Jamil Abu-Wardeh: The Axis of Evil Middle East Comedy Tour

Prevoditelj: Romana Perković Recezent: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

This talk is about righting writing wrongs.

Ovaj razgovor je o ispravljanju loših napisa.

No, the sound's not faulty -- righting writing wrongs.

Ne, ne zvuči pogrešno - ispravljanje loših napisa.

The Middle East is huge,

Bliski Istok je ogroman

and with all our problems, one thing's for sure: we love to laugh.

i sa svim našim problemima, jedna stvar je sigurna: obožavamo se smijat.

I think humor is a great way to celebrate our differences.

Mislim da je humor dobar način kako bismo slavili naše razlike.

We need to take our responsibilities seriously,

Treba ozbiljnije shvatit naše odgovornosti,

but not ourselves.

a ne sebe.

Don't get me wrong: it's not like we don't have comedy in the Middle East.

Nemojte me shvatiti pogrešno: nije kao da nemamo komediju na Bliskom Istoku.

I grew up at a time when iconic actors

Odrastao sam u tom vremenu kada su ikonski glumci

from Kuwait, Syria, Egypt

iz Kuvajta, Sirije, Egipta,

used laughter to unite the region,

koristili smijeh kako bi sjedinili regije,

just as football can.

isto kao što to može nogomet.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Now is the time for us to laugh at ourselves,

Vrijeme je da se smijemo sami sebi,

before others can laugh with us.

prije nego što se ostali mogu smijat s nama.

This is the story of the rise and rise of stand-up comedy in the Middle East --

Ovo je priča o uzdignuću i uzdignuću stand up komedije na Bliskom Istoku -

a stand-up uprising, if you will.

uzdizanje stand up komedije, ako želite.

Working in London as TV maker and writer,

Radeći u Londonu na TV-u kao pisac,

I quickly realized

brzo sam shvatio da

that comedy connects audiences.

komedija povezuje publike.

Now, the best breeding ground for good comic writing

Sada, najplodnije tlo za pisanje dobre komedije scena

is the stand-up comedy circuit,

je stand-up komedije,

where they just happen to say that you kill when you do well

gdje baš slučajno kažu kako ubijaš kad dobro odradiš

and you bomb when you do badly.

i bombardiraš kad odradiš loše.

An unfortunate connection for us maybe,

Nesretna veza za nas možda,

but it reminds me

ali me podsjeća

that we'd like to thank one man for, over the past decade,

kako bismo htjeli zahvaliti jednom čovjeku, u posljednjem desetljeću,

working tirelessly

koji je neumorno radio

to support comedians all around the world,

kako bi podržao komičare iz cijelog svijeta,

specifically comedians

posebno komičare

with a Middle Eastern background.

s područja Bliskog Istoka.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Like my good friends, Dean and Maysoon, at the bottom of the screen,

Kao moji dobri prijatelji, Dean and Maysoon, na dnu zaslona,

who, two years after 9/11,

koji su, dvije godine nakon 11. rujna,

started a festival to change the way

osnovali festival da bi promijenili način

Middle Easterners are perceived in the world.

na koji svijet gleda na ljude s Bliskog Istoka.

It's still going strong, with positive press to die for.

I dalje ide snažno. Sa pozitivnim ispisom za koji vrijedi umrijeti.

Also, three guys working for years in Los Angeles,

Također tri dečka koji rade godinama u Los Angelesu,

an Iranian, a Palestinian and an Egyptian,

Iranac, Palestinac i Egipćanin,

created the aptly named Axis of Evil comedy act.

stvorili su spomenutu Komediju Osovine Zla.

And wherever they went,

I gdje god bili,

they killed.

ubijali su.

Now, I didn't start this fire, but I did pour petrol on it.

Sada, nisam započeo ovu vatru, ali sam sipao na nju benzin.

I moved to Dubai as the head of original content

Preselio sam se u Dubai kao rukovoditelj originalnog sadržaja

for a Western TV network.

za Zapadnu TV mrežu.

My job was to connect the brand with a Middle Eastern audience.

Moj posao je spojiti ovaj brand sa publikom Bliskog Istoka.

