They just can't stand being laughed at.
NBC: It's anti-militant season on Arab TV - Mideast/N. Africa - MSNBC.comIt's interesting they can't stand being laughed at. Why am I reminded of the Smothers Brothers and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In during the late '60s? Perhaps because they too used humor to lampoon the government?At Ramadan, TV turns up heat on extremists
Satirical Saudi show makes mockery of militants, draws fundamentalist ire...
An example is "Tash Ma Tash," a wildly popular Saudi TV series that is deploying satire to poke fun at the fundamentalists.
Staff on the show have received death threats for what some consider brazen impertinence; meanwhile, senior sheikhs issued a religious edict which deemed it was sinful to watch "Tash MaTash" after an episode skewered religious judges for working only three hours a day. Another episode was heavily criticized by clerics and others when it ridiculed the practice of requiring women to be accompanied by a male relative or a husband when dining out.
Recognizing the huge viewership of "Tash Ma Tash," a contributor to a militant site bemoaned the effectiveness of the show. "This episode of 'Tash Ma Tash' turned everything upside down," he wrote.Or maybe, they turned everything right-side up.
Either way, it's interesting to see that humor is being directed against those who use terror. It's hard to be afraid when you're laughing.
J.
Comments (4)
Totalitarian governments have always forbidden humor at the government's expense; it is hard to be afraid of something you have laughed at.
Posted by John C. | October 3, 2006 6:48 AM
Posted on October 3, 2006 06:48
The USSR tried hard to squash humor at it's expense - but samizdata spread anyway. That THIS sort of humor's broadcast shows the totalitarian strain of Islam doesn't have near the control it thinks it does...
J.
Posted by JLawson | October 3, 2006 6:59 AM
Posted on October 3, 2006 06:59
This lampooning can make the extremists look foolish and ineffective.
We need more of this stuff.
Posted by Hammer | October 3, 2006 7:44 AM
Posted on October 3, 2006 07:44
Amen to that...
J.
Posted by JLawson | October 3, 2006 11:43 AM
Posted on October 3, 2006 11:43