Satire in Iraq
I’m not sure how I missed this, but it’s definitely worth a read:
Iraq’s Version of ‘The Daily Show’ Strikes a Chord -
BAGHDAD, Oct. 23 — Nearly every night here for the past month, Iraqis weary of the tumult around them have been turning on the television to watch a wacky-looking man with a giant Afro wig and star-shaped glasses deliver the grim news of the day.
Comedian Saaed Khalifa stars in the fake news show ‘Hurry Up, He’s Dead,’ an Iraqi version of ‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.’
Despite the show’s zaniness, the humor is dark. Satire targets include the U.S. military, the Iraq government, sectarian violence and the daily struggles of Iraqis.“The purpose of the show is to fix Iraq,” star Saaed Khalifa said of the satirical ‘Hurry Up, He’s Dead.’ “We want to fix the civil services. We want to fix the government officials. We want to fix the relationships between people. We want to fix the government and stop the corruption.”
I admire everyone who’s involved in this. I know that satire isn’t very well received in the Middle East, and shows like this, especially when they’re political, would both increase some awareness as well as lighten the situation is up. I hope to see more of this in the region, despite how risky it is.
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Sweeeet. Maybe it will make us have a better sense of humour… still in class?
On Tuesdays and Thursday I got classes practically all day long – but only one class on Mondays and Fridays. If you can, please try to call tomorrow or whenever for a quick chat. Would love to talk to you.
Also – we should do a satirical news show for Mideast Youth, what do you say? We can easily record sessions on Skype. Of course due to lack of time that idea can wait until we’re both ready, but it’s definitely an idea that we should both have in mind. We can continue your discussion about peace and Xanax.
I don’t think many people here have tried to bring people together through humor, but it’s definitely worth a shot. I’ll talk to a few Israelis because I think it would be great to include them too. Like an Arab-Israeli News Room or something.