Now, the American head of programming

Sada, američki direktor programa

wanted new local Arabic comedy.

je htio novu lokalnu arapsku komediju.

In a thick Arabic accent, my brain went,

U dubokom arapskom naglasku, moj mozak je rekao,

"Berfect."

"Sabršeno."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Now, I had friends in the U.S.

Sada, imao sam prijatelje u SAD-u

who had started a successful new tribe.

koji su napravili uspješno novo pleme.

And I had every intention of taking this tribe

I imao sam namjeru oteti ih

from being outliers in the Middle East

od neprihvaćenosti na Bliskom Istoku

and pushing them over the tipping point

i gurnuti ih preko vrha

towards success.

prema uspjehu.

Now, as with any new idea, it wasn't easy.

Sada, kao i sa svakom novom idejom, nije bilo lako.

I had four phases to this plan.

Imao sam četiri faze ovog plana.

First, we'd need to buy content from the West and air it.

Prvo, trebali bismo kupiti sadržaj sa Zapada i emitirati ga.

Then I'd bring my friends, and we'd show local amateurs how it's done.

Onda bih doveo moje prijatelje, i pokazali bismo amaterima kako se to radi.

We would film that and air it,

Onda bismo to snimili i emitirali,

and then I could work with the local amateurs and write new comedy.

i onda bih mogao raditi s lokalnim amaterima i pisati novu komediju.

I excitedly presented this to the big boss,

Uzbuđeno sam ovo pokazao velikom šefu,

and his reaction was, "Um, I don't get it."

i njegova reakcija je bila, "Hm, ne shvaćam."

So I retreated back to my cave

Tako da sam se povukao u svoju pećinu

and continued to support and produce comedy

i nastavio podržavati i producirati komediju

and let my friends use my couch

i dao svojim prijateljima da koriste moj kauč

as a regional operations hub.

kao regionalni centar operacija.

Now, fast forward two years, to early 2007.

Sada, ubrzajmo za dvije godine, do rane 2007.

The earth rotated, as did our management,

Zemlja je kružila, kao i naša uprava.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

and as if by divine intervention,

I baš kao sa božanskim uplitanjem,

things came together

stvari su se poklopile

to help this revolution take shape.

kako bi ova revolucija dobila neki oblik.

Here's how the dots connected.

Evo kako su se točke povezale.

First, the Axis guys recorded a Comedy Central special

Prvo, dečki iz Osovine Zla su snimili specijal Comedy Centrala

that aired in the States,

koji se emitirao u SAD,

and it was getting great hits on YouTube.

i imao je dobar odaziv na Youtube-u.

Our new French CEO

Naš novi francuski direktor je

believed in the power of positive PR ...

vjerovao u moć pozitivnog PR-a ...

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

and ideas du bon marche.

i jeftinih ideja.

Let's just say "value for money."

I samo recimo "vrijednost za novac."

I produced in Dubai a show for Ahmed Ahmed

Producirao sam u Dubaiju emisiju za Ahmed Ahmed-a

to showcase his new Axis special to a packed room.

kako bih pokazao njegov novi specijal Osovine u prepunoj sobi.

I invited our new CEO,

Pozvao sam našeg direktora,

and as soon as he realized we had a room packed full of laughing infidels,

i čim je shvatio da imamo sobu punu nevjernika koji se smiju,

his reaction was very simple:

i njegova reakcija je bila jednostavna:

"Let's make this happen.

"Hajde da napravimo ovo.

And one more thing: No, don't F it up."

I još nešto: Ne, nemoj zajeb ..."

So I quickly went to work

Brzo sam krenuo na posao

with a great team around me.

sa nevjerojatnim timom oko sebe.

I happened to find

I dogodilo se da sam našao

a funny guy to present it in Arabic,

smiješnog tipa da to predstavi na arapskom,

who is originally Korean,

koji je porijeklom Koreanac,

a perfect fit for the Axis of Evil.

savršen spoj s Osovinom Zla.

This is all true.

Sve ovo je točno.

