While settling down one night this past week, I decided to do some last minute channel surfing. As I was flipping, I stopped on an HBO channel to see what I thought would be a typical documentary on the happenings in the Middle East. I was right, and wrong. What I thought would be a film on the stories we are constantly bombarded by in today’s new sources turned out to have a true twist with a Neo-western touch.
As I watched crowds of people file into a small building with lines out of the door I couldn’t help but think it looked slightly familiar to an American show I’d seen before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. As individuals went into a room with a panel of what appeared to be judges, it hit me. “This looks just like American Idol”, I said to myself. Turns out, I was very close. These people were auditioning for a show called Afghan Star, the Middle Eastern version of the hit American Show.
I watched on to see people fighting to fill the studio where the show is being filmed and it reminded me so much of the American ways of pop stardom. There is a difference in Afghanistan though. Before Afghan Star, there was years of silence. With the Taliban as the last word, singing was banned throughout the country. Even now that this ban is lifted some of the singers still fear for their lives. In the film’s trailer, one contestant named Setara, received a call from her family because they heard she had been killed.
In America, these type of show are a marketers dream come true. Give someone a story and a song, with a little promotion and they can just sit back and reap the benefits. In Afghanistan, this version has become just as popular. As western society continues to influence these countries through entertainment and other outlets, another question arrises, is this the freedom they want?
Colby Lewis
I saw this too! It was really interesting to see that the people in charge of the show were able to produce it without being able to advertise or ever disclose the location of the taping. It was astonishing to me the reaction of the people to the show too(some thought the woman should be stoned to death for participating and others lover her because she almost won). A lot of the people in Afganistan were really uncomfortable with the fact that this was an American tradtion while obviously a lot of people were embracing it– demonstrated by people calling in to vote and risking their lives to tune in to something forbidden to them by the government. It certainly made me appreciate the society I live in even more. It also made me question what would happen if the government tried to stop us from singing, advertising, watching tv, etc. I don’t think it would be quite as easy for the American government to get away with tryin and definitely not stop it!
Though I am not a fan of American Idol at all, I think it is amazing how this show transends not only generations in America but different cultures around the world. Especially a culture as significantly different as Afghanistan. This illustrates just how much power American Idol has on their viewers. Citizens of Afghanistan are possibly risking their lives by participating. In my opinion, this is good for the citizens of Afghanistan because it allows them to express their artistic side and express political freedom.