Persian parties are like Persian history!

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Persian parties are like Persian history!
by Esfand Aashena
03-Dec-2012
 

Season 2 of Shahs of Sunset is upon us and another season of Trash TV, Iranian style!  The representatives of Iranian culture and the best Iran has to offer are on the small screen with all the trimmings!  We have nuclear impasse with Iran and 5 + 1 on one side and GG who can't add 5 + 1 on the other side!

They couldn't make this stuff up about Iranians if they tried and what you see is what you get!  Here's a taste of Season 2 premiere which will be  Sunday nights at 10/9 Central on Bravo. 

Obviously in order to have a show they give a rope to the show's "Stars" and they use it to play (hang) themselves the only way they know how, which is to be yourself and as much as an asshole as possible so they can use that "drama" for the world to see and viewers praying to god that they are not like you and do not have to live like you do!  I actually like this in the show's Producers who focus on these things.  I remember back in the day when I could down a bottle of Vodka or Tequila and the next day I'd be so ashamed of what I had done (or told what I had done ;-) and myself that I'd apologize to everyone and actually try to be more sober in the next party.  Now these people pride themselves on blacking out on national TV episode after episode and put that in their resume!

You have ASA who has $500 left in his bank account living in a posh condo and driving a Mercedes by being a pop artists whom we have never heard of before, except this show, and throws a party (presumably at Bravo's expense) and ends up actually making a good point about Omid's big nose that has been into everything!

Then you have GG and Omid who are a match made in heaven (sorry hell ;-) who behave like they were raised by wolves and no manners what so ever criticizing others for being "dis-respectful"!  I love these terms that they use that defines who they are but associate it with others!  I can see these two playing on episodes of COPS where Omid is all drunk and in a bloodied and torn tank top undershirt being handcuffed when GG called the Cops on him!  GG could also use some of Omid's royal nose to add to her now defunct Michael Jackson nose!   Now I say this with all my love and admiration for these two!

You also have Mercede and how she behaves around her mother when her Mom's sister-in-law dishes Vida!  Basically Mercede's behavior made her mother the topic of the conversation so she can be the focus of the being attacked while her old bat sister-in-law becomes an angel!  Vida is actually right and knows her daughter better than anyone else.  What is a mother to do when you have a disaster as a daughter?   

In this season they fired that fat little dough boy, Sammy, who is bald with fuzzy hair sticking out like a baby Orangutan who said to a hot date last time that she is not hot enough for him!  Instead they hired this girl Lilly who appears to be legitmately rich looking to buy an expensive house and seems like a normal person until you see her in Cleopatra's GG Extension hair!  She seemed like a bad Lindsey Lohan in Liz and Dick!  Still a good trade with Sammy.

Mike who was last season's playboy seems like he has shrunk this season!  He goes to a lavish party hosted by a guy who drives a Bugatti and has spent about $100,000 or so on his yet to be born child's birthday who is baking in his pregnant's wife's body!  Another sap story of rags to riches where he was making money by looking for trash in dumpsters and now willing to give Mike "tips"!  Mike of course is in awe!

Reza had the best line of the show when he said "Persian parties are like Persian history.  They start nice and lavish and end up in fights!".  Isn't that the truth!  I have seen my share of Persian history ending with cat fights between the most annoying bitches in the party be it family or friend!

Photo caption:  an ugly building in Tehran.

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more from Esfand Aashena
 
Esfand Aashena

Nothing is good!

by Esfand Aashena on

Are you in Europe?  Are there any shows about Iranians that are popular?  The point is not about Europe or America or you judging what is good or bad.  The point is that the Iranian diaspora has in the past 30+ years FAILED to show a lasting positive view of Iranians outside Iran.  We're just circling in our limited circles.

The most popular show about Iranians is actually the news and the 24 hours demonizing of Iranians.  As far as stereotyping of Iranians, there is something to be stereotyped.  Besides as I mentioned many times before the point here is that this show is being watched by millions and our chance to use it to promote something better, at least in the advertising segments.

As they say; speak now or forever hold your peace!   

Everything is sacred


Arj

Speaking of generic statements!

by Arj on

EA, no, I don't live in the U.S. Perhaps that's why I don't get this "reality tv" thing! But then again, majority of Iranians abroad do not live in the U.S. -- including many on IC. However, our "Iranian/American" fellows nonetheless seem to see everything from their own perspective!

