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Laughing with, and not at, Muslims

By KIRK HONEYCUTT

Hollywood Reporter Reuters Los Angeles

So a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim walk into a bar. The bartender turns around and says, “What is this ... a joke?”

Yes, it is a joke but some people would wonder what a Muslim is doing in a bar and how he could possibly be involved in a joke. Because as far as many Americans are concerned, the words “Muslim” and “humor” don’t belong in the same sentence.

Which is where Ahmed Ahmed's “Just Like Us,” which opened Friday in limited release, comes in. Ahmed is a stand-up comic in the United States and, yes, he is an Egyptian-born Muslim. On a recent swing through the Middle East with a clutch of fellow comics, some of whom are also Arabs, he took along a camera crew to document to fact that Muslims can tell damn good jokes about themselves and that other Muslims will laugh uproariously.

The movie is fast, funny and light on its feet, dipping less into politics or religion than into cultural quirks and characteristics. For instance: An Arab invented the original mechanical clock, which is odd since Arabs are never on time. Bu-dah-bum. You get the idea.

One might complain that Ahmed and his Comedy Arabic Tour hit the most liberal ports-of-call in the Middle East -- Dubai, that international center of business and trade in the United Arabs Emirates; Beirut, Lebanon, the “Paris of the East”; and Egypt, the “Hollywood of the Arab world.”

Ah, but the comics also gave an underground concert in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where no public entertainment is allowed, religious police are everywhere and they can't even enter the country as entertainers but as “consultants.” How in the world did they get away with it? That may have been another documentary in itself!

Ahmed, one of the stars of Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show and The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, isn't interested in the larger picture. He settles for brief forays into each city and a hit-and-run encounter with his relatives in Egypt. Expect no broader context but simply an assertion that once you get everyone laughing, an Arab is “just like us.” As an examination of complex cultural ties and conflicts, that’s pretty glib but in this instance glib is also funny.

Ahmed takes along a group of comedians that include Omid Dajalili (star of The Infidel), “In Living Color” alum Tommy Davidson, “The Wedding Ref” host Tom Papa and Ahmed's Wild West Comedy Show co-star Sebastian Maniscalco. And while he did direct, Ahmed is generous in showing his fellow comics during their times on stage.

Some of the laughs here come in watching -- and hearing -- the North American comics test jokes on an entirely different audience without being fully aware of the censorship laws. Ahmed admits he was banned for a year in Dubai for saying something that rubbed the authorities the wrong way. A woman comic uses the word “balls,” then abruptly wonders if now she'll be banned. The audience seemed to laugh at this but that may be how Ahmed edited the film. Who knows what they’re laughing at?

For that matter, editing is so fast and the pace of the tour so swift that you wonder what did get left out. How did that underground concert in Riyadh happen? Why is there a brief altercation backstage at one event? How did authorities react to the gags? And doesn’t the fact that most of the routines are in English exclude most of the Arab populations in these countries?

Mostly, Ahmed wants to show men, women and children of the Middle East smiling and cracking up in laughter to counter the image of the serious, sullen or even furious Arab who inhabits the American consciousness. He and his comics tell jokes well enough that he gets ample opportunities for this.

Rebecca Black's 'Friday' controversy: Video production company says it was 'blindsided' by YouTube removal

by Tanner Stransky

EW

Rebecca Black’s infamous music video for “Friday” remains pulled from YouTube due to a copyright claim by Black, as the saga surrounding the viral video continues to play out. ARK Music Factory, the company that helped Black create it, has fired back in a statement, claiming that they’re working to resolve a complaint from Black’s representatives.

The statement from ARK’s spokesperson is as follows: “We’re disappointed, having been in good faith negotiations with Rebecca Black and her representatives for months regarding any open issues. There’s been an ongoing, open dialogue with our company. So we were blindsided to get a Take Down Notice — with no notice — alleging copyright infringement instead of a call or email from Rebecca’s representatives.”

