IIDCYA later
February 7, 2012 12:00 PM Subscribe
Shortly after a small Iranian toy company "returned" (a pink plastic replica of) the captured RQ-170 unmanned drone, Mohammad H. Farjoo, Iran's Secretary for Policy-making at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Tehran (IIDCYA) has decreed an import ban on all toy Simpsons figurines.
From the Reuters article: "...[w]hile Farjoo said that all-American super-heroes like Superman and Spiderman were still welcome in Iran - because they do battle for the oppressed (emphasis mine) - the values of the Simpsons, a famously self-centred and irreligious bunch, were not."
A historical sampling of the IIDCYA's sanctioned films and animations:
The psychedelic hero quest Malek Khorshid "King of the Sun" (15:56) [featured on McSweeney's Wholphin DVD Volume #1 (previously)]
The Mad Mad Mad World [ (:45) A MUST WATCH]
Children of Heaven (trailer)
Bahador (part 1, 2, 3)
Shangoul and Mangoul (1,2)
From the Reuters article: "...[w]hile Farjoo said that all-American super-heroes like Superman and Spiderman were still welcome in Iran - because they do battle for the oppressed (emphasis mine) - the values of the Simpsons, a famously self-centred and irreligious bunch, were not."
A historical sampling of the IIDCYA's sanctioned films and animations:
The psychedelic hero quest Malek Khorshid "King of the Sun" (15:56) [featured on McSweeney's Wholphin DVD Volume #1 (previously)]
The Mad Mad Mad World [ (:45) A MUST WATCH]
Children of Heaven (trailer)
Bahador (part 1, 2, 3)
Shangoul and Mangoul (1,2)
the values of the Simpsons, a famously self-centred and irreligious bunch
What?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:12 PM on February 7, 2012
What?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:12 PM on February 7, 2012
Weird, I have to wonder if the color choice is intended to be some sort of insult.
posted by calamari kid at 12:12 PM on February 7, 2012
posted by calamari kid at 12:12 PM on February 7, 2012
Winning the worldwide PR battle, one decision at a time.
posted by jaduncan at 12:16 PM on February 7, 2012
posted by jaduncan at 12:16 PM on February 7, 2012
I didn't realize Obama's favorite color was pink. At least, that's what the video (and now the Internet At Large) tells me.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:19 PM on February 7, 2012
posted by filthy light thief at 12:19 PM on February 7, 2012
The IIDCYA are just expressing their disappointment at the drop-off in quality of the Simpsons in the past decade or so.
posted by kmz at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by kmz at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2012 [5 favorites]
calamari kid: "Weird, I have to wonder if the color choice is intended to be some sort of insult."
Sounds like it. From the video:
"We made the replica in pink, since it is Mr. Obama's favorite color."
posted by idiopath at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Sounds like it. From the video:
"We made the replica in pink, since it is Mr. Obama's favorite color."
posted by idiopath at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
lol
posted by Oh OK HA HA at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2012
posted by Oh OK HA HA at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2012
I'm surprised they weren't banned for this exchange from 1996:
Marge and Homer go through old things in the attic in preparation for the big sale.
Marge: Can we get rid of this Ayatollah T-shirt? Khomeini died years ago.
Homer: But, Marge! It works on _any_ Ayatollah: Ayatollah Nakhbadeh, Ayatollah Zahedi... even as we speak, Ayatollah Razmada and his cadre of fanatics are consolidating their power.
Marge: I don't care _who's_ consolidating their power.
posted by Omon Ra at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2012 [30 favorites]
Marge and Homer go through old things in the attic in preparation for the big sale.
Marge: Can we get rid of this Ayatollah T-shirt? Khomeini died years ago.
Homer: But, Marge! It works on _any_ Ayatollah: Ayatollah Nakhbadeh, Ayatollah Zahedi... even as we speak, Ayatollah Razmada and his cadre of fanatics are consolidating their power.
Marge: I don't care _who's_ consolidating their power.
posted by Omon Ra at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2012 [30 favorites]
Omon Ra - I was looking for that clip, but only found a version that was mirrored and overdubbed in Spanish.
posted by obscurator at 12:22 PM on February 7, 2012
posted by obscurator at 12:22 PM on February 7, 2012
(And India knew about the awesomeness of Pierre Henry before Matt Groening and company)
posted by filthy light thief at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
the values of the Simpsons, a famously self-centred and irreligious bunch
What?
