999) reflected upon this experience in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by

merely mentioning the possibility of life existence in Russia, in American, and on

Mars (p. 38).

In addition to the Cold War and the several crises that accompanied it like the

Cuban Missile Crises and the threat of launching nuclear missiles in the same decade

through which Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was written, this 1960s science

fiction reflects on how the atomic weapons shoved the public insight toward

predicting imminent devastation of the planet through radioactive doom (Huntington,

1989, p. 2). Besides, Dick’s novel connotes the last century’s Space Race of achieving

superior spaceflights through the idea of encouraging people to abandon the earth

toward space colonies (Attebery, 2003, p. 32). Thus, it serves as an example of the

most common characteristic of the 20th-century American science fiction texts that

imply the outer space explorations (Attebery, 2003, p. 32).

2.1.2. Time: 1992 to 2120

The 20th century was an American century, when the country imposed its

power and prosperity. Even the last decade of the last century, the time span Dick

decided to employ as his presupposed time in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,

witnessed the end of the Cold War mostly in favor of the American side, which

implied Dick’s predictions of the American predominance at that time (Remini, 2008,

p. 303). The turn of the current century is characterized by the Arab-American

collision and the rapid succession of events in its first decades. The century

experienced its first shock on Sep 11th, 2001, with suicide attacks in America (Rogan,

2017, p. 630).

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 The entire Arab nationalism was obliged to bear the burden of the involvement

of a number of Arab terrorists who were affiliated with Al-Qaeda, as they carried out

those attacks (Rogan, 2009, p. 630). Therefore, America started the war against

terrorism as an excuse for unlimited intrusions in Arab affairs. In an accelerated

manner, the overlap of events inside and outside the Arab World led to the escalation

of the Arab struggle against the Zionist presence on the Palestinian territories,

especially with the events of the Second Intifada (Rogan, 2009, p. 655). Then, it

matched with the Arab Spring revolutions, which embodied the Arabs’ desire for

political changes and eliminating the burdens of oppression and injustice (Sadiki,

2015, pp. 20-25).

Approximately all of the challenges and struggles that accompany the Arab

World history at home and aboard, particularly those of modern history, feed the

process of adjusting Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into The End as its

Arabic adaptation. The depiction of the Arabs’ challenges toward achieving freedom

required altering the American dystopia of the novel to an Egyptian dystopia that is

seen in the TV series. The End transformed the post-apocalyptic representation of the

novel into an Arab post-apocalyptic manifestation through which the events are set in

Jerusalem on the wreck of the apocalyptic event of a global war called Jerusalem

liberation.

The war has altered the mapping of power worldwide by postulating the Arabs

as a leading superpower that leads the demise of Israel and the disintegration of the

United States. Thus, the series projected an apocalyptic vision from a different angle,

which can be represented by turning the world’s balance of power upside down. As

10
the title of the series, The End, shows this adaptation aims at depicting an end to a

long history of being controlled by the current world’s superpowers. The series is set

in 2120 in order to present a futuristic vision that looks one hundred years ahead,

when the Arabs are at the forefront of the world.

The End also reinforces its apocalyptic vision through its final episode, which

demonstrates the spread of electromagnetic waves as the result of launching a missile

that leads to the spoliation of all shapes of technology on the planet Earth and a return

to primitive life (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:20:00). Do Androids Dream of Electric

Sheep? also portrays the miserable case of the world by indicating the remaining

effects of World War Terminus. It shows the earth’s destruction and the spread of

radioactive dust, which encourages people to leave the planet toward Mars by

manufacturing humanoid robots as servants (Dick, 1999, p. 21). Do Androids Dream

of Electric Sheep? denotes the Rosen Association, which is a manufacturer of those

humanoid robots. This Association exemplifies the leading companies or those who

acquire power and control the social structure (Dick, 1999, p. 27).

Sami’s adaptation of the novel pursues a similar way of depicting the world

after the Jerusalem Liberation War, with nuclear radiation, and controlling people’s

fate by means of three major companies, including Energy Co., Green Co., and

Education Co.. Energy Co. keeps controlling the world’s energy sources which

intensifies its stinginess by making sure that no one remains out of its loyalty benefits

or produces energy. Green Co. monopolizes the food rations and imposes its

starvation policy on people. Education Co. also governs the educational system in

11
Jerusalem and forbids any curricula outside its specified courses for the purpose of

promoting the authority and hegemony of the forces that control Jerusalem.

Figure 1.

