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

Prevodilac: Elizabeta Petrovic Lektor: Stevan Radanovic

This talk is about righting writing wrongs.

Ovaj razgovor je o ispravljanju lošeg pisanja.

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

Ne, ne zvuči pogrešno -- ispravljanje lošeg pisanja.

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 da se smejemo.

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

Mislim da je humor dobar način da slavimo naše razlike.

We need to take our responsibilities seriously,

Treba da ozbiljnije shvatimo 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.

Ne shvatite me 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 smeh da sjedine region,

just as football can.

isto kao što fudbal može.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now is the time for us to laugh at ourselves,

Sada je vreme da se smejemo sami sebima,

before others can laugh with us.

pre nego što ostali mogu da se smeju 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.

podizanje 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

that comedy connects audiences.

da komedija povezuje publike.

Now, the best breeding ground for good comic writing

Sada, najplodnije tlo za pisanje dobre komedije

is the stand-up comedy circuit,

je scena stand up komedije,

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

gde baš slučajno kažu da ubijaš kad dobro odradiš

and you bomb when you do badly.

i bombarduješ kad odradiš loše.

An unfortunate connection for us maybe,

Nesrećna veza za nas možda,

but it reminds me

ali me podseća

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

da bismo hteli da zahvalimo jednom čoveku, u poslednjoj deceniji,

working tirelessly

koji je neumorno radio

to support comedians all around the world,

da podrži komičare iz celog sveta,

specifically comedians

posebno komičare

with a Middle Eastern background.

sa područja Bliskog Istoka.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

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

Kao moji dobri prijatelji, Din i Mejsun, na dnu ekrana,

who, two years after 9/11,

koji su, 2 godine nakon 11. septembra,

started a festival to change the way

osnovali festival da bi promenili način

Middle Easterners are perceived in the world.

na koji svet gleda na ljude sa Bliskog Istoka.

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

I dalje ide snažno. Sa pozitivnom štampom za koju vredi umreti.

Also, three guys working for years in Los Angeles,

Takođe, 3 momka koji rade godinama u Los Anđelesu,

an Iranian, a Palestinian and an Egyptian,

Iranac, Palestinac i Egipćanin,

created the aptly named Axis of Evil comedy act.

su stvorili pomenutu Komediju Osovine Zla.

And wherever they went,

I gde god da su bili

they killed.

ublili 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 rukovodilac orginalnog 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 da spojim ovaj brend sa publikom sa Bliskog Istoka.

Now, the American head of programming

Sada, američki direktor programa

wanted new local Arabic comedy.

je hteo novu lokalnu arapsku komediju.

In a thick Arabic accent, my brain went,

U dubokom arapskom akcentu, moj mozak je rekao,

"Berfect."

'Sabršeno'

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, I had friends in the U.S.

Sada, imao sam prijatelje u SAD

who had started a successful new tribe.

koji su napravili uspešno novo pleme.

And I had every intention of taking this tribe

I imao sam svaku nameru da ih otmem

from being outliers in the Middle East

od neprihvaćenosti na Bliskom Istoku

and pushing them over the tipping point

i da ih gurnem preko vrha

towards success.

prema uspehu.

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

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

I had four phases to this plan.

Imao sam 4 faze ovog plana.

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

Prvo, trebalo bismo da kupimo sadržaj sa Zapada i da ga emitujemo.

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 emitovali,

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

i onda bih mogao da radim sa lokalnim amaterima i pišem 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 shvatam.'

So I retreated back to my cave

Tako da sam se povukao u svoju pećinu

and continued to support and produce comedy

i nastavio da podržavam i produciram 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 2 godine, do rane 2007.

The earth rotated, as did our management,

Zemlja je kružila, kao i naša uprava.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

and as if by divine intervention,

I baš kao sa božanskim uplitanjem,

things came together

stvari su se sklopile

to help this revolution take shape.

kako bi ova revolucija dobila neki oblik.

Here's how the dots connected.

Evo kako su se tačke povezale.

First, the Axis guys recorded a Comedy Central special

Prvo, momci iz Osovine Zla su snimili Specijal Komedi Centrala

that aired in the States,

koji se emitovao 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

believed in the power of positive PR ...

je verovao u moć pozitivnog PR-a....

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

and ideas du bon marche.

i jeftinih ideja.

Let's just say "value for money."

I kažimo 'vrednost 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.

da pokažem 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 nevernika koji se smeju,

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 da zajeb...'

So I quickly went to work

Brzo sam krenuo na posao

with a great team around me.

sa neverovatnim timom oko sebe.

I happened to find

I desilo se da sam našao

a funny guy to present it in Arabic,

smešnog momka da to predstavi na arapskom,

who is originally Korean,

koji je poreklom Koreanac,

a perfect fit for the Axis of Evil.

savršen spoj sa Osovinama Zla.

This is all true.

Sve ovo je tačno.

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 da podsetim momke da budu osetljivi na kulturu.

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

Iskoristio sam 3 B-a standup-a za ne raditi,

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 -- verovanja, 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, šta je ostalo

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

bez bolitike, seksa i religije, kako možemo da nateramo ljude da se smeju?

