What struck me most about this film was not so much the contestants but rather, the slow paradigm shifts in thinking that is influencing the people again. Afghanistan was not always traditional. In the film, pictures of the the 1980s showed that there was singing and dancing and women attended university and walked on the streets openly without having to cover up. However, Taliban rule changed all that.
With this info in mind, each of the contestants that the show follows represents a certain value. Setara represents the liberal and open-mindedness. Lima represents the more traditional side. Hammeed is a source of pride for the Hazara. Rafi wants to change the people's mindset but does not want to enter politics. In the context of Afghanistan, I already expected Setara's actions to have repercussions. It was only after seeing her 'dancing' and the dropping of the head scarf on stage that I knew that she had 'awaken the beast'.
However, what struck me more was that, at the start of the show, the audience was mainly male, the camera would pan across the ballroom and all you see is heads and heads of males. Hardly any women were in sight. But as the show progressed, more women could be seen sitting in the audience. Finally, during the finale, we saw a family whose daughters did not wear their head scarfs. It was a huge milestone in which the people are slowly opening up to change. We also saw people dancing on the mountaintops celebrating.
Afghanistan may not have become free from the culture created by the oppressive Taliban. But slow incremental changes like letting the people experience democracy through voting for their idols are sure to make a greater impact in the long run. Perhaps, Afghanistan can progress to a level where Islam can co-exist peacefully with Western ideals.
