So the
other day, I was watching Shahs of Sunset, a reality TV show that portrays a
Persian cast living an extravagant lifestyle in Los Angeles. The show
consists of a mixture of Persian Jew/Muslim cast members that are well off.
However, many of my friends of Persian descent complain that the show falsely
portrays what the real Persian community is all about. Some were outraged by
the obnoxious behavior and use of foul language that is just unacceptable in
their community. Of the cast members on the TV show, the only member that I
would describe as having a lot of pride and belief of Persian history would be
Asa, a Persian pop priestess, who fled the country post Islamic Revolution as a
refugee with her family. Countless times on the show, she would mention that
she would never be able to go back to her homeland (Iran) because they would
not allow you to leave the country once you are identified as a refugee. Instead, she had the opportunity to relive her past years by visiting
Turkey to reunite with her family in Istanbul. She states that this would
be the first time in many years that she would be close to her native land and
is able to see her relatives that have all grown up. One of the traditional
practices seen throughout the show is when Asa meets her relatives and
exchanges gifts for each of the family members as a sign of respect and
reciprocity. What I found interesting was the gift that her great aunt brought,
a bag filled with soil from Iran. Asa was very happy because for a brief moment
she thought she was back home living her dreams. The soil symbolized a lot of
the Persian history/culture that was left behind. During their trip to Istanbul
it was very amusing that till this day men and women are not treated equally in
the Middle East. This is seen when Asa and Reza (Asa's friend) enter the blue
mosque, and told that only men are able to pray in the middle of the shrine and
women are told to pray by the corners. Obviously, Asa was hurt by this rule and
was offended by the fact that men have more authority than women. Even in
Turkey the Sharia law or moral code still is practiced. For the members of the
cast to witness women covered in black veils it led them to believe that women
were still treated unfairly and were unable to wear clothes that didn’t require
covering the whole body. Much hasn’t changed since the enactment of Sharia laws
that undermined women’s position in society as well as the separation of sexes
in public settings. I believe that there is still a long way ahead for equality
to be universal among all societies.
Although I have only seen a few episodes of Shahs of Sunset, I think it's a highly entertaining show. People shouldn't take the show too seriously though. Just like the Kardashians don't represent the Armenian culture, neither the cast of Shahs of Sunset don't fully embody the Persian culture. However, it's nice that they showed a glimpse of what life is like for a woman in the Middle East so those who aren't aware can have a bit of knowledge about it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can sympathize with the Iranian-American community’s annoyance at their misrepresentation on Shahs of Sunset, my impression is that most (but not all) don’t take reality TV as a legitimate source of ethnic representation. I find that very often, despite the name, reality television does a poor job portraying the realities of the average circumstances of the demographic portrayed. I know several Italian-Americans and none of the ones I know fit the portrayal of Jersey-Shore. However, the show certainly is applicable to your topic—as it largely misrepresents your focus demographic. So I applaud your decision to include such information on your blog, but I might suggest some dismissive humor to emphasize the Persian-American community’s annoyance if possible.
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