Racy Afghan TV show hits a raw nerve

[Rose Siding]

snip>
This hardly seems like the most controversial TV show in Afghanistan. But in between the polite chitchat, these men--the Afghan version of MTV veejays--play music videos, which sometimes feature heaving bosoms, dancing women and sexually suggestive lyrics.

Such videos have turned the show "Hop" into one of the most popular programs on the Afghan capital's most popular new television station, Tolo TV. They also have drawn the ire of the country's clerics and the scrutiny of the government.

"Watching a woman with half-naked breasts and a man and a woman sucking each other's lips on TV, like on Tolo, is not acceptable," said Abdul Malik Kamawi, spokesman for the country's Supreme Court.
...
"Our advice is, we need to be careful," presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said. "Some media tend to take the radical route. It always pays to take it a step at a time."
...
A short makeover feature takes ordinary Afghans off the street and turns them into fashionable young people who would blend into any Western city. Think of it as "Hip Eye for the Traditional Afghan Guy." On one recent show, a young Afghan man with a beard, an uneven haircut and the typical Afghan knee-length shirt and matching pants got a shave, a haircut and a shower and was dressed in jeans and a modern shirt.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&ncid=721&e=5&u=/chitribts/20050411/ts_chicagotrib/racyafghantvshowhitsarawnerve

[CottonBear]

1. LOL! "Hip Eye for the Traditional Afghan Guy."

<snip>
The TV station is planning to air a new program, one that station workers are certain will be a hit. It shows just how much the clerics are up against, and how much Afghanistan has changed since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.

That show, modeled on a popular U.S. program, will feature men and women singing their way to fame. "Afghan Idol" will start shooting in a few weeks.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&ncid=721&e=5&u=/chitribts/20050411/ts_chicagotrib/racyafghantvshowhitsarawnerve

:) As always, we exporting the very best of American culture.

[daleo]

3. "Afghan Idol" will start shooting in a few weeks.

There may be more shooting than they bargained for.

[phrenzy]

2. I think this is great

IMO - this is awesome. Youth rebellion, expression and culture usually have an overall positive impact on societies. No, i'm not saying that "American Idol" is a force for good - but I think it can start a dialog about things that leads to more national introspection.