New Meanings of 'Heroism’? Types of Sporting ‘Heroes’ in Egyptian Cinema

This article aims at exploring the image of the athlete in the Egyptian social imagination by following its representation in cinema over the last three decades. I examine the characteristics of the folkloric hero through epic tales taken from throughout Islamic history and right up to the 21st century. In addition, I juxtapose the hero in popular culture with the protagonist in the Egyptian films and the athlete hero in cinema in terms of the following: The conflict the sporting hero overcomes in the film, the role of sport in this conflict, and the overall significance of the conflict; the personal traits of the sporting protagonist; the social class of the sporting hero; and the gender of the hero.The output of this article is a typology of four sportsperson stereotypes in Egyptian cinema, achieved through different strategies. I propose a typology of four types of Egyptian cinema sporting hero: The Regular Person, who encounters contradictions of good and evil, makes mistakes, and then returns to their senses; The National Hero, who brings victory to his nation; The Comedian; and The Marginalized.