American TV show portrays Iranians as successful, spoiled and dysfunctuonal!
If you think most Iranian American men are Jewish and in real estate business, then this show is for you! Like MTV’s Jersey Shore and TLC’s All-American Muslim, Bravo's "Shahs of Sunset" sterotypes a group of immigrants in America, this time a group of rich Iranian-Americans in Beverly Hills.
The new series on Bravo, produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, shows the lives of young and rich Persian-Americans as they balance their social, romantic, and career lives with the values of their families and community. The cast members of this reality show, claim their parents landed on U.S. soil "with nothing," but then we notice they all landed in Beverly Hills! of all places. We must be missing something.
Bravo’s cast includes (seen in picture): Mercedes “MJ” Javid, is a known party girl and a luxury real estate agent living in the Hollywood Hills. Reza Farahan (with moustache on left) is a real estate investor and the openly gay cast member. A$a Rahmati is a singer/artist. She prides herself on living the “Modern Persian gypsy bohemian lifestyle.” Sammy Younai is a Jewish Iranian and residential developer specializing in multi-million dollar homes. He calls himself a “ladies man” and is always on the prowl for his next fling! Mike Shouhed is another Jewish Iranian and part of the self-appointed “Persian Real Estate Mafia” in Los Angles. Mike can’t seem to stop charming girls but ultimately he is looking for a woman he can bring home to his mother! Golnesa “GG” Gharachedadhi is an exotic beauty with a fiery temper. Fully supported by her father, this classic “Persian Princess,” goes out to lunch with her friends during the day and shops for Mr. Persian Right at night but she is having a hard time finding a man that can support the lavish lifestyle and handle her unapologetic (read spoiled) personality.
The series is criticized by many Iranian-Americans because it sterotypes them as superficial, materialistic, spoiled and dysfunctional - men as womanizers, women as spoiled, and all as superficial, hedonistic and materialistic. The Iranian American men on this show are Jewish or gay, and all in real estate business. But most Iranian-American men are not Jewish, gay or in real estate, so the sampling is very skewed and perhaps done for shocking and entertainment purposes. The show is also already plagued with a lawsuit by Kathy Salem, who says she was humiliated and abused as a result of taking part in a July party that was filmed for the series.
Blog sent by R. Bazargan
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