The gloominess of the futuristic city of

Jerusalem in the 1st episode (Atef & Sami,

2020, 00:17:33) (Source:

https://images.app.goo.gl/qbk98mf7FPqUvewg7)

Additionally, Sami’s adaptation shows Jerusalem as a city devoid of modern

urbanization which is teemed with destruction, abandoned buildings, and dilapidated

housing, as this adaptation aims to meet the novel’s embodiment of the impacts of the

radioactive dust and people’s immigration toward the space colonies with lots of

abandoned buildings and a sense of dismalness everywhere, “he wondered, then, if

the others who had remained on Earth experienced the void this way” (Dick, 1999, p.

22).

Hutcheon and O’Flynn (2013) argue that context includes the material

considerations (p. 142). Similarly, materiality implicated in the mode of engagement

and adaptation’s medium, as the print type in a book, television screen size, or the

specific platform of playing a game all represent an aspect of the context of reception

and creation at the same time (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, pp. 142-143).

Furthermore, the preparedness for production and reception can count on the rightness

of the historical moment (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 143).

The producers of the Arabic adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric

Sheep? have selected the televisual screen to be the medium of their work. Sami’s The

12
End (2020) was initially released on April 24th, which corresponds to the month of

Ramadan in the Hijri Calendar. Undoubtedly, this Arab televisual production reaches

its intended reception within Ramadan when the audiences wait for new productions

through the television screen (Bouamra & Hamlawy, 2015, para. 1). What added to

the sense of well-timed production of The End at the time of its first release is that

both the series and the month of Ramadan denote a spiritual issue for the audiences.

The Arab Muslim audiences are immersed in religious rituals of Ramadan, which

provide a mental readiness to interact and accept the series quest, particularly as it

deals with the spiritual value of Jerusalem for the whole Arab nationalism.

The context also involves such facets as the presentation and reception, the

adaptation’s size and its media hype, its reviews, press coverage, and advertising.

Another important element for the reception context is the celebrity status that the

stars and the director enjoy (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 143). The official trailer

of The End excited the curious audience with its fast pace and by showing the laser

guns, flying vehicles, humanoid robots, interrupted interesting dialogues, and so many

other aspects that make the audience eagerly wait for The End (Morsi, 2020). After

releasing the series, many interviews were conducted with the author, director, and its

protagonist, in addition, the first episode through which Zain explained Jerusalem

Liberation War for his students stimulated wide press coverage (Atef & Sami, 2020,

00:25:27).

According to The Jerusalem Post, The End predicted the demise of Israel for

the Israeli Foreign Ministry (Harkov, 2020, para. 1). The Ministry found this

prediction as unacceptable and unfortunate, especially because there is a peace

13
agreement between Egypt and Israel (Harkov, 2020, para. 7). What enhances the

series publicity is its famous screenwriter Amr Samir Atef as the winner of the State

Incentive Award in 1998 (TV, 2020). In addition, the other reason for this series’

popularity is its protagonist Youssef El Sherif who has been a famous Egyptian actor

since the early years of the first decade in the current century (Muhamed, 2020, para.

1).

“Whether an adapted work is shown, told, or interacted with, it will steadily

arise in specific time duration and space in society, furthermore, very short stretches

of time can often alter the context even within the very same culture and place”

(Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 144). Therefore, in the 21st century, the Egyptian

recipients will experience Dick’s novel differently. Dick’s representation of the

replicants (androids) emphasizes their longing to be treated equally as human beings.

The novel’s title denotes androids ambition to become human-like by having electric

sheep, which is the same as the real humans in the novel who are resolute in having

animals. Dick argues that his androids’ greatest deterrent is their limited age because

of their cell replacement problem (Dick, 1999, p. 139).

In a modern world that is invaded by the presence of technology and robots to

the extent that they compete with humans within various fields, The End embodies the

Androids’ hatred of human beings. The series’ androids have no cell replacement

problem to solve and no quest to live on earth just like humans; however, they have a

more revolutionary position that guides them to plan a complete eradication of the

human race, which will ultimately enable them to take control over the world.

14
2.2.The Indigenizing of the Context

This section will be divided into two parts that trace indigenizing the context

of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into Sami’s The End. The first part will

trace indegienizing the social roles. The second part of the current section will focus

on indigenizing the plot of the novel into the series.

2.2.1. Social Roles: Occupation and Gender

The move from the novel’s world to the contemporary world of the Egyptian

TV series’ adaptation is also identified by the differences in women’s representation.

