Soccer Dad

Tolerance through humor

In Just a Little Innocent Comedy (or here for a link that won't disappear as quickly) the Baltimore Sun's TV critic David Zurawik profiles two Arab American and one Iranian American comic.

The profile is mostly a lecture about tolerance.

Indeed though progress has been made, more is needed, says Evelyn Alsultany, a University of Michigan professor who since 2001 has tracked TV portrayals of Arab- and Muslim-Americans. Most television roles that call for a person of Middle Eastern ethnicity, she says, fall into one of two "types."

In the first, Alsultany says, an Arab character is unjustly suspected of illegal activity.

In the second type, the character is "good": an Arab or Muslim who aides the U.S. government in its fight against "bad" Arabs and Muslims. In these roles, goodness nearly always is defined as serving the U.S government, the professor adds.

And while I can understand the complaint of the comic with the Egytian heritage, Jobrani

As grateful as he is for the increased job opportunities, Jobrani asks: "Where are the Arab, Muslim or Iranian medical doctors saving lives and curing people on TV? Go in any hospital, and you will see them, but not on television."

I'm not impressed with the overall complaint presented.

First of all, the fact that Islamic entertainers are even more popular after 9/11 demonstrates the tolerance in our society. Why then is tolerance presented as an American burden about which more has to be done?

The Palestinian American comic who seems to be the focus of the article, Dean Obeidallah has his own website deanofcomedy.com and links to his act with a Jewish comedian, Scott Blakeman called Standup for Peace.

Where does this two man show perform?

Blakeman and Obeidallah have received critical acclaim and standing room only crowds at theaters, comedy clubs, Jewish Community Centers, Temples, as well as colleges including Yale, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, William and Mary, George Mason University and University of New Hampshire. They were featured on MSNBC and have been the subject of articles in a wide range of publications.

The Zurawik article tells us where Obeidallah has performed his solo act.

In fact, the Fordham University Law School graduate, who in 2002 co-created the New York Arab Comedy Festival, is finding himself in increasingly high demand. In the past year, he has performed his one-man show, I Come in Peace, in clubs and colleges from coast to coast as well as in Ramallah, West Bank; Beirut, Lebanon; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Did you notice what was missing from the list of places where his two man show plays? It makes me wonder who really needs the lecture in tolerance.

UPDATE: Elder of Ziyon subsequently has had two posts about Palestinian humor. The first The Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour talks about

When I was in Israel in January I saw a CNN piece about the "Israeli Palestinian Comedy Tour." There are four comedians, including a Palestinian Arab American, who are evidently doing a bang-up business telling jokes throughout Israel. (In fact, a couple of them were staying at my hotel in Jerusalem.)

I have no problem with this tour, and I wish them the best. But I can't help noticing that Arab countries do not seem to be on their itinerary.

My guess is that it's the presence of the Israeli that makes the tour unpalatable to Arab audiences. But the Arab half of the tour, Ray Hanania is not just a comedian but an op-ed writer. Amazingly he even has been given a perch at Yedioth Ahronot to spout his ahistorical nonsense. Some of it, I suppose, could be funny if it weren't meant in earnest.

Elder of Ziyon followed up with a guest post from one of his readers.

It is unfortunate that the Muslims have not embraced humor in the way that Jews have but it is not very surprising. Humor is a humanizing defense mechanism for those considered to be lower status. It helps them to deal with that situation and it helps them to get past it. Humor is an equalizer. It brings those of (perceived) higher status down to the level of the others, not by vilification but by humanization.

Humor also requires introspection by those to whom it is directed. Rather than demonize, the humorist simply exploits weaknesses, foibles and idiosyncrasies of those objectified, be they from within the community or those outside of it. The mirror of introspection is held for all to see. It requires a degree of strength to survive looking at the mirror.

Blogdigger tags: Arab-Israeli Conflict, Humor, Arab Comedians, Islamic Comedians.