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

Rekao bih, pogledajte bilo koju uspešnu, dobro napisanu,

family-friendly sitcom in the West

porodično-prijateljsku humorističku seriju na Zapadu

for your answers.

za odgovor na to pitanje.

Now, were the Axis successful?

Sada, da li je Osovina uspešna?

In five countries, in just under a month,

U 5 zemalja, za manje od mesec dana,

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

imali smo hiljade oduševljenih fanova koji su došli da ih vide uživo.

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

Imali smo milione koji su ih videli na TV-u i TV vestima.

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

U Jordanu, Njegovo Veličanstvo Kralj je došao da ih vidi.

In fact, they were so successful

U stvari, bili su toliko uspešni

that you could buy a pirated copy of their DVD,

da ste mogli da kupite piratsku kopiju njihovog DVD-ja

even before it was released in the Middle East.

još pre nego što je puštena u prodaju na Bliskom Istoku.

Anywhere you go.

Bilo gde da idete.

So everywhere we went,

Znači svuda gde smo bili,

we auditioned amateurs.

imali smo audicije za amatere.

We filmed that process and aired a documentary.

Snimili smo taj proces i emitovali dokumentarac.

I called it "Three Guys and Wonho."

Nazvao sam ga '3 momka i Vonho'.

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

recruits to our cause.

mnoge uposlili za naš cilj.

In Dubai this year, we've just had

U Dubaiju ove godine, samo što smo imali

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

prvi domaći ženski stand up.

And notice two of them are wearing headscarves,

Primetite da 2 od njih nose velove,

and yes, even they can laugh.

i da, sve one umeju da se smeju.

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 ko hoće da uradi nešto.

20 years ago,

Pre 20 godina,

no one had heard of it.

niko nije čuo za njega.

Look at it now.

Pogledajte ga sada.

With an inspirational leader, I think this year,

Sa inspirisanim vođom, mislim da je ove godine,

the opening of the tallest tower in the world

otvaranje najviše kule u svetu

is like adding a finger to that hand,

je kao dodavanje prsta toj ruci,

that points at all those

koja pokazuje sve one

who spread fallacious stories about us.

koje šire zlonamerne priče o nama.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

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

Sada, u 3 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 idu sada na festival u Njujorku .

And the Lebanese, brilliant Lebanese,

I Libanac, brilijantni Libanac,

Nemr Abou Nassar, we featured in our first tour,

Nemr Abo Nasar, kog smo imali u našoj prvoj turneji,

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

je imao nastupe u Los Anđelesu u legendarnim klubovima komedije.

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

Očigledno, iznutra, radimo sve što možemo da promenimo sliku o nama,

and it's exploding.

i to eksplodira.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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 izveštaj o drugom Anman Festivalu Komedije.

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

Reporter je uradio dobar posao, i zahvaljujem joj,

but somebody forgot to send the positive PR email

ali je neko zaboravio da pošalje 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 vesti.

For example, when Dean talks,

Na primer, kada Din 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 da slušate komičare

then I'm not surprised.

onda nisam iznenađen.

Sadly, this leads me to another three Bs

Nažalost, ovo me vodi ka novih 3 B-a

that represents how the media in the West

koji predstavljaju kako mediji na Zapadu

talks about us as bombers, billionaires

pričaju o nama kao bombaši, milijarderi

and belly dancers.

i trbušne plesačice.

Enough.

Dosta.

We're not all angry fanatics

Nismo svi besni fanatici

who want to kill the infidel.

koji hoće da pobiju nevernike.

We have a positive story to tell

Imamo pozitivnu priču da ispričamo

and image to sell.

i da prodamo sliku,

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

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

we love to laugh like hell.

mnogo volimo da se smejemo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Here are three questions that I like to use

Evo 3 pitanja koje bih hteo da iskoristim

to test the truthiness of our representation

da testiram istinitost naših pojavljivanja

in any media story.

u bilo kojoj priči u medijima.

One: Is the Middle East

Jedna: Da li je Bliski Istok

being shown in a current time

pokazan u sadašnjem vremenu

and correct context?

i pravom kontekstu?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Two: Do the Middle Eastern characters

Dva: Da li se likovi sa Bliskog Istoka

laugh or smile

smeju ili smeše

without showing the whites of their eyes?

a da ne pokazuju beonjače svojih očiju?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Three: Is the Middle Eastern character

Tri: Da li karaktera sa Bliskog Istoka

being played by one?

glumi neko odatle?

Clearly, there are wrongs that need to be righted.

Očito, ima pogrešnih stvari koje treba da se isprave.

We've started in our region.

Počeli smo u našem regionu.

My challenge to the rest of the world

Moj izazov prema ostatku sveta

is please, start using

je molim vas, počnite da koristite

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

Hajde da zajedno promenimo priču

and let's start righting writing wrongs.

i hajde da počnemo da ispravljamo loše pisanje.

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

Hteo bih da završim, pre nego što 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 je moj otac voleo da ga zove, 'Ašeik Azubir,'

as my mother would say, "Shakespeare."

i moja majka bi rekla, 'Šekspir'.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

"And now we go in content

'I sada idemo sadržajem ka

to liberty and not to banishment."

slobodi, a ne progonu.'

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)