Perhaps, based on the cultural environment you live in, you can not relate to my poinits (which is cool by me), as I can not with yours.

However, regarding your point (which I'm confused as to what it is) about the viewership (which is apparently 2.3 million for SOS), my points (as it is edvident) were not about the popularity or number of the viewers of such shows. Otherwise, 'Film Farsis' were among the most popular forms of entertainment in Iranian society (at their peak, they drew millions to movie theatres), but had little to offer in terms of cultural values! There's no doubt that they're entertaining to their target audience, hence the term, 'escapism,' which means they allow the viewers to escape the realities of daily life and, in a vicarious way, live the life of the protagonist (anti-hero) of the show for an hour or two. The main gimmick here is to make the characters as stereotypical as they come, whether they are situated in Pamenaar, or the Sunset Boulevard!

With regards to following Elvis, I never followed him to notice his presence or absence! There are certain cultural elements that do not become outdated, for example, literature (or better yet, literacy). A book could become an e-book but still remains a book, for its value does not lie in what fashion its read in, but the substance it contains! 


Esfand Aashena

Generic statements.

by Esfand Aashena on

Arj the "reality tv" is nothing new and dates back to 70s or even before.  What you refer to as reality tv was shows that started in 2000 with shows like Survivor or Big Brother or American Idol.  A show like american idol had it's predecessor in American Band Stand  in 50s/60s.

Anyway, the reality tv has changed since 2000s and you have a lot of educational shows like people living in Alaska being self-sufficient or people making moonshine or others and then you have trash tv about Kardashians or this Shahs show.

I didn't like reality tv and used to make generic dislikes like many others.  However, we are living in America, no?  We don't like this show because it's not reflective of Iranians in America, no?  All those alternative media and cultural events you mentioned are LIMITED.  So they have NOT become part of the conversation and you're STILL trying to stay with the old methods? But we have ZERO ads about alternative Iranian activities/culture. 

The term "consumer culture" that you use is generic.  It is irrelevant.  This show actually gives Iranians with good deeds and money (which we have plenty of) to use the advertising segments of this show to advertise about what they believe is good Iranian culture or whatever good about Iranians.

The show had 2.3 million viewers last Sunday.  The biggest Iranian event outside Iran was Googoosh's first concerts with about 20,000 viewers.  So the generic statements here or elsewhere or these limited engagement with Iranians from a certain age "cultural events" do not do any help in prompting anything good about Iranian culture because no one hears about them and so you don't even know if people like them or not.

Do you see what I'm saying or do you still want to argue that this is trash and Iranians "should" talk about politics, poetry, theater, etc. that has very limited viewership?

Elvis has left the building and you still want to stay in the empty theatre?! 

Everything is sacred


Arj

Re culture

by Arj on

Dear EA, my use of such allegories as "cultural waste" was in reference to the "reality tv" phenomenon in general rather than a particular product, Shahs Of Sunset included. 

However, I disagree with your opinion on reflection of cultural products in the society, both within the Iranian diaspora communities, and human society in general. It's true that such cultural products are not widely reflected on TV, but if you look at the alternative media (including, but not confined to the internet), one can find a significant amount of cultural contributions such as music, poetry, ballet, theatre, cinema, tv programs... A good example of such is the top portion of IC's main page that features videos of all sorts. 

Of course, even on IC not all featured videos necessarily have something to offer in that regard, but at least (for time being) they offer a more ballanced and diverse menu to the viewer. Whereas, TV (that is mainly network and in part, cable tv) in genral, nowadays has become a vehicle for commercial interests to manipulate the consumption market in parrticualr and public opinion in general. "Reality tv," due to lower production costs and its ability to connect with the viewer on a more personal level, provides a suitable vehicle for the sponsors of certain goods and services to increase the consumption of their products by presenting a less perfect, hence more identifiable protagonist (or anti-hero if you may) to the viewer, who is ultimately seen as the prime consumer of such products by their sponsors. 

Hence, Shahs Of Sunset is not all, but a part of such a consumer culture! 


Esfand Aashena

بدبخت مولف و ناشر اون کتاب ها!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

...

by Zendanian on

Citation of the books below was not intended as a personal attack on anyone.