The company also claims they have rights to the video. “Our use of the video has fully been authorized (as evidenced by four uninterrupted months and 160 million-plus viewings without objection) by both Ms. Black and the copyright holder,” the statement continued. “Regardless, we are going to continue to take the high road and work out the complaint as soon as possible so that the million-plus people who watch Friday for free each day can continue to enjoy the video.”

Finally, ARK ended their statement saying the company was “pleased to have been associated with Rebecca Black, and wish her continued success as she pursues her career,” and noting that company founder Patrice Wilson “discovered, defined, and delivered” the 13-year-old “sensation.”

Reps for Black have not responded to EW for comment, and Black herself has not yet written anything about the current controversy on her Twitter feed or her just-launched Facebook page.

Musicians in Madrid fundraising concert for Libyan refugees

By MUNA KHAN

Al Arabiya with Agencies

Ten thousand fans gathered at Palacio Vistalegre stadium in Madrid to listen to musicians like James Blunt, Enrique Iglesias and Kate Ryan and support UN efforts to aid Libyan refugees.

The event, the seventh Primavera Pop Festival, was organized by 40 radio stations in a bid to raise awareness of refugees amongst the youth.

“We are very grateful to 40 Principales for this solidarity initiative to support UNHCR in its 60th year,” Maricela Daniel, UNHCR's representative in Spain, said at the concert.

“It is a great opportunity for us to bring the refugee cause closer to a motivated young public,” she said.

The concert was expected to raise 50,000 Euros which the United Nations High Commission for Refugees hopes to use for the protection of those displaced by the ongoing conflict in Libya.

The UN estimates that one million people have fled the conflict since it began in February in Libya and have moved to Tunisia, Egypt, Chad, Niger and Algeria.

Apart from the main attractions, other performers included Alexandra Stan, Carlos Jean y Nana, Dani Martín, Despistaos, El Pescao, La Musicalité, Macaco, Maldita Nerea, Melendi, Malú, Mohombi, Robert Ramírez, Soraya, Taio Cruz, and The Monomes.

According to UNHCR, Goodwill Ambassador Jesús Vázquez, “who is a popular TV presenter in Spain, sent a video message to the fans and several of the performers spoke about refugees.”

Many of the performers also joined the UNHCR campaign, “Put yourself in a Refugee’s Shoes,” by recording video messages to show their support, wearing campaign T-shirts.

The campaign will be launched in Spain on World Refugee Day on June 20.

(Muna Khan, Editor of Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: muna.khan@mbc.net)

Good for you, America: You don't care about Paris Hilton anymore

by Darren Franich

Image Credit: Ken Babolocsay/Globe Photos/ZUMAPRESS.com

There was a time when it seemed like Paris Hilton was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She may not have invented the notion of “famous for being famous,” but she perfected it, running roughshod over the first decade of this brave new millennium. She was inescapable. She had a reality show, or two. She had a music career, and I use both terms loosely. She was on the cover of classy magazines and tabloid magazines, thus shattering the difference between the two, until the very definition of “quality” began to seem fuzzy. She was at the center of the Lohan-Spears-Hilton party girl continuum which threatened the very fabric of our nation, apparently. But time rolls ever on. Seasons pass. Things change. And, despite ourselves, we learn from our past mistakes. Thus, The World According to Paris — Hilton’s new reality show about the perils of being Paris Hilton — debuted to blessedly low ratings on Wednesday. Congratulations, America! It only took eight years, untold millions of dollars, a relentless onslaught of media gasbaggery (that’s us!), and the entire career of Nicole Richie, but you have successfully weaned yourself off of your Paris addiction. (Don’t worry about Ms. Hilton: Something tells me she’ll be just fine.)

Minogue and Smith deny split rumours

By ninemsn staff

Dannii Minogue and Kris Smith. (AAP)

Pop princess Dannii Minogue and model partner Kris Smith have denied their three-year relationship is on the rocks, in a joint statement issued today.

Just ten months after the birth of their son, Ethan, the couple has been forced to defend their relationship amid reports they had taken a break from each other.

