Afghan Star: Democracy's hope

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.

Hairspray: Prizes for publicity but a new culture era?

Lensing question 1: Street's claims that sponsors create prizes for their publicity. How does Hairspray challenge this claim when the Corny Collins Show was more than just a sponsored show as it brought about a new cultural era in the 1960s Baltimore.

Idol-making machine or money-making machine?

While reading the article, the word "institution" used to describe the popular show American Idol strikes me as the most appropriate in capturing the gist of this article. After 8 seasons, it is no surprise that the producers have streamlined their production methods to keep the show still relevant and appealing to its television audience.

I think that the author has succeeded to a large extent in expressing his view about the efficiency of the show. The article covers most parts: the sideline entertainment of the judge's squabbling, the amazing talent that helps attract huge fans, the fact that the show is a good ground for other companies to advertise their brands and how each show is so well-produced that even the live ones look taped. These parts collectively form the "institution" of American Idol that can continue to do so well despite the country going through an economic recession.

However, he does make several assumptions. One being how America chose the most recent winner. Having followed the season and watched the finale as well, i think that America voted not purely based on the voters' personal taste in music. I think that at the finale night, Kris Allen performed slightly better than Adam Lambert and that was what allowed him to win.

He also assumes that roles were assigned to the participants to take on certain personalities. I do not believe this to be completely true. One can only fake a persona for a certain period of time. Even months after the show, the participants still stay true to their character. So is their public character pre-assigned or self-created?

But, I must say, he does construct a solid write-up to show how this show has led the way for many other talent competitions and transformed itself from more than a yearly production to something that is its own "television series".

Thoughts anyone?

A Reality Show where Islam is the Biggest Star

If one were to start a discussion on Islam and Muslim, the word "conservative" will always usually pop in one's mind. Hence it was really interesting to see what Malaysia was actually doing to pique the interests of younger Muslims to become religious leaders. Reality shows and religion often do not see eye to eye and at times become a source of conflict in more conservative and traditional societies. Seeing the success of such a successful mix does indeed raise several questions. Look at some of last semester's post on the topic, I am most curious as to why Afghan Star received so much backlash from society and this did not. Is it the nature of each society?