These books point out to the cultural, social, political and economic structures and practices that have "dumbed down" American popular cultur, and the overall culture in general. "Shah's of Sunset" is only a minuscule part of this dominant trend.

On the other hand the non-dominant trend, the alternative culture is also very much alive and kicking. It just reaches a lot less of an audience than the garbage stuff. That's all. Cheers

 


Esfand Aashena

It takes one to know one!

by Esfand Aashena on

Everything is sacred


Zendanian

...

by Zendanian on

Dear Arj, your comments are very precise and highly appreciated.

By pure accident I happened to see a book in our community library on the topic of: "A..holes." The entire title is:" A..holes: A Theory." Author is a professor in UC Irvine, and the book pretty much speaks for itself.

It was interesting for me that he also refers to how reality TV also promotes and augments A-holes in todays world. Although the scope of his book is only the US.

Dummin gdown of popular culture ahs been a very old debate and topic, adn it probably deserves a few blogs to just cover the basics.

Here are the links to two books related to our 'debate.' Cheers

 

Review: A..holes: A Theory

//www2.macleans.ca/2012/11/23/assholes-a-theo...

"The truly optimistic among us believe that there is no such thing as an
asshole. That is to say, the guy who cut you off in traffic or butted in
front of you at Starbucks is probably possessed by some temporary
affliction (lateness, cluelessness, hangover) that recedes as quickly as
it came. In other words, he was acting like an asshole, and that same
guy might well hold the door open for you or even save your life 10
minutes later. Aaron James is no such optimist. In fact, the author
spends 214 quite convincing pages arguing that “assholeness” is less
inattention than a permanent state of mind, and that assholes are more
than numerous enough to be called out in book form."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BAD – Or, The Dumbing of America. 1991.

//www.nytimes.com/1991/10/13/books/creeping-n...

Jeremiads about the decline of America are not in especially short
supply, but when the Jeremiah is Paul Fussell, author of the masterly
"Great War and Modern Memory," attention must be paid. "Bad" is his
summa contra America . What he likes about the United States would
comfortably fit under a gerbil's paw. Mr. Fussell makes his home in
Philadelphia, where he is a professor of English at the University of
Pennsylvania, but after more than 200 pages of excoriation you're left
to conclude that on the whole he would rather be somewhere else -- like,
say, England, where he spends a lot of time.

 


Esfand Aashena

We are all living in sewege!

by Esfand Aashena on

Mr. Arj the cultural nurishment that you are so proud of has been absent in large screen and in a meaningful way in the past 30 or so years outside Iran despite the fact that all kinds of opportunities were available in the free world.

This show while trash is no more cesspool (your reference) than what the rest of us are going through inside or outside Iran.  We have all lost one way or another, inside or outside Iran, we are not complete.  If the objective is to say something to make ourselves feel better then so be it as I've mentioned in the blog itself.  

This jumping up and down in every blog related or unrelated to the topic of political prisoners is as much reflective of one's culture and mutual support as was Farah's support of Azadeh Forghani an Iranian women's rights activist which was the subject of her open letter here.

There are hundreds of so called cultural millionaires and billionaires who had every chance, many have more chances now than ever, to promote an Iranian show.  In the absence of such vacuum shows like this pop up which are really not that far off from the reality on the (American) grounds.  

Everything is sacred


Arj

Sumps vs reservoirs

by Arj on

My friend, Zendanian; although such issues are not of my particular interest, yet happening upon this blog prompted me to throw in my two cents with regards to the main discrepancy here.

Much like a building structure that requires a water reservoir (whether local or regional) for nurishment of life (that is of humans and animals/plants), it also needs a sump or a septic tank to handle the waste that is the byproduct of such nurishments, social/cultural structures, however different, are no exception to this rule. As a society, too, needs a cesspool for its cultural waste. What is known as "reality tv" nowadays provides such a mechanism for today's society for the flow of such cultural wastes. 

Hence, expecting anything of actual cultural value from these "reality tv" products would be as futile as searching for nurishment in a septic tank. Each has its own place and caters to its own target audience! 


Esfand Aashena

یاسین ... یاسین ... سکینه دایقزی ... یاسین ...