In literature, the portrayal of women often changes according to the changeability of

women’s social role over time (Celis & Childs, 2011, p. 215). In comparison with the

last century, the current century faces continual changes in belief and open-

mindedness. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? provides a sexual lens upon the

female body by emphasizing women’s physical characteristics, just like the way

through which characters like Luba Luft and Pris Stratton are introduced in the novel.

When Rick met Ratchel for the very first time, he saw her as “Black-haired

and slender, wearing the new huge dust-filtered glasses, she approached his car, her

hands deep in the pockets of her brightly striped long coat. She had, on her sharply

defined face, an expression of sullen distaste” (Dick, 1999, pp. 33-34). Furthermore,

Iran (Deckard’s wife) is shown as a woman who has no job, and just stays home

although she has no children to look after; here, the wife is embodied as a dependent

woman while her husband is the breadwinner.

15
Figure 2.

Sabah’s joy of finishing her humanoid robot in the 3rd episode (Atef & Sami, 2020,

00:32:53) (Source:

https://images.app.goo.gl/xNVqASgvQ

Vmudiui8)

Still, the move toward a

21st-century conservative Arab society of The End provides an embodiment that

refrains addressing women from a sexual point of view. Within the Arab adaptation,

women enjoy more active roles. For example, Radwa, the protagonist’s pregnant wife

works as a manager in Green Co. Sabah used her dead father’s experience of

manufacturing robots in order to make an android clone from the protagonist as she is

still in love with him even after they broke up and he married Radwa. Hence, the

series gives the female character the ability to be the maker of Zain, the robot which

takes many events of the series to another turn. Other instances involve many working

women and those in the positions of power in the adaptation.

Almost always, the move from the original work to its transcultural adaptation

is influenced politically (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 145). The text of Do

Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? epitomizes Rick Deckard as the American hand

of political power and order. As it is identified in the novel, the major risk that faces

the security of life in San Francisco is the escaping androids from the space colonies

to the earth, especially of those advanced androids from Nexus-6 design. San

Francisco Police Department assigns the task of hunting those escaped androids to

their bounty hunter Deckard (Dick, 1999, p. 27).

16
 Therefore, the text moved on to focus on the development of Deckard’s

mission with its ups and downs; it sounds like throwing the burden on a policeman’s

shoulder to solve all the story’s complications. The novel described its protagonist

with his faults and merits; it intensifies with his journey’s motives and struggles until

the story reaches the end when Deckard successfully finishes the mission riding out

the imminent danger and revealing so many truths about the details of the story (Dick,

1999, pp. 155-157).

In contrast to Dick’s policeman protagonist, Sami’s The End re-embodied its

protagonist Zain as an engineer chased by the policemen. This alteration happens

because of the American society’s belief in its government and its political system’s

policy toward the Arab World. The Arabs’ long history of struggle with corrupted

regimes and politicians will provide a completely different portrayal of the policemen

and those who are in charge.

The TV series adaptation mostly depends on the character of Mones, the

officer, in order to define the hand of power in the future world of the novel. Mones is

described as a security man at Energy Co. who is also responsible for the safety of

Jerusalem. In addition, the acts of many other characters like the security

administrator prove the total corruption of the political system.

Engineer Zain who is working successfully in Energy Co. discovers an energy

cube charged by the sun that will solve the problem of the world’s energy shortage,

while instead of being praised, it turned into a curse that destroyed his life (Atef &

Sami, 2020). All the politicians and those in charge hope for the continuity of this

power poverty as it guarantees people’s preoccupation with hunger, poverty, and

17
chaos, and inattentiveness about their crimes (Atef & Sami, 2020). Therefore, in the

first episode, the responsible authorities in the company in which Zain works conduct

an investigation with him and issue a stern warning so that he would abandon his

innovation (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:18:24).

Figure 3.

The end of Zain’s struggles in the Alwaha in the last episode (Atef & Sami,

2020, 0:08:51) (Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/oXANvQDoVHGEkT9g8).

Later on, in the third episode,

the governors announce Zain as

wanted to justice because he is forced

to use his own invented energy cube in

the hospital where his wife gave birth, since the hospital building is devoid of electric

power which obstructs the operation of medical devices (Atef & Sami, 2020,

00:42:02). Officer Mones is working full time in order to be able to catch Zain; even

in the last episode of the series, with sinister pleasure of victory on his face, Mones

puts Zain inside the freezing box (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:14:09).

Figure 4.