His argument might not be right, but it's not that far off the reasons my parents gave for banning the Simpsons from our house in the early 90s. Of course, my father explicitly banned me from watching a Nickelodeon show because it was "disrespectful to authority figures" so the resemblance to the Iranian regime might not be slight.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
What?
His argument might not be right, but it's not that far off the reasons my parents gave for banning the Simpsons from our house in the early 90s. Of course, my father explicitly banned me from watching a Nickelodeon show because it was "disrespectful to authority figures" so the resemblance to the Iranian regime might not be slight.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
Omon Ra - I was looking for that clip, but only found a version that was mirrored and overdubbed in Spanish.
Farjoo's agents are everywhere.
posted by yoink at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012
Farjoo's agents are everywhere.
posted by yoink at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2012
And now attacks on America's First Family! These flagrant atrocity stories are merely meant to whet the lumpenproletariat's appetite for war!
posted by octobersurprise at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Is it possible that these unmanned drones were actually "manned" by Simpsons figurines and Barbie dolls? If not, can we make that a feature of the RQ-170 Mk II?
posted by rh at 12:37 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by rh at 12:37 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
posted by jimmythefish at 12:42 PM on February 7, 2012 [21 favorites]
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran.
posted by jimmythefish at 12:42 PM on February 7, 2012 [21 favorites]
Anyway, now that all those Iranians aren't buying them up, this search just got easier. Woo-hoo.
Are you kidding? Now that they've been banned in Iran prices there are going to sky rocket. All those guys smuggling heroin out of Afganistan are going to start back hauling simpsons figures to Iran.
posted by Mitheral at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Are you kidding? Now that they've been banned in Iran prices there are going to sky rocket. All those guys smuggling heroin out of Afganistan are going to start back hauling simpsons figures to Iran.
posted by Mitheral at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
You know, I can't think of a more conservative piece of entertainment as popular as the Simpsons. A married, middle-class, church-going family living in a small Midwestern town. While every authority figure is either incompetent or insane, there's never a change. Status quo for more than 20 years.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:49 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:49 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
jimmythefish: " I will not fly unmanned drones over Iran."
What they need is a chain of megaphones.
posted by zarq at 1:08 PM on February 7, 2012
What they need is a chain of megaphones.
posted by zarq at 1:08 PM on February 7, 2012
You know, I can't think of a more conservative piece of entertainment as popular as the Simpsons.
It wouldn't be running on a NewsCorp-owned network if it wasn't.
Status quo for more than 20 years.
It's the way of Animated Sitcoms, where nobody has to grow older or learn anything from episode to episode. The only reason they killed off Maude Flanders and didn't bring her back the next week was to differentiate themselves from South Park.
posted by evilmidnightbomberwhatbombsatmidnight at 1:24 PM on February 7, 2012
It wouldn't be running on a NewsCorp-owned network if it wasn't.
Status quo for more than 20 years.
It's the way of Animated Sitcoms, where nobody has to grow older or learn anything from episode to episode. The only reason they killed off Maude Flanders and didn't bring her back the next week was to differentiate themselves from South Park.
posted by evilmidnightbomberwhatbombsatmidnight at 1:24 PM on February 7, 2012
It's funny how now that we have South Park, Archer, and all kinds of other ultra-offensive (to many) cartoons, people forget how edgy and dangerous the Simpsons seemed at the time. Lots of people got in a big uproar over it and forbade their kids from watching it. Seems quaint now.
I stopped watching after season 7 because I thought season 8 jumped the shark ... that was like 16 seasons ago. Once gain, I feel old. In college we used to gather to watch Tracey Ullman just to see the Simpsons shorts. People went nuts over them.
posted by freecellwizard at 1:49 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I stopped watching after season 7 because I thought season 8 jumped the shark ... that was like 16 seasons ago. Once gain, I feel old. In college we used to gather to watch Tracey Ullman just to see the Simpsons shorts. People went nuts over them.
posted by freecellwizard at 1:49 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
freecellwizard: Lots of people got in a big uproar over it and forbade their kids from watching it. Seems quaint now.
