“Shahs of Sunset”: The real Iranians of Los Angeles?

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:30:00 +0000

When I hit the academic job market last year, trekking across the country with my research talk and rolling suitcase, I was prepared to field questions about my scholarly qualifications, teaching experience and Ph.D. thesis on race and Iranian-American youth. I was not, however, prepared to talk about the reality TV show “Shahs of Sunset,” which returns to Bravo on Sunday for its second season.

It turns out that professors — even the ones with the authority to hire other professors — watch schlocky basic-cable programming. And from the Midwest to New England, curious members of hiring committees wanted to know: Does the show, which follows six Iranians in their 30s living in Los Angeles, accurately reveal what Iranian-Americans are really like?

As a sociologist, I’m trained to identify the conglomerate firms, consumer markets and constellation of forces that produce entertainment-driven TV. But even intentionally shallow culture yields unexpected depth from time to time.

So yalla (come along) with an Iranian-American interpreter-slash-professional-sociologist, as I take what seems to be a minority position among my colleagues and detail how “Shahs” reveals certain deeper truths about Iranians in the U.S.

Camille Paglia on “Watch What Happens Live”

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Last night, Salon contributor and "Glittering Images" author Camille Paglia joined Bravo's Andy Cohen to share her thoughts about the impact the "Real Housewives" series has on radical feminism.

Here, Paglia breaks down how the Housewives have helped women with "the fabulosity of their sexual power."

Taking a question from a fan, Paglia argues that "Real Housewives" helps to redefine feminism:

Here, Paglia singles out the housewife she finds the most socially acceptable — and the one she finds most reprehensible:

Salon.com > Bravo

“Shahs of Sunset”: The real Iranians of Los Angeles?

Camille Paglia on “Watch What Happens Live”