This talk is about righting writing wrongs. No, the sound's not faulty -- righting writing wrongs. The Middle East is huge, and with all our problems, one thing's for sure: we love to laugh. I think humor is a great way to celebrate our differences. We need to take our responsibilities seriously, but not ourselves. Don't get me wrong: it's not like we don't have comedy in the Middle East. I grew up at a time when iconic actors from Kuwait, Syria, Egypt used laughter to unite the region, just as football can. (Laughter) Now is the time for us to laugh at ourselves, before others can laugh with us. This is the story of the rise and rise of stand-up comedy in the Middle East -- a stand-up uprising, if you will.
我要講的題目是:糾正故事裡的錯誤。 不,你沒有聽錯,就是:糾正故事裡的錯誤。 中東世界很廣大, 儘管我們有許多問題,但有一件事是確定的:我們很愛笑。 我認為幽默是表現我們彼此差異的最佳方法, 我們當然得認真看待自己的責任, 但不需要太認真很待自己。 別誤會,我並不是說在中東沒有喜劇, 許多知名演員的喜劇表演陪伴我長大, 他們來自科威特、敘利亞和埃及, 用笑聲征服了整個中東世界, 就像大家瘋足球一樣。 (笑聲) 現在,在別人能和我們一同歡樂之前, 我們得先學會嘲弄自己。 我要講的是脫口秀喜劇在中東崛起的故事, 如果大家捧場的話,脫口秀就有崛起的一天。
Working in London as TV maker and writer, I quickly realized that comedy connects audiences. Now, the best breeding ground for good comic writing is the stand-up comedy circuit, where they just happen to say that you kill when you do well and you bomb when you do badly. An unfortunate connection for us maybe, but it reminds me that we'd like to thank one man for, over the past decade, working tirelessly to support comedians all around the world, specifically comedians with a Middle Eastern background. (Applause) Like my good friends, Dean and Maysoon, at the bottom of the screen, who, two years after 9/11, started a festival to change the way Middle Easterners are perceived in the world. It's still going strong, with positive press to die for. Also, three guys working for years in Los Angeles, an Iranian, a Palestinian and an Egyptian, created the aptly named Axis of Evil comedy act. And wherever they went, they killed.
我之前是在倫敦擔任電視節目製作人和編劇, 我很快就發現, 喜劇很容易引發觀眾共鳴。 現在,培育好的喜劇編劇的最佳溫床 就是脫口秀喜劇巡演, 那一行的行話是:說得好他們就愛死你, 說得不好他們就炸死你。 這聽起來或許有點恐怖, 但這讓我想到, 我們得感謝一個人,那個人在過去十年裡, 不屈不撓, 全力協助全球的喜劇演員, 更特別關愛 有中東血統的喜劇演員。 (掌聲) 像我的好朋友,狄恩和梅遜,就是螢幕下方那二個, 他們在911事件發生二年後, 開始在他們的節目上, 改變世人對中東人的印象。 他們還持續這樣做,想為中東人創造正面形象。 同時,有三個在洛杉磯工作多年的喜劇演員, 他們分別是伊朗裔、巴勒斯坦裔和埃及裔美國人, 創造了邪惡軸心國喜劇聯盟, 他們所到之處, 都造成風靡。
Now, I didn't start this fire, but I did pour petrol on it. I moved to Dubai as the head of original content for a Western TV network. My job was to connect the brand with a Middle Eastern audience. Now, the American head of programming wanted new local Arabic comedy. In a thick Arabic accent, my brain went, "Berfect." (Laughter) Now, I had friends in the U.S. who had started a successful new tribe. And I had every intention of taking this tribe from being outliers in the Middle East and pushing them over the tipping point towards success. Now, as with any new idea, it wasn't easy. I had four phases to this plan. First, we'd need to buy content from the West and air it. Then I'd bring my friends, and we'd show local amateurs how it's done. We would film that and air it, and then I could work with the local amateurs and write new comedy.
