Vanity Fail

I like Vanity Fair. The writing is good and I could look at Annie Leibovitz’s photographs for hours on end. That being said, I was disappointed when I read an article entitled “Dubai on Empty” featured in April’s issue. I have to put this into context by saying that it was written by A. A. Gill who has been known to ruffle a few feathers. He was famously thrown out of one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants for making disparaging remarks about his personal life in one of his restaurant reviews. The gist of the article is that Dubai has no culture, that its oil wealth has made it morally corrupt. Yawn. I’ve read articles like this before but this one just seems so badly researched and bitter.

In the article, he discussed the excesses of the Dubai life style at length paying particular attention to the Meydan Racetrack, the ski slope at Mall of the Emirates and of course, Burj Khalifa. Yes, these structures are extravagant but they serve as drivers to tourism which, along with service industries, make up the backbone of Dubai’s economy. Oil makes up for less than 6% of Dubai’s GDP. Admittedly we spend a lot of time in malls, have access to amazing hotels and a lot of money is thrown around but there are lots of sides to this city. Gill failed to mention Deira and Bur Dubai, the more traditional and culturally rich areas which are home to Bastikiya, the Gold and Spice Souk and Heritage Village.

Not all Emiratis are ‘cursed with money’ as Gill puts it. There was no mention of Emiratisation or the fact that there are a growing number of hard working Emirati men and women making valuable contributions to society in all fields. Art Dubai which launched this week (pictured below) and Dubai Film Festival are very good at showcasing Emirati artists that starting to make waves on the international scene. This is a great time for Emirati culture and the movement doesn’t show signs of abating.

Yes, Dubai is home to a host of young professionals who are just passing through, some very tacky people who behave terribly and a few people who have more money than sense. That isn’t going to change. Actually, I hope it doesn’t. What on earth would we have to talk about?

I get that this is his style but using rumours to illustrate points and hurling insults at people he’s never met just doesn’t seem like good journalism to me. Also, trashing Dubai is so 2009. Time to move on...

Vanity Fail