"Thanks for your concern," Minogue and Smith said today in a statement. "We're happy to be back at home in Melbourne together as a family. We are committed to our relationship and Ethan as always."

Their relationship has come under media scrutiny recently, with sources close to the couple telling the Daily Telegraph their union was crumbling under the strain of work pressures and parenthood.

Minogue added fuel to the rumours by posting a series of introspective messages on Twitter at the weekend.

“Never chase love. If it isn’t given freely by another person, it’s not worth having,” she tweeted, according to a News of the World report yesterday.

“Forgiving someone doesn’t mean forgetting what they did. It simply means letting go of the hurt.”

The posts were reportedly removed soon afterwards.

Minogue flew back into Australia last Sunday to continue judging on Australia’s Got Talent.

The 39-year-old regularly travels between Australia and the UK, while 32-year-old Smith is busy with his commitments as a menswear ambassador for Myer

Turkish melodramas swaying Arab TV audiences

By EMAN EL SHENAWI

Al Arabiya

Turkish television melodramas have swept the Arab world with their racy episodes of drama, romance and controversy. In some cases, they have become an obsession for Arab audiences causing them sometimes to shun Arabic soap operas.

The Turkish TV shows, which are crammed with taboos subjects such as alcohol, premarital sex and abortion. These subjects aren’t typically featured in Arabic-language television shows.

“Arabic soaps no longer interest me, they are becoming too repetitive” said Marwa Al Kubanji, a Londoner from Iraq who is an avid fan of the Turkish shows. “They focus on violence and morals; almost teaching us what is right and wrong in life—they are too patronizing and dull.”

Instead, she said that Turkish programs run deep, centering on emotional dilemmas and conflicts of the heart. These are amplified with storylines that show Western norms clashing with the traditional backgrounds of the Muslim characters, she added.

“I was shocked that these things were being broadcast on Arabic television when I first started watching ‘Noor’ three years ago,” she said.

Noor, (originally titled Gumus in Turkish) was the first Turkish soap opera dubbed in Arabic. It told a rags-to-riches story of a woman who married into a wealthy family but was rejected by her husband, who had another love interest.

Noor attracted more than 85 million Arab viewers above the age of 15—nearly 50 million of them were women, according to a report on Turkish soap operas by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Those 50 million are the equivalent to more than half of the adult Arab female viewers of any Arab TV drama in recent years.

The popularity of the Turkish shows among Arab viewers isn’t surprising, said Sengul Ozerkan, a professor of television and a cultural commentator in Istanbul. “Turkey always acts like an intermediary between the West and the Middle East,” she said in a Euromonitor report this week.

The Saudi cleric Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan, however, denounced

Noor. He said the program represented a “war” on Muslim virtues since it portrayed Muslim characters living in a largely secular Turkey.

Enas Mohammed, a scriptwriter based in London and a frequent viewer of Turkish dramas, said that although current Arabic soaps are relatively bland and repetitive in comparison to Turkey’s productions, the Arabs would catch up.

“We are beginning to see more daring story lines in Egyptian films, including those made for television. Some of them are focusing on fiery subjects with emotive angles,” Ms. Mohammed said.

She mentioned the film Al-Shawq, an Egyptian film that follows the trials of a woman who turned to begging on the streets of Egypt to be able to provide for her two daughters and an ill husband. It won the Golden Pyramid at the 34th Cairo International Film Festival in December 2010.

But it’s Turkey that still churns out the most melodramatic of the dramas, with programs such as Ask-i Memnu, Izel, Yaprak Dokumu, Kurtlar Vadisi, Asmali Konak and Ihlamurlar Altinda. These are currently showing on Arab television channels.

Last year, a total of 22 countries imported Turkish television series. The Hurriyet study found that since Turkey started to export its shows in 2006, sales have exceeded $3 million annually with the Arab world, Greece and Brazil being the top markets.

(Eman El Shenawi of Al Arabiya can be reached at: eman.elshenawi@mbc.net)