'Daily Show'-type satire finds an audience in Iran, and a big enemy
Washington Post / Tara Bahrampour
01-Jan-2011 (one comment)

But lately, a couple of irreverent expats in Washington have captivated Iranians with a show that pokes fun at the absurdities of life in the Islamic republic.

Operating out of Voice of America's Persian News Network, Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi have started a weekly program, "Parazit," that has drawn comparisons to Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" for its satiric take on Iran's news of the day.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a favorite target.

"His bloopers are fantastic," said Arbabi, 37, as he and Hosseini, 35, cozied up to pints of Guinness in a District bar. "The same way Bush was - he says a lot of dumb things without thinking about it, and at the same time he's president of one of the most important countries in the region. And they have nukes."

Hosseini grinned. In one segment, he said, "Saman and I sort of reenacted how when his family's asleep, he goes under the blanket and has a flashlight and goes on Facebook," which is blocked in Iran.

To the dismay of Ahmadinejad's government, the show has struck a chord in Iran.

"Their following is incredible," said Steve Redisch, VOA's executive editor.

Although VOA doesn't know how many people watch "Parazit" via their forbidden satellite dishes, posts from "Parazit's" Facebook page have been viewed more than 17 million times in the past month - a staggering number compared with other VOA programming. The show's YouTube channel generates another 45,000 hits each week.

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incognito

“And they have nukes.” Do they?

by incognito on Sat Jan 01, 2011 03:25 PM PST


In terms of content and format, a more appropriate comparison for Parazit would have been with Sasha Baron Cohen’s Di Ali G Show, not Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

In terms of venue, The Daily Show is on the Comedy Central, not on a government-owned and operated propaganda outfit such as VOA.


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