Heh, my wife and I talked about this last night. I grew up watching The Simpsons, but my wife's mother was against the show. My wife and her mom recently watched an episode of Simpsons. My mother-in-law commented that the show wasn't so bad, but she has watched (and enjoyed) South Park episodes over the years. Behold, the Overton Window at work.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:16 PM on February 7, 2012
Heh, my wife and I talked about this last night. I grew up watching The Simpsons, but my wife's mother was against the show. My wife and her mom recently watched an episode of Simpsons. My mother-in-law commented that the show wasn't so bad, but she has watched (and enjoyed) South Park episodes over the years. Behold, the Overton Window at work.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:16 PM on February 7, 2012
It wouldn't be running on a NewsCorp-owned network if it wasn't.
You're grossly misreading the nature of the corporation. Fox News is not Fox, which has always offered a wide range of material. The Simpsons was edgy at the time, to the point where schools banned Simpsons gear. There was also Married...With Children that started a few years before the Simpsons, which was the target of boycotts over controversial material.
Keep going. In Living Color. MADtv. Family Guy. Malcolm in the Middle. Arrested Development. Glee.
The Parents Television Council has criticized many popular Fox shows for perceived indecent content, such as American Dad!, Arrested Development, The Simpsons, Family Guy,[31] Hell's Kitchen,[32] Married... with Children,[33] Prison Break, and That '70s Show.[34] The Council sometimes has gone even as far as to file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission regarding indecent content within Fox programming, having done so for That '70s Show[35] and Married by America, having successfully been able to make the FCC fine the Fox network nearly $1 million for Married by America.[36]
You could make a strong argument that Fox is and has always been the "edgiest," most left-leaning of the major networks.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:33 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
You're grossly misreading the nature of the corporation. Fox News is not Fox, which has always offered a wide range of material. The Simpsons was edgy at the time, to the point where schools banned Simpsons gear. There was also Married...With Children that started a few years before the Simpsons, which was the target of boycotts over controversial material.
Keep going. In Living Color. MADtv. Family Guy. Malcolm in the Middle. Arrested Development. Glee.
The Parents Television Council has criticized many popular Fox shows for perceived indecent content, such as American Dad!, Arrested Development, The Simpsons, Family Guy,[31] Hell's Kitchen,[32] Married... with Children,[33] Prison Break, and That '70s Show.[34] The Council sometimes has gone even as far as to file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission regarding indecent content within Fox programming, having done so for That '70s Show[35] and Married by America, having successfully been able to make the FCC fine the Fox network nearly $1 million for Married by America.[36]
You could make a strong argument that Fox is and has always been the "edgiest," most left-leaning of the major networks.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:33 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
"returned" (a pink plastic replica of) the captured RQ-170 unmanned drone
Am i the only one who thinks this is really, really funny? While Iran sure has problems, that says a lot about their sense of humor, which seems better than ours. I've heard people say we should nuke them for not returning it, in all seriousness, same when that spy plane of ours got taken by the Chinese, even though the crew was treated like royalty. Do these people honestly think if some tech of one of the people we are against fell into our hands that we would just hand it over?
I also find it funny how often people who claim to never watch the Simpson's say how bad it is now. It's not perfect, but still has moments of brilliance, and if cancelled would we really want another Family Guy spinoff? :P
posted by usagizero at 2:38 PM on February 7, 2012
Am i the only one who thinks this is really, really funny? While Iran sure has problems, that says a lot about their sense of humor, which seems better than ours. I've heard people say we should nuke them for not returning it, in all seriousness, same when that spy plane of ours got taken by the Chinese, even though the crew was treated like royalty. Do these people honestly think if some tech of one of the people we are against fell into our hands that we would just hand it over?
I also find it funny how often people who claim to never watch the Simpson's say how bad it is now. It's not perfect, but still has moments of brilliance, and if cancelled would we really want another Family Guy spinoff? :P
posted by usagizero at 2:38 PM on February 7, 2012
The high water mark of Iranian trolling still must have been during the London riots, when President Ahmedinajehad offered to send observers to monitor human rights abuses by the police, and then, when that offer was not accepted, called upon the UN to send in peacekeepers to end the violence being perpetrated by the British government against their people.
