Ultra-modern design for full-service recently constructed entertainment and tourism center
Outdoor pavilion during recent Shahram Nazeri concert
Recently constructed indoor auditorium
Lighting effects at entrance to indoor auditorium
Wide angle daylight view of pavilion and auditorium
Indoor view of auditorium and performers' stage
Photos: Ali Mosleh and Islamic Republic News Agency
How many times have we heard music is outlawed or frowned upon by the authorities in Iran? Yet here in Shiraz an entire entertainment complex with pavilion has recently been constructed, and music performances are being held both indoors and outdoors.
ReplyDeleteA point well taken, Mark. With one caveat, however. Only certain genre of music can be played in open forums such as there in today's Iran. And who selects what type of genre? The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It’s like the U.S. government saying Jazz could not be played at Newport Festival! Having said that, it’s so great to see a beautiful music hall like this in Shiraz, Iran’s ancient capital of arts and culture, and the city of my dreams!
ReplyDeleteMost groups can perform in Iran and it has very little to do with their genre of music. Movies such as Ghobadi's Persian Cats are straight out lies. You know I went to college in Iran and through the whole time in Farabi Hall at Art University of Tehran beside performances every now and then we had rock music festivals where student bands would compete, sometimes even covering from Dylan and Baez to electronic rock. There are some restrictions but those are not on genre. The only one that comes to my mind is of a single female voice which is brilliantly circumvented by a very low volume back vocal. I have to respectfully dispute the idea that the government acts as if the US government is saying Jazz could not be played. The analogy I believe is very shaky.
DeleteAgain Uskowi ,you long for a revolution in the entertainment industry!-people dancing half naked and topless concerts, don't you?
Deleteevery people have their own norms and cultures,the problems is when one start seeing other cultures as superior or attempt to ram them down the throat of the other group.
meanwhile, what you are seeing in Iran is civility in that industry.May the Almighty save us from the devilish culture of the US particularly its entertainment industry!.
@B.M.A.,
DeleteHow did you come up with the idea that I want half-naked and topless people to dance in public? You imagination goes beyond politics and pollute you thinking and ideology! Every people have their own culture; but the governments are the worst source for choosing the “right” culture for their people. Best they can do is to get out of that role, and let people observe their own culture, which would be much stronger and more lasting than government-sponsored culture.
@foadtorshizi,
You are an expert on arts and I would defer to your judgment on matters related to your expertise, including government’s interference or lack of in matters of arts and what can be played or not played publicly, which was the subject of this post. Thanks.
Thanks for your kind remarks. I certainly am not an expert, especially in music. But I know of a number of bands that used to be underground and now they obtain permits from the Islamic Guidance and Culture ministry, including Palett music band — http://www.pallettmusic.com/
DeleteIt is sad to see people like Bahman Ghobadi, who used to exploit poverty in Kurdistan, with little respect for his movie characters, or fake a relationship with Roxana Saberi for self-promotion, misrepresent Iranian art scene such as he did in No One Knows About Persian Cats. It is not only unfair to the government but to the young artists who try so hard to accommodate with regulations in place and constantly push the boundaries of these regulation in order to be able to present their work. It is denying their agency. Considering the wide audience they have, Ghobadi and those like him should find themselves to be ethically more responsible than they have been so far.
While government shouldnt determine culture what is played in Iran is pretty much in tune with even by Iranian exile standards. Most exiles wouldnt be caught dead at a Miley Cyrus, or Lady Gaga concert and would find it trashy and distasteful. Here is a concert in Milad Tower by the Arian band. Notice the guitare player is a woman behind the singer.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9-qxf-s_hA
And if its Jazzy music you want in Iran Uskowi here you go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRq_Iad7Uuc
I think the point is if you show these videos to most Iranians outside the country they'd accuse you of lying and saying these must be in Dubai, and that Irans Gov would never allow concerts like this in Iran despite these are all public concerts right in Tehran.
Most Iranians outside Iran think that if you get caught listening to Music in Iran, some pasdar will grab you through you against a wall and start giving you 70 lashes or something.
The regimes idea of "culture" is throwing letters into a hole in Arabic.
ReplyDeleteAnd not to forget,throwing people from buildings.
Delete