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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Coming in August: Iraq’s ’Must See’ TV - for ’Mature Viewers’ |
| 2004-06-16 |
| via Wash Times - EFL NYPD? Streets of San Francisco? Law & Order? Well, maybe... By Betsy Pisik Falah Abub has a vision of postwar Iraq, and it isn’t pretty: In the months after U.S. troops disposed of Saddam Hussein, Baghdad’s power vacuum has been filled by foreign agents and desperate gangsters. The city has become a sort of Middle Eastern Wild West, where ordinary citizens are plagued by unprecedented lawlessness and banditry. Abductions abound, thievery is routine, and no one is untouched by tragedy. That image is not just ripped from this morning’s headlines, it’s also the premise for "Al Badeel" (The Alternative), Iraq’s first homegrown soap opera. Think "Deadwood," not "Arabian Nights." "This show is a contrast for the Iraqis," said Mr. Abub, who is both producing and directing the melodrama. "We are trying to show them bad characters they have not met [on television] before." A morality play with a heavy dose of carjackings, kidnappings and murder, the series has been shooting throughout Baghdad since midspring. Weekly installments will begin airing in August. Mr. Abub and his creative partners are convinced that even the most weary Iraqis will want to tune their new satellite dishes to a grimmer version of reality. They see the production as an artful and ultimately uplifting story. "We will show them that evil is always punished, and that law must be observed," Mr. Abub said on the set yesterday. "It is a reassuring message; it is about faith." ...more... It’s possible, if the show’s producers aren’t lying through their teeth, that there’s more to this than meets the eye on first blush. If they do tell morality tales - in a believable and realistic manner, the right message will slowly be absorbed. So much of what we call civilization is composed of subconsciously learned patterns of good vs. evil; right vs. wrong. The lessons need to be confirmed in reality, of course, but maybe this will help. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #1 "COPS" goes to Bagdad! |
| Posted by: longtime lurker 2004-06-16 4:42:04 PM |