雖然火不是我點的,但我也有幫忙火上澆油。 我後來搬到杜拜,擔任一家西方電視台的 自製節目總監, 我的目標是爭取廣大的中東地區觀眾。 那時,美國來的節目總監 要我們製作新的、當地的阿拉伯喜劇, 我腦袋裡立刻出現濃重的阿拉伯口音: 「太胖(棒)了!」 (笑聲) 而我在美國的朋友, 剛好組成了一個相當成功的團體, 我非常希望能將他們 帶進中東市場, 把他們推向 成功的頂峰。 但要推銷一個好點子,可沒有那麼容易。 我那時規劃了四個步驟: 首先,我們先向西方國家買節目來播放, 然後我會邀請我的朋友來表演,讓當地的業餘演員觀摩, 我們會把整個過程錄成節目播放, 最後我們就能和那些業餘演員合作,撰寫新的喜劇腳本。
I excitedly presented this to the big boss, and his reaction was, "Um, I don't get it." So I retreated back to my cave and continued to support and produce comedy and let my friends use my couch as a regional operations hub. Now, fast forward two years, to early 2007. The earth rotated, as did our management, (Laughter) and as if by divine intervention, things came together to help this revolution take shape. Here's how the dots connected. First, the Axis guys recorded a Comedy Central special that aired in the States, and it was getting great hits on YouTube. Our new French CEO believed in the power of positive PR ... (Laughter) and ideas du bon marche. Let's just say "value for money." I produced in Dubai a show for Ahmed Ahmed to showcase his new Axis special to a packed room. I invited our new CEO, and as soon as he realized we had a room packed full of laughing infidels, his reaction was very simple: "Let's make this happen. And one more thing: No, don't F it up." So I quickly went to work with a great team around me. I happened to find a funny guy to present it in Arabic, who is originally Korean, a perfect fit for the Axis of Evil. This is all true.
我很興奮地把這個計畫拿給大老闆看, 但他的反應是:「嗯,真搞不懂你們在想什麼!」 所以我只好撤退回我的山洞, 繼續製作我的喜劇節目, 還把我的沙發貢獻出來, 讓我的朋友把我的沙發當成中東區營運總部。 好,先快轉二年到2007年年初, 整個世界改變了,我的大老闆也換人了。 (笑聲) 這一切有如神助, 所有的事都到位了, 讓我們的革命能夠成形, 讓我們能成就這番事業。 一開始,邪惡軸心國的成員錄製了一個喜劇特輯 在美國播放, 在YouTube上造成極大轟動。 我們新任的法國總裁 相信正向的宣傳有其無比的威力... (笑聲) 好的點子就會有du bon marche(法文), 就是財源會滾滾而來。 我在杜拜為阿馬德製作了一個節目, 為他們的軸心國喜劇製作了一個櫥窗展示, 然後邀請新任總裁來看, 當他一發現我們有這麼多讓人發笑的好點子後, 他的反應出奇地簡單: 「就去做吧! 還有,別搞砸了。」 所以,我馬上回去 和那些優秀的團員一起工作, 很巧的是, 我又看到一個在阿拉伯表演的傢伙, 他竟然是韓國人, 簡直太適合我們邪惡軸心國了! 這都是真的!
Now, while preparing for the tour, I had to remind the guys to be culturally sensitive. I used the three Bs of stand-up don'ts as I call them in the Middle East: blue content, keep it clean; beliefs, not religion; and the third B, bolitics. Stay away from bolitics in the Middle East. Oh course, you might think, what's left without bolitics, sex and religion, how can you make people laugh? I'd say, watch any successful well-written, family-friendly sitcom in the West for your answers.
當我們在準備巡迴演出的時候, 我提醒團員們要有文化敏感度, 也就是在中東地區表演時, 要注意不要提到三個敏感話題: 色情的話題不好,要純淨;不要談宗教; 不要談論政治, 在中東永遠不要談論政治。 你當然會說, 除了政治、性和宗教話題外,還有什麼可以讓人發笑? 看看那些在西方國家大受歡迎、 講述友誼與親情的情境喜劇, 不就是了嗎?
Now, were the Axis successful? In five countries, in just under a month, we had thousands of fanatical fans come and see them live. We had millions see them on TV and on TV news. In Jordan, we had His Majesty the King come and see them. In fact, they were so successful that you could buy a pirated copy of their DVD, even before it was released in the Middle East. Anywhere you go. So everywhere we went, we auditioned amateurs. We filmed that process and aired a documentary. I called it "Three Guys and Wonho." It really is his name. And all this TV and Internet exposure has led to a great many recruits to our cause. In Dubai this year, we've just had the first all-women's, homegrown stand-up show. And notice two of them are wearing headscarves, and yes, even they can laugh.
那麼,軸心國成功了嗎? 在不到一個月的時間內,有五個國家、 數以千計狂熱的粉絲跑來看他們的現場表演, 有百萬以上的觀眾看過他們的電視節目和新聞報導, 約旦國王還親自來看他們表演。 他們的表演大獲成功, 他們的節目在中東地區正式播放之前, 你就可以在市場上買到盜版的DVD了, 不管你在中東哪個國家都一樣。 我們每到一個地方, 就為當地的業餘表演者舉辦試演會, 並把整個過程拍下來,剪輯成紀錄片播放, 片名叫:「三寶與王虎」(Three Guys and Wonho), 那真的是他的名字啊... 這些電視節目和網路上的大量放送, 為我們帶來 大量的生力軍。 今年,我們在杜拜, 剛剛成立了第一個本土的女性脫口秀節目, 其中有二位女性還帶了頭巾, 對,帶了頭巾還是能搞笑。
Dubai, to me, is like a hand that supports anyone who wants to make things happen. 20 years ago, no one had heard of it. Look at it now. With an inspirational leader, I think this year, the opening of the tallest tower in the world is like adding a finger to that hand, that points at all those who spread fallacious stories about us.
