Now, here's a sentiment I can relate to: peoples' universal love of singing! It doesn't matter where you're from, or which religion you follow. There's something about really belting it out into a karaoke machine that's just irresistible. People makes careers studying the psychological components and the deeper meaning of Human Nature, but some of it is pretty simple and common. This documentary follows the Afghan Star televised singing competition. The show follows the format of American Idol, but instead of singing cheesy, English pop songs, the contestants here sing traditional Afghan music. Apparently, the songs are more popular and contemporary than classical Afghan music, but they're still in some of the various languages spoken in Afghanistan, and deemed culturally and morally acceptable by Islamic law. That's important for a show that's broadcast throughout the whole nation. This is a particularly touchy subject for the nation, since it's one of the few things about which citizens can vote democratically. Anyone with a cell phone can text in and vote for his or her favorite singer. In a country as ethnically diverse as Afghanistan, citizens wonder whether the voting will really be unbiased, or whether voters will simply choose the contestant from their particular ethnic group. And, In another unsurprising twist, these new voters run right into another one of the most contentious issues in modern democracy: campaign finance. Wealthy Afghanis have figured out that they can purchase thousands of SIM cards, thereby throwing the vote in favor of their particular darling. (I guess there's more than one universal theme in this film.)
This documentary is really good. Director, Havana Marking, does a great job introducing us to the various contestants, and she really builds the right amount of suspense as the competition progresses. We get to know the singers a little. We rejoice with them when they advance to another round, and we cry with them when they're eliminated. This show was very interesting, because it was one of the first new programs to pop up once the Taliban's decades long ban on singing and music was finally lifted. The show was particularly controversial because the producers allowed women to compete on television alongside men. The film indicates that this contest falls into a gray area of Islamic law. While there is no ban on women singing, the female contestants would have to be very careful not to draw the wrong kind of attention to themselves by appearing vain or sexy. And, some of these women come dangerously close to the line. It's interesting to see how Afghanistan's culture has started to revive itself after the Taliban lost its hold on Kabul. People are wary, and they are branching out very carefully, but they never really lost their old preferences.
This documentary is really good. Director, Havana Marking, does a great job introducing us to the various contestants, and she really builds the right amount of suspense as the competition progresses. We get to know the singers a little. We rejoice with them when they advance to another round, and we cry with them when they're eliminated. This show was very interesting, because it was one of the first new programs to pop up once the Taliban's decades long ban on singing and music was finally lifted. The show was particularly controversial because the producers allowed women to compete on television alongside men. The film indicates that this contest falls into a gray area of Islamic law. While there is no ban on women singing, the female contestants would have to be very careful not to draw the wrong kind of attention to themselves by appearing vain or sexy. And, some of these women come dangerously close to the line. It's interesting to see how Afghanistan's culture has started to revive itself after the Taliban lost its hold on Kabul. People are wary, and they are branching out very carefully, but they never really lost their old preferences.