Disappearing cigarette packet warnings, receding head scarves and Ahmadinejad’s PhD:
(Watch Majd’s full interview on Bill Maher – from right after the election protests broke out.)
Posts Tagged ‘culture’
bend it like iran (with hooman majd)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009being irrepressibly joyous
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009I find that generally speaking, Iranians are a jovial bunch. Quick to crack a joke, down for a party and always willing to sit down for tea with friends and family.
But as soon as the topics of Iranian culture or history come up, things turn conspiratorial and/or depressing. Of course there’s no shortage of bad history to account for this and as I work on the project, I find myself focusing on the sorrowful Iran more often than I’d originally hoped. (See 1, 2, 3, 4.) It’s hard not to; so much of the culture centers around mourning. Everyday sayings use analogies of martyrdom and death. Rumi’s poetry, that paragon of Persian society, is defined by sorrowful longing for a lost love. In an upcoming episode, an immigrant – my mom – longs for a home that doesn’t seem to exist anywhere. (watch a clip below)
Given the Iranian tendency towards melancholy, I was very pleased to come across this wonderful idea from a blogger named “seamorg.”
Seamorg writes:
- Looking for Persian dancers: of any style, but especially male or female Beat Boys, breakdancers, poppers, lockers, or Iranians who can do African or other ethnic dance to perform dances inspired by the green wave.
- This is a tribute to the allah-u-akbar cries from the rooftops of Iranians. (PYTYK note: The protestors in Iran have taken to shouting “Allah-u-Akbar” from their rooftops as a sign of defiance.)
- Email me videos of yourself dancing on your roof-top.
- Why? Because despair thrives by making us despair. The only way to fight the sad-ness enforcement of the I.R.I is by being irrepressibly joyous. (PYTYK emphasis)
- Please email for more details: seamorg74million@gmail.com
So if you’re a dancer, or aren’t afraid of people knowing you’re not, please shoot seamorg an email.