His material may be a bit edgy, but his timing's killer.
posted by running order squabble fest at 3:09 PM on February 7, 2012
His material may be a bit edgy, but his timing's killer.
posted by running order squabble fest at 3:09 PM on February 7, 2012
There was also Married...With Children that started a few years before the Simpsons, which was the target of boycotts over controversial material ... You could make a strong argument that Fox is and has always been the "edgiest," most left-leaning of the major networks.
I have trouble calling MWC (and South Park, but especially MWC) evidence of anything left-leaning, but I would agree that they were at least subversively crass.
posted by fleacircus at 3:28 PM on February 7, 2012
I have trouble calling MWC (and South Park, but especially MWC) evidence of anything left-leaning, but I would agree that they were at least subversively crass.
posted by fleacircus at 3:28 PM on February 7, 2012
1. Why don't these things have a self destruct mechanism that engages mechanically when the power or computers go offline? It doesn't have to be an enormous explosion, just a small thermate charge to melt the electronics, engine, and control systems. Did no one ever think that the planes might fail behind enemy lines?
2. A nice, controlled landing that doesn't damage the airframe means they took it down. Even if you disabled its electronics with an emp it wouldn't glide to a gentle stop. So they seized control of it. Remember in September when we learned that all the drones had keyloggers installed in them? They're looking a lot less like a great idea and a lot more like a defence contractor kickback boondoggle.
3. Obama throws like a girl.
The high water mark of Iranian trolling still must have been during the London riots, when President Ahmedinajehad offered to send observers to monitor human rights abuses by the police, and then, when that offer was not accepted, called upon the UN to send in peacekeepers to end the violence being perpetrated by the British government against their people.
That's a request I agree with. I'd also like to see UN peacekeepers at OWS protests.
posted by clarknova at 3:40 PM on February 7, 2012
2. A nice, controlled landing that doesn't damage the airframe means they took it down. Even if you disabled its electronics with an emp it wouldn't glide to a gentle stop. So they seized control of it. Remember in September when we learned that all the drones had keyloggers installed in them? They're looking a lot less like a great idea and a lot more like a defence contractor kickback boondoggle.
3. Obama throws like a girl.
The high water mark of Iranian trolling still must have been during the London riots, when President Ahmedinajehad offered to send observers to monitor human rights abuses by the police, and then, when that offer was not accepted, called upon the UN to send in peacekeepers to end the violence being perpetrated by the British government against their people.
That's a request I agree with. I'd also like to see UN peacekeepers at OWS protests.
posted by clarknova at 3:40 PM on February 7, 2012
Am i the only one who thinks this is really, really funny?
I'm with you: it's hilarious. Also enough in itself to convince me that the "Parody doesn't exist in Iran" claim at the top of this thread is nonsense.
Also, ever since someone pointed out what a steady stream of Wacky Iran News there's been lately, when tension between the U.S. and Iran is particularly high, I can't help seeing the Fnords in it. It's kind of unsettling.
posted by moss at 5:04 PM on February 7, 2012
I'm with you: it's hilarious. Also enough in itself to convince me that the "Parody doesn't exist in Iran" claim at the top of this thread is nonsense.
Also, ever since someone pointed out what a steady stream of Wacky Iran News there's been lately, when tension between the U.S. and Iran is particularly high, I can't help seeing the Fnords in it. It's kind of unsettling.
posted by moss at 5:04 PM on February 7, 2012
clarknova writes "Why don't these things have a self destruct mechanism that engages mechanically when the power or computers go offline?"
TwoThree reasons: Self destruct mechanisms cost lifting mass. Better to replace it with fuel or observation equipment. Second I'd bet false positives are _WAY_ more common than drones falling intact into enemy hands. Sure would suck for a glitch in the self destructs to take out an entire hanger of these things. Third: if Iran has indeed compromised the remote control then they could self destruct these things if they included self destructs.
usagizero writes "Am i the only one who thinks this is really, really funny?"
Nope. I thought that was funny too.
posted by Mitheral at 5:06 PM on February 7, 2012
usagizero writes "Am i the only one who thinks this is really, really funny?"
Nope. I thought that was funny too.
posted by Mitheral at 5:06 PM on February 7, 2012
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I don't know who told you otherwise.
posted by LogicalDash at 12:11 PM on February 7, 2012 [1 favorite]