Now, while preparing for the tour,

Sada, dok smo se pripremali za turneju,

I had to remind the guys to be culturally sensitive.

morao sam podsjetiti dečke da budu osjetljivi na kulturu.

I used the three Bs of stand-up don'ts

Iskoristio sam tri B stand-up-a koje ne bi smjeli koristiti,

as I call them in the Middle East:

kao što ih ja zovem na Bliskom Istoku -

blue content, keep it clean; beliefs, not religion;

Plavi sadržaj, neka bude čisto, bez psovki - vjerovanja, bez religije,

and the third B, bolitics.

i treće B, bolitika.

Stay away from bolitics in the Middle East.

Držite se podalje od bolitike na Bliskom Istoku.

Oh course, you might think, what's left

I naravno, možete misliti, što je ostalo

without bolitics, sex and religion, how can you make people laugh?

bez bolitike, seksa i religije, kako možemo natjerati ljude da se smiju?

I'd say, watch any successful well-written,

Rekao bih, pogledajte bilo koju uspješnu, dobro napisanu,

family-friendly sitcom in the West

obiteljsko-prijateljsku humorističnu seriju na Zapadu

for your answers.

za odgovor na to pitanje.

Now, were the Axis successful?

Sada, je li Osovina uspješna?

In five countries, in just under a month,

U pet zemalja, za manje od mjesec dana,

we had thousands of fanatical fans come and see them live.

imali smo tisuće oduševljenih fanova koji su došli vidjeti ih uživo.

We had millions see them on TV and on TV news.

Imali smo milijune koji su ih vidjeli na TV-u i TV vijestima.

In Jordan, we had His Majesty the King come and see them.

U Jordanu, Njegovo Veličanstvo Kralj, došao ih je vidjet.

In fact, they were so successful

U stvari, bili su toliko uspješni

that you could buy a pirated copy of their DVD,

da ste mogli kupiti piratsku kopiju njihovog DVD-a

even before it was released in the Middle East.

još prije nego je puštena u prodaju na Bliskom Istoku.

Anywhere you go.

Bilo gdje išli.

So everywhere we went,

Znači svugdje gdje smo bili,

we auditioned amateurs.

imali smo audicije za amatere.

We filmed that process and aired a documentary.

Snimili smo taj proces i emitirali dokumentarac.

I called it "Three Guys and Wonho."

Nazvao sam ga "Tri dečka i Wonho."

It really is his name.

To je stvarno njegovo ime.

And all this TV and Internet exposure

I sva ta televizija i izlaganje Internetu

has led to a great many

je dovelo do toga da smo mnoge

recruits to our cause.

uposlili za naš cilj.

In Dubai this year, we've just had

U Dubaiu ove godine, imali smo

the first all-women's, homegrown stand-up show.

prvi domaći ženski stand-up.

And notice two of them are wearing headscarves,

Primijetite kako dvije od njih nose velove,

and yes, even they can laugh.

i da, sve se one znaju smijat.

Dubai, to me, is like a hand

Dubai, za mene, je kao ruka

that supports anyone who wants to make things happen.

koja podržava svakog tko hoće učiniti nešto.

20 years ago,

Prije 20 godina,

no one had heard of it.

nitko nije čuo za njega.

Look at it now.

Pogledajte ga sada.

With an inspirational leader, I think this year,

Sa inspiriranim vođom, mislim kako je ove godine,

the opening of the tallest tower in the world

otvaranje najviše kule u svijetu

is like adding a finger to that hand,

kao dodavanje prsta toj ruci,

that points at all those

prikazuje sve one

who spread fallacious stories about us.

koji šire zlonamjerne priče o nama.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Now, in three short years, we've come a long way

Sada, u tri kratke godine, prošli smo dug put

with stand-up comedy shows happening even in Saudi Arabia.

sa stand-up komedijom koje ima čak i u Saudijskoj Arabiji.

These comics are now going to the New York festival.

Ovi komičari sada idu na festival u New Yorku.

And the Lebanese, brilliant Lebanese,

I Libanonac, briljantni Libanonac,

Nemr Abou Nassar, we featured in our first tour,

Nemr Abou Nassar, kojeg smo imali na našoj prvoj turneji,

has just been performing in L.A.'s legendary comedy clubs.

imao je nastupe u Los Angelesu u legendarnim komičarskim klubovima.