Mones’ private dirty deal in the 28th

episode (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:23:43)

(Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/

6WonZmD2YrsqhUEh6).

18
 The episode twenty eight emphasizes the negative portrayal of the policemen

in the Arab adaptation is the scene where Mones makes a dirty deal with Engineer

Ghufran to bring him the robots’ brains that Sabah possesses (internationally banned

machines) (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:23:43). This deal depends on Ghufran’s providing

him with enough information about a place called Alwaha, which is designed by the

incognito Android Sedik aiming to make it a place of all those rich and highly

intelligent people (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:24:31).

Figure 5.

Sedik’s impatient waiting to the countdown

of Alwaha’s missile explosion in the 25th episode

(Atef & Sami, 2020, 0:29:36) (Source:

https://images.app.goo.gl/ zHFc7fuECUVszdq36).

Alwaha enables Sedik to benefit from the most intelligent people and kill them

by its missile explosion as the result of launching his missile that means to rob human

beings of their technical achievements and guide them to a primitive life again (Atef

& Sami, 2020). In the last episode Sedik explained that he aimed by his plan to appear

later with his disguise, and enslave the individuals by giving them what they are

deprived of (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:17:10). All the rich people and politicians, like

the security demonstrator, leave their responsibilities and flee away with the

repercussions of poverty, hunger, and injustice. In the episode twenty eight, the spread

of the news of a new war is approaching due to the miserable conditions of the

country and the selfishness of those in the positions of power (Atef & Sami, 2020,

19
00:26:01). Likewise, officer Mones in the last episode gives orders to all the security

men and soldiers to leave their positions and have a break to an unknown date, which

leaves Jerusalem with its people vulnerable to the enemies (Atef & Sami, 2020,

00:39:36).

Indigenizing allows the making of peculiarly hybrid works (Hutcheon &

O’Flynn, 2013, p. 151). Furthermore, adaptations tend to be updated rather than

backdated to fill the gap between the early works and the contemporary audiences

(Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 146). When Sami adapted Do Androids Dream of

Electric Sheep? into The End, he modified Dick’s story in order to make it suitable for

the contemporary Egyptian audience. Dick’s story was initially published in 1968,

and the temporal context of the novel is set in the 1990s of the same century as it

provides predictions of the world status at that time.

In comparison, The End series was produced in 2020 and as a science fiction

story that foresees the world future one hundred years ahead of the time of its

production, the action happens in 2120. This time shift is necessary for the 21st-

century audience in order to add modernity to the work’s futuristic predictions and let

it be in tune with the zeitgeist; consequently, it will give the audience a chance to feel

the events, architecture, and fashion that are closer to them by being updated not

backdated.

Adapting across cultures does not signify a mere translation of basic words; in

fact, cultural and social implications have to be adapted and transported to a new

environment (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 149). The End adapted Dick’s

characters’ names into Arabic with the protagonist being named Zain instead of Rick

20
Deckard. In the Arab culture, the name ‘Zain’ denotes beauty of both appearance and

the morals, signifying the portrayal of the protagonist’s goodness, as he has devoted

his life to save humanity. In addition, for the other characters’ names, Sami has used

Arabic ones like ‘Iran’ as Deckard’s wife’s name that is altered to Radwa.

Additionally, adapting can impose new processes of representation (Hutcheon

and O’Flynn, 2013, p. 150). The TV series also proposes a transformation of money

in the futuristic world instead of the current multiple currencies. Unlike the novel that

used dollar, the series demonstrates that each person has an energy cube and people’s

wealth increases depending on the units that their cubes consist of. The first episode

of the series also depicts Radwa getting on the bus by paying half a unit from her cube

(Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:14:27).

2.2.2. Plot: Historicizing/Dehistoricizing, Racializing/Deracializing,

Embodying/Disembodying

Hutcheon and O’Flynn (2013) state that indigenization can be done according

to three methods: historicizing/dehistoricizing, racializing/deracializing, and

embodying/disembodying (p. 158). The End dehistoricized Do Androids Dream of

Electric Sheep? through different aspects; for instance, Sami has replaced the 20th-

century American context of creation with the 21st-century Egyptian context of

reception. As a result, the novel’s story is radically indigenized in the move between

these two contexts. Sami’s series has removed the background of Rick Deckard as a

bounty hunter and instead it shows the protagonist as an engineer who tries to save

humanity through his invention of a new energy cube, which aims to solve energy

shortage. Sami has also cut a number of events and characters to construct a new

21
historical context and introduce the humans-androids struggle similar to that of the

American novel.