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

بی کار و بی عار کسی است که از تحقیر ایرانیان در رسانه های عمومی

Zendanian


بی کار و بی عار کسی است که از تحقیر ایرانیان در رسانه های عمومی امریکا لذت میبرد
و چنین توهین و بی حرمتی را از افتخارات خویش به حساب می آورد.

Esfand Aashena

کسی‌ که بیکار و بی‌ عار باشد میرود بلاگ مردم ابو عطا خوندن!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

Some enjoy seeing Iranians on TV as clueless, vulgarians

by Zendanian on

Most self respecting Iranians do not enjoy such "publicity."

First learn Persian, then try giving meaningless one liners! 


Faramarz

کله شخ وغد!

Faramarz


 

 


بیزحمت به دهخدا مراجعه کن.


قد از قد قد میاد، کله شق هم گفتن عامیانه کله شخ است. 


Esfand Aashena

نمی‌فهمه دیگه چیکارش کنم. کل شق و قد.

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

Depicting Iranians as a bunch of vulgar, debased, consumerists,

by Zendanian on

Or depicting Iranians in L.A., in Calif and the entire diaspora in their multitude and complexities.

Those are the differences.

Not a simple difference between tow kinds of fruit, but a substantial difference between representation of a multi-faceted community with deep historical and cultural roots.

Some chose to cheer on vulgarity, some chose not to.

 


Esfand Aashena

Apples and Oranges.

by Esfand Aashena on

Everything is sacred


Zendanian

...

by Zendanian on

I wasn't the one who started to use "choice vocabulary" in here.

All I mentioned was the historical memeory of  Niosha Farahi and why they won't be making a TV program about that particular Iranian living in LA, any time soon: Becuase he fought for his beliefs, and paid the ultimate price for his principals.

All of a sudden there's this rush of insults about a simple reminder of a name.

What is it with that name and the culture that Niosha represented that made "our" blogger so mad?

Am I the only one who thinks that "Shah's of Sunset" is an insult to Iranians in L.A., Calif and all over the world? Not.


Roger_Rabbit

Guys!

by Roger_Rabbit on

Watch out! I think one of you might get blocked any moment now!


Esfand Aashena

چشمت کور دندت نرم می‌خواستی وراجی نکنی‌!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

تو به جای فکر کردن به نیوشا، به فکر ابتذال، حقارت و پستی ی باش

Zendanian


تو به جای فکر کردن به نیوشا، به فکر ابتذال، حقارت و پستی ی باش که ایرانیان مقیم کالیفرنیا را گرفته
تا جایی که یک مشت لومپن، حقیر به عنوان "نمایندگان" جامعه ایرانی به کل
جهان معرفی میشوند و شماها غیر از به به و چه چه ، هیچ چیز دیگر ندارید که
بنویسید.

Esfand Aashena

نیوشا تنش تو قبر از دست خاله زنک بازی های تو می‌لرزه!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

"خوشبت" بچه مز.ف های لوس آنجلسی که تو سنگشون را به سینه میزنی.

Zendanian


مثل اینکه تا بحال درعمرت اصلا نامی از "نیوشا فرهی" نشنیده بودی؟ بد جوری منقلبت کرد.

Esfand Aashena

بد بخت زندانیانی که تو طرفدار شونی!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

باز هم مارو با بچه مز.ف های هم ایالتی تان، اشتباه گرفتید.

Zendanian


یک موی نیوشا و امثالهم کماکان می ارزد، به هزار "شاهان سانست" مبتذل، مزخرف، بی حافظه تاریخی.

Esfand Aashena

I'll take comment-control!

by Esfand Aashena on

Everything is sacred


Faramarz

Wishing Comment Control for Christmas!

by Faramarz on

 

 

Esfand Jaan,

I don't mean to pour salt on your wounds, but you either get lots of comments and no "comment-control" or no comments with "comment-control!"

Such as life!


Esfand Aashena

اهل قزوینی دیگه کاریت نمی‌شه کرد!

Esfand Aashena


Everything is sacred


Zendanian

مزخرف سریال های "واقعی" تلویزیونی مبتذل در مورد "ایرانیان" مزخرف

Zendanian


مزخرف سریال های "واقعی" تلویزیونی مبتذل در مورد "ایرانیان" مزخرف مبتذل لوس آنجلسی است. مزخرف آن "حافظه ی " است که دیروزش هم یادش نمیاید.