| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Socialist Network | ||||
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It was all about Chinese President Hu Jintao visit to the US and the power struggle between the two countries. The United States' response to Hu's visit was a combination of traditional diplomacy, with the numerous meetings and negotiations that occurred, and public diplomacy, with the fanfare of the ceremonies and state dinner that were held in his honor. These public displays would seem to benefit both the US and China, by showing the rest of the world (and particularly citizens of each country) that two of its most powerful countries are, at least trying, to work together on major issues such as the economy, the environment and world conflicts. The State Dinner, it has been said, was held in part to appeal to the genera belief among Chinese officials in proper protocol, who apparently found Bush's lack of ceremony insulting (see this Guardian article on Hu Jintao's visit). However, it is unclear if these were particularly effective, at least in the United States, as the White House was criticized for bestowing the honor of a state dinner on China in spite of its problematic record of human rights abuses. From the coverage I saw, these events weren't particularly effective, as it seemed clear they were all for show and that the relationship between the US and China is still somewhat strained.
Coincidentally, the same show's guests were Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi, the co-creators of the Voice of America's satirical Iranian news show Parazit, a kind of Iranian version of the Daily Show.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive - Kambiz Hosseini & Saman Arbabi Extended Interview<a> | ||||
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As we briefly discussed in class, the VOA is a form of International Broadcasting and has long been seen as a type of US propaganda (although it is trying to re-brand itself). Since this program is broadcast by the VOA it seems that it must be, at least in part, a product of US public diplomacy efforts. However, the creators are both Iranian born immigrants, who have legitimate issues and concerns about their home country's government and state of affairs. From the little I have seen of it, the show also does not seem to directly promote the United States. However, it seems as though it would indirectly promote the US values of freedom of speech and democracy, as the hosts are able to say things on the show they could never get away with in Iran. Hosseini said in the interview that his country "oppressed" him and his right to free speech and that they are trying to "transform" things with dark humor (although it was not clear if they want to transform Iranian society and government or transform it by providing those with a similar mindset an outlet for their anger and frustration). In addition, they say the Iranian government has attempted to counter their messages with an "anti-Parazit" show.
While the show may indeed provide catharsis for those in Iran who already agree with its creators and possibly bring some others over to their way of thinking, it remains to be seen if it could produce real and lasting societal change. If the US is using it to promote traditional American values, it could help inspire some to lead movements in the country against their oppressive government. However, as we saw during the 2010 Green Revolution, the current government seems determined to hang onto power by whatever means necessary, which would be a major hurdle for any movement to overcome and one unlikely to be toppled by public diplomacy.
I hope you saw the segment on Egypt and ICTs. I linked to it over on our blog: http://628pd4.blogspot.com/2011/01/jon-get-out-of-my-head.html. It's as if he had a mole in our classroom. :-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't see that one, but I will definitely check it out now. If only someone from the Daily Show was in class with us...maybe we could get them to do a segment on us and our amazing PD analysis?
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