The dehistoricization of the novel led to a different indigenization type:

deracialization. In The End, the race of the characters like the protagonist has

changed. By dehistoricizing the historical background of the series, Sami has adapted

Zain to Egypt by changing his identity, race, and history. The End has given the

protagonist an Egyptian name and dressed him like an Egyptian young man. A set of

other changes accompanies the move from the 20th-century America toward the 21st-

century Arab World, like cultural traditions, setting, language, and names. As long as

the majority of the Egyptian people are Muslims, the Arabic adaptation had to replace

Christianity present in Dick’s text with Islam. To do so, Sami set the series in the

Islamic context of Jerusalem.

The End depicts the Islamic beliefs within its details. Ibrahim, one of the

characters that resemble a religious man (Shaikh) is Faris’ father (an engineer in the

Alwaha). The first episode reveals that Ibrahim is teaching Quran to the children in

the mosque (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:32:09). Moreover, the representation of the

Islamic beliefs is enhanced in the episode eight by depicting the sound of Adhan1

(Islamic call to prayer) while Ibrahim is preparing to go to the mosque to pray (Atef &

Sami, 2020, 00:25:33). By depicting the sound of Adhan, Sami has been able to depict

the Islamic climate of the place and refer to the existence of mosques. In addition, the

Islamic beliefs and the Arab community reservations are noticed to control the

romantic relationships of the characters, such as that of Zain and his wife Radwa and

‫ االذان‬1

22
that of Sabah and Zain the android, where there are no sexual indications that may

escort them like that of Deckard and Rachael Rosen.

In an interview with the actor Youssef El Sherif, The End’s protagonist, he

mentioned that he provided the general idea of the story and discussed it with Amr

Samir Atef, the screenwriter, who developed, edited, and translated the idea into the

scenario of the series. El Sherif also added that he derived the apocalyptic vision of

the series and the devastating description of the world from the religious tales about

the signs that precede the end of the world. Besides, he was inspired by those tales

that indicate a man called Al-Masih Al-Dajjal2 who is an evil figure with one eye; in

Islamic eschatology, this man is believed to appear on the verge of the end of the

world to pretend to be God (Dmc, 2020, 00:03:05).

Through the one eye character of Sedik, Sami’s The End disembodied the

religious aspects of Wilbur Mercer, who is a religious figure in Do Androids Dream

of Electric Sheep? whose religion is Mercerism, which is based on the belief that

empathy is humans’ most quintessential quality. Through Mercerism, Mercer presides

over millions of followers form around the world.

According to Almond (2020), predicting the end of our world has never been

stopped throughout the last 2000 years (para. 1). In addition to the climate crises,

renewing the nuclear arms' race, savage hurricanes and wildfires, pandemic surges of

the current times, all seem not only to put an end to the predictions of the end of the

world but to reinvigorate it (Almond, 2020, para. 2). The traditions of the Christian

people tell them to be mindful of the Antichrist, who is expected to appear shortly

before the end of the world, and besides, to both Christians and Muslims, the

‫ المسيح الدجال‬2

23
Antichrist or the Al-Masih Al-Dajjal will claim to be a good man and then pursue to

deceive people by pretending to be God (Almond, 2020, para. 4). This character is

believed to be a prime example of an evil figure through being the direct opposite of a

good human being (Almond, 2020, para. 4).

The series introduced the character of Sedik nicknamed Almuntadher3 (the

waited person) as a nonhuman figure covering one of his eyes who is deceiving

people by being a religious figure that mostly seeks to exploit people through making

them follow him and believe in him as their savior.

Figure 3.6.

Forcing Zain to participate in the Jalesat Almahaba in the 21st episode (Atef

& Sami, 2020, 00:28:01) (Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/

6GQH9933fmiDEZ5W6).

‫ المنتظر‬3

24
 In the episode twenty two, the series goes in a flashback to 2020 aiming to

uncover Sedik’s enduring plot to control the destiny of humanity (Atef & Sami, 2020,

00:07:16). What enhances the blind obedience shown by his followers is their

religious rituals alike the one called Jalesat Almahaba4 that represented in the episode

sixteen, through which Sedik’s followers meet together and chant the slogan, “we all

remember the covenant and we will not forget it, we all wait for the covenant and we

will keep it,” that unites them (Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:10:08). Likewise, this character

indicates the false religious propaganda that aims to seduce the innocent people of the

Arab World. The last episode of the series shows Shira as Sedik’s assistant and the

one who believes in him more than anyone else. In this episode, Shira receives a

poisoned drink from Sedik and accepts her inevitable death while chanting the slogan

(Atef & Sami, 2020, 00:15:01).

