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“An Iranian government-affiliated agency has banned dolls of the Simpsons cartoon characters, who join Barbie and others on a toy blacklist, an independent newspaper reported on Monday. The report said that the Simpsons were banned to avoid the promotion of Western culture. But Superman and Spiderman were allowed, because they helped the “oppressed.” “We do not want to promote this cartoon by importing the toys,” Shargh daily quoted Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, secretary of policymaking at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, as saying……… He did not elaborate on what was wrong with the Simpsons specifically ………”

I like the Simpsons. I firmly believe they are more entertaining and more interesting than Press TV (Iran) or al-Manar TV (Lebanon) or CNN (USA) or BBC (Britain). Hell, they are always even more interesting than Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, although not always funnier. All of the above are more interesting than, say, William Hague (aka Yoda) or David Cameron (aka Pierce Morgan). The Iranian decision to ban The Simpsons is a repressive measure. It is more repressive, in my view than, say, the house arrests of opposition leaders like Mausavi or Karroubi, mainly because Homer and Bart and Marge (and even Apu) are fun-ner than those Iranian worthies.
On the other hand, I was also pissed that the Western governments are blocking television stations they don’t agree with. Mainly Press TV (Iran) and al-Manar TV (Lebanon). Not because I am a regular fan of these stations, I am not. I am not a fan of any television network. Come to think of it I am not a fan of anyone: I was not a fan of the late Saddam Hussein when most people around me thought the sun shone out of his ass, and now I am not a fan of the Wahhabi princes even when the same many people hink that the sun actually shines out of their royal asses.
 
I doubt that the ban means anything on the ground. Most Iranian who wish to see The Simpsons do so via satellite television and the Internet. Westerners who wish to see Press TV or al-Manar can do so as well.
Cheers
mhg


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