Axis of Evil Comedy show was in Chicago last night. The troops included Maz Jobrani, Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader, Din Obeidollah and Sharif from Dayton, Ohio. These 5 comedians with Middle Eastern backgrounds put on a fabulous show.
What I found most interesting was the way these comedians have been able to build a bridge between different cultures. Din and Aron have grown up in the mixed families; their fathers are Palestinian and their moms American. Maz and Ahmed have been living in the States for the most of their lives. They all understand the cultures at the both ends of the gap. They use the differences, the typos and the generalizations to make one laugh.
The uniqueness of their show rests in their ability to talk comfortably about rather serious concepts in non-political way. The interesting part of their act is that their jokes are not limited to the Middle East. They say a few things about America, like any other Normal Average American comedian. They also are able to make a connection between different perspectives to highlight the common ground, the common likes and dislikes.
They made fun of everyone, from President Bush to Average Muslim guy in Dubai. Their audience was as mixed. There were all sort of the Middle East oriented ethnic groups as well as many Americans and African Americans in the audience. Comedians used this opportunity to talk about how it feels to be an Arab-American or Iranian-American in post 9-11 era. Audience loved their jokes and laughed loud at many of them. Particularly an explosion of laughter followed Aron’s remarks when he said:
“Religion is the thing. It is everybody’s thing. All religions are considered themselves to be the Chosen One. You do not have a religion who tells you: “we are not the Chosen ones, but we are highly recommended ones… People say a lot of good stuff about us!”
Axis of Evil Comedy show certainly is not a Chosen one, but it is indeed highly recommended to all who can enjoy a good laugh and want to learn about other cultures. I am sure Chicago is looking forward to seeing them again.
What I found most interesting was the way these comedians have been able to build a bridge between different cultures. Din and Aron have grown up in the mixed families; their fathers are Palestinian and their moms American. Maz and Ahmed have been living in the States for the most of their lives. They all understand the cultures at the both ends of the gap. They use the differences, the typos and the generalizations to make one laugh.
The uniqueness of their show rests in their ability to talk comfortably about rather serious concepts in non-political way. The interesting part of their act is that their jokes are not limited to the Middle East. They say a few things about America, like any other Normal Average American comedian. They also are able to make a connection between different perspectives to highlight the common ground, the common likes and dislikes.
They made fun of everyone, from President Bush to Average Muslim guy in Dubai. Their audience was as mixed. There were all sort of the Middle East oriented ethnic groups as well as many Americans and African Americans in the audience. Comedians used this opportunity to talk about how it feels to be an Arab-American or Iranian-American in post 9-11 era. Audience loved their jokes and laughed loud at many of them. Particularly an explosion of laughter followed Aron’s remarks when he said:
“Religion is the thing. It is everybody’s thing. All religions are considered themselves to be the Chosen One. You do not have a religion who tells you: “we are not the Chosen ones, but we are highly recommended ones… People say a lot of good stuff about us!”
Axis of Evil Comedy show certainly is not a Chosen one, but it is indeed highly recommended to all who can enjoy a good laugh and want to learn about other cultures. I am sure Chicago is looking forward to seeing them again.
1 comment:
You do not have a religion who tells you: “we are not the Chosen ones, but we are highly recommended ones… People say a lot of good stuff about us!"
I like Aron Kader and his work, but I disagree with him on this. People of the dharmic faiths -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains -- don't consider themselves to be "chosen." Granted, there are certainly fundamentalists and nationalists of these faiths, but they don't believe that God has "chosen" them over anyone else.
Post a Comment