3. Concluding Remarks

Adapting across cultures is not limited to the simple matter of translating

words (Hutcheon & O’Flynn, 2013, p. 149). This article analyzed the different aspects

of Sami’s The End (2020) to show how it adapted and conveyed the cultural, political,

and social meanings of Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1999). By

referring to the historical background of the novel in the 20th century and the 21st

century of the series, this paper illustrated that the changes applied by Sami were

mainly related to the aspects of politics, culture, and religion. Moreover, this paper

discussed both the novel and its Arabic adaptation drawing on Hutcheon and

O’Flynn’s (2013) theory specifically their questions of ‘where’ and ‘when,’ which are

‫ جلسات المحبة‬4

25
related to the changes in the context. Likewise, identifying the way Sami transferred

the novel from San Francisco to the Arab’s spiritual homeland of Jerusalem along

with transcoding aspects such as the political system, language, and cultural

association, which were enhanced by indigenizing (Egyptianizing) Dick’s text,

provided a background to answer the third research question. Hence, the discussion of

the context changing analyzed through several points that clarified the similarities and

differences between the novel and the series through the adaptation lens.

26
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%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%81-

%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%85%D8%A9-

%D8%A8%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%85-10-

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‫المصادر العربية‬

.‫ الحوار‬.‫ لماذا يقتصر االنتاج التلفزيوني على رمضان؟‬.)2٠ ‫ يونيو‬،2٠1٥( .‫ ح‬،‫ & حمالوي‬.‫ خ‬،‫بوعمرة‬

/https://www.elhiwardz.com/national/18088

‫) الكاتب عمرو سمير عاطف ضيف صالون المساء مع قصواء ]ملف‬1٧ ‫ تشرين االول‬،2٠2٠( .‫ ت‬،‫تي في‬

https://youtu.be/ipfy4994UpM .‫ يوتيوب‬.[‫فيديو‬

.[‫ يوسف الشريف يوضح ازاي فكر في فكرة مسلسل النهاية ]ملف فيديو‬.)1٧ ‫ يونيو‬،2٠2٠( .‫دي ام سي‬

https://youtu.be/GidIPMhFXP8.‫يوتيوب‬

‫) [حلقات‬1 ‫ الحلقة‬،1 ‫ (الجزء‬.)24 ‫ نيسان‬،2٠2٠( .)‫ (مخرج‬.‫ ي‬،‫ (كاتب) & سامي‬.‫ س‬.‫ ع‬،‫عاطف‬

.‫ سينرجي لألنتاج‬.‫ النهاية‬،)‫ مرسي (منتج منفذ‬.‫ في ت‬.]‫مسلسل تلفزيوني‬

28
‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )3‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

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‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )1٦‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )22‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )2٨‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )3٠‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫عاطف‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬س‪( .‬كاتب) & سامي‪ ،‬ي‪( .‬مخرج)‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان ‪( .)24‬الجزء ‪ ،1‬الحلقة ‪[ )3٠-1‬حلقات‬

‫مسلسل تلفزيوني]‪ .‬في ت‪ .‬مرسي (منتج منفذ)‪ ،‬النهاية‪ .‬سينرجي لألنتاج‪.‬‬

‫محمد‪ ،‬ا‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬يونيو‪ .)1٨‬مسلسالت يوسف الشريف ‪ ..‬قائمة بأهم ‪ 1٠‬مسلسالت للنجم المصري‪ .‬حصريات‪.‬‬

‫‪https://7asreeat.com/40035/2021/06/%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B3%‬‬

‫‪D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%81-‬‬

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‫مرسي‪ ،‬س‪ .‬ت‪ ،2٠2٠( .‬نيسان‪ .)13‬البرومو الرسمي لمسلسل النهاية رمضان ‪] 2٠2٠‬ملف فيديو[‪ .‬يوتيوب‪.‬‬

‫‪https://youtu.be/1pSB8BPMIJ0‬‬

‫مشتهى‪ ،‬ع‪ .‬ق‪ & ، .‬اللوح‪ ،‬م‪ .‬ن‪ .)2٠1٥( .‬جغرافية فلسطين الطبيعية‪ .‬جامعة األزهر‪.‬‬

‫‪29‬‬