So clearly, from the inside, we are doing our best to change our image,

Očigledno, iznutra, radimo sve što možemo kako bismo promijenili sliku o nama,

and it's exploding.

i to eksplodira.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So, as for the outsiders looking in,

Dakle, što se tiče stranaca koji gledaju,

watch the CNN report on the second Amman Comedy Festival.

pogledajte CNN izvješće o drugom Anman Festivalu Komedije.

The reporter did a great job, and I thank her,

Reporterka je napravila dobar posao, i zahvaljujem joj,

but somebody forgot to send the positive PR email

ali je netko zaboravio poslati pozitivan PR e-mail

to the person operating the automatic news ticker that appears at the bottom.

osobi koja upravlja trakom koja se pojavljuje na dnu vijesti.

For example, when Dean talks,

Primjerice, kada Dean priča,

the ticker says, "U.S.: Suspect gave 'actionable intel."

traka kaže, "SAD: Osumnjičeni dao važne informacije."

Well, if you're used to listening to comedians,

Pa, ako ste navikli slušati komičare

then I'm not surprised.

onda nisam iznenađen.

Sadly, this leads me to another three Bs

Nažalost, ovo me vodi prema novih tri B

that represents how the media in the West

koji predstavljaju kako mediji na Zapadu

talks about us as bombers, billionaires

pričaju o nama kao bombašima, milijarderima

and belly dancers.

i trbušnim plesačicama.

Enough.

Dosta.

We're not all angry fanatics

Nismo svi bijesni fanatici

who want to kill the infidel.

koji hoće pobiti nevjernike.

We have a positive story to tell

Imamo pozitivnu priču za ispričati i

and image to sell.

pozitivnu sliku za prodati.

In fact, one thing's for sure, in my experience,

U stvari, jedna stvar je sigurna, prema mom iskustvu,

we love to laugh like hell.

volimo se puno smijat.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Here are three questions that I like to use

Evo tri pitanja koje bih htio iskoristiti

to test the truthiness of our representation

kako bih testirao istinitost naših pojavljivanja

in any media story.

u bilo kojoj priči u medijima.

One: Is the Middle East

Jedna: Je li Bliski Istok

being shown in a current time

pokazan u sadašnjem vremenu

and correct context?

i pravom kontekstu?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Two: Do the Middle Eastern characters

Dva: Da li se likovi sa Bliskog Istoka

laugh or smile

smiju ili smiješe

without showing the whites of their eyes?

a da ne pokazuju bjeloočnice svojih očiju?

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Three: Is the Middle Eastern character

Tri: Glumi li lik sa Bliskog Istoka

being played by one?

netko tko je odatle?

Clearly, there are wrongs that need to be righted.

Očito, ima pogrešnih stvari koje trebamo ispravit.

We've started in our region.

Počeli smo u našoj regiji.

My challenge to the rest of the world

Moj izazov prema ostatku svijeta

is please, start using

je molim vas, počnite koristiti

positive Middle Eastern images in your stories.

pozitivne priče sa Bliskog Istoka u vašim pričama.

For inspiration, go to one of our festivals,

Za inspiraciju, idite na jedan od naših festivala,

go online, drop us a line.

idite na Internet, stavite komentar.

Let's change the narrative together

Hajdemo zajedno promijeniti priču

and let's start righting writing wrongs.

i hajdemo početi ispravljati loše napise.

I'd like to end, before going back to the Middle East,

Htio bih završiti, prije nego se vratim na Bliski Istok,

with a quote from one of the greatest Sheikhs

citatom jednog od najvećih Šeika

to put quill to parchment.

koji je prislonio pero na papir.

As my father likes to call him, "Asheikh Azubare;"

Kao što ga je moj otac volio zvati, "Asheikh Azubare,"

as my mother would say, "Shakespeare."

a moja majka bi rekla, "Shakespeare."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

"And now we go in content

"A sada idemo prema

to liberty and not to banishment."

slobodi, a ne progonu."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)