杜拜對我而言,就像一雙助手, 她能幫助任何人達成願望。 二十年前, 沒人聽過這個地方, 看看現在, 在偉大領導的帶領之下,我相信今年 世界最高大樓的開幕典禮, 將為杜拜錦上添花, 並粉碎那些 有關杜拜的不實報導與傳言。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Now, in three short years, we've come a long way with stand-up comedy shows happening even in Saudi Arabia. These comics are now going to the New York festival. And the Lebanese, brilliant Lebanese, Nemr Abou Nassar, we featured in our first tour, has just been performing in L.A.'s legendary comedy clubs. So clearly, from the inside, we are doing our best to change our image, and it's exploding. (Laughter) So, as for the outsiders looking in, watch the CNN report on the second Amman Comedy Festival. The reporter did a great job, and I thank her, but somebody forgot to send the positive PR email to the person operating the automatic news ticker that appears at the bottom. For example, when Dean talks, the ticker says, "U.S.: Suspect gave 'actionable intel." Well, if you're used to listening to comedians, then I'm not surprised.
經過了三年之後,我們努力發揚脫口秀 終於有了回報,我們現在也在沙烏地阿拉伯演出了, 我們還要進軍紐約佳年華。 團員裡有個聰明的黎巴嫩人, 他叫南阿布.納沙,是我們在第一次巡演時招募到的團員, 他最近才到洛杉磯的喜劇名人堂裡表演過。 很明顯地,在我們內部,我們致力於改變中東人的形象, 造成了爆炸性的改變。 (笑聲) 而從外部的角度來看, 看看CNN對第二屆安曼喜劇佳年華的報導就知道了, 那位記者的報導很出色,我很感謝她, 但有人忘了提醒 撰寫出現在螢幕下方 跑馬新聞字幕的人,也要用一些正面報導互相配合。 舉例來說,當狄恩在表演的時候, 跑馬字幕突然出現:「美國消息:嫌犯提供可靠情報」 嗯,如果你習慣「聽」喜劇表演的話, 就沒什麼問題,
Sadly, this leads me to another three Bs that represents how the media in the West talks about us as bombers, billionaires and belly dancers. Enough. We're not all angry fanatics who want to kill the infidel. We have a positive story to tell and image to sell. In fact, one thing's for sure, in my experience, we love to laugh like hell.
但是這二個配在一起,就讓我想到 西方媒體慣常將中東人聯想成: 炸彈、百萬富翁、 肚皮舞孃。 真是夠了! 不是所有的中東人都是憤怒的狂熱份子, 想要殺光所有的異教徒, 我們也想講一些正面的故事、 也想推廣我們正面的形象啊... 而且,以我過去的經驗,我很確定一點, 我們都愛笑到要死。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Here are three questions that I like to use to test the truthiness of our representation in any media story. One: Is the Middle East being shown in a current time and correct context? (Laughter) Two: Do the Middle Eastern characters laugh or smile without showing the whites of their eyes? (Laughter) Three: Is the Middle Eastern character being played by one? Clearly, there are wrongs that need to be righted. We've started in our region. My challenge to the rest of the world is please, start using positive Middle Eastern images in your stories. For inspiration, go to one of our festivals, go online, drop us a line. Let's change the narrative together and let's start righting writing wrongs.
我習慣用一些問題, 來測試媒體上所出現的中東人形象 是否真實: 第一:這個中東人 是否出現在現代? 並穿著正確的服裝? (笑聲) 第二:這些中東人 在笑的時候, 是不是都能不露出眼白? (笑聲) 第三:這個中東人角色 是否從頭到尾由同一個人扮演? 很顯然的,這裡面有許多錯誤必須導正, 我們從自己開始做起, 至於其他國家的人, 我只希望他們能以 正面形象來描述出現在他們故事裡的中東人。 多給我們一些鼓勵,去看看我們的慶典, 上網看看,這樣就能幫助我們。 讓我們一起改變現況, 一起來糾正故事裡的錯誤。
I'd like to end, before going back to the Middle East, with a quote from one of the greatest Sheikhs to put quill to parchment. As my father likes to call him, "Asheikh Azubare;" as my mother would say, "Shakespeare." (Laughter) "And now we go in content to liberty and not to banishment."
在我回去中東之前, 我想用一位偉大長老用鵝毛筆 寫在羊皮紙上的話來做總結, 我父親稱這位長老為「阿祖巴長老」, 我母親則稱他為「莎士比亞」。 (笑聲) 「我們所追求的, 是自由,而非放逐。」
Thank you.
謝謝各位。
(Applause)
(掌聲)