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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Asia Pacific World Search Search: US TV shows give Iranians a friendlier view AFP - Tuesday, March 3 TEHRAN (AFP) - - Ehsan laughs out loud at Ross and Joey's attemps to hook up with a "hot girl" who rejects them both in the popular American sitcom, Friends. ADVERTISEMENT The 23-year-old student, who hails from a conservative religious family, is one of the many Iranians who have acquired a taste for US TV series in recent years. "I never took television seriously and first started watching these to improve my English," Ehsan said. "But they are so funny and show the everyday life of young people in a way that you don't see in movies." "Some of my friends follow them on satellite TV, which is not allowed in our home, but the DVDs are easy to get and I watch them on my computer," he said. Ehsan is enjoying the American sitcom -- the story of a group of friends in New York -- on a contraband DVD delivered to his home by an illicit dealer, as the government bans most American entertainment. Since the 1979 revolution in Iran that toppled the US-backed shah, America has been the "Great Satan" for the Islamic republic which allows a small number of censored US films to be screened in cinemas or on the state television. But the hardliners face a challenge from a wave of Iranians like Ehsan who are lapping up Hollywood movies and American sitcoms daily. The trend is compounded by the fact that over 60 percent of Iran's population is under 30 years old and providing "correct entertainment" to them is becoming a tough task for the state. Moreover, the Internet and illegal satellite television viewing have given Iranians easier access to American entertainment in recent years via channels like Foxmovies and MBC 2 beaming Hollywood blockbusters round-the-clock. On DVD, the entire 10 seasons of "Friends" are just a phone call away for only 40 dollars as Iran is also a copyright violators' haven. "Lost" is another popular series among customers of DVD dealer Morteza G., who is snowed under with orders for new episodes that he downloads onto DVD from the Internet a day after they are aired in the United States. Iranians, like millions of enthusiasts around the world, are anxious to find out what happens to the mysterious island and Oceanic flight 815 survivors. In total, Morteza sells more than 50 drama and sitcom collections every month. "I offer 'his and hers' collections: Prison Break and 24 for men, Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City for women, as well as crowd pleasers such as Lost and Friends." "The series have become very popular in the past two years," Morteza said, explaining that the emergence of Persian subtitled DVDs has greatly boosted his clientele who are mostly educated English-speaking urbanites. Television writer Alireza Kazemipour is not surprised by the new trend and openly admires American TV productions for providing "great entertainment by beautifully-crafted but easily-understood characters and plots." "Iranians love television and a continued story like that of the One Thousand and One Nights," he said referring to the collection of folk tales and other stories. "Many people, especially women, see a reflection of their own life and hang-ups in these stories. "A key attraction is also the prevalent optimism," said Kazemipour, who has written one of the most popular dramas on Iranian television, "The Forbidden Fruit". The series, a story of a pious elderly businessman falling in love with a young woman, grabbed high ratings during the holy period of Ramadan last year. All Iranian movies are vetted before screening in order not to violate Islamic values. One of the musts in the movies is that women should appear veiled in all scenes and men and women are banned from touching. Television is under closer scrutiny and observes stricter guidelines to an extent that some Iranian movies produced under the Islamic republic have been censored before showing on TV. The slightest controversy on state-controlled television draws protests from conservatives and other groups, sometimes even forcing producers to change the script. Lovers hardly say "I love you" on Iranian series and meetings between unmarried men and women appear as chaperoned in most scenes on the small screen. "Our red lines and taboos make it very hard to create real, flesh-and-blood characters. Many a time you have to resort to metaphors but that does not go down well with ordinary TV viewers," Kazemipour said. Apart from easy entertainment, American series have also helped some Iranians to take a closer look at the demonized US culture. "The generally-held view in Iran that American culture is all about indecent relations ... is simplistic and in fact a misunderstanding," wrote journalist Kowsar Avini in the popular moderate weekly Shahrvand Emrouz, shortly before it was shut down. "These series which ... deal with (American) people's contemporary problems could be a good medium for learning about their culture," she wrote, adding that she had learned all about proms, Thanksgiving and US youth culture with Friends. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle Russians protest 'insulting' Georgia Eurovision songAFP - 1 hour 51 minutes ago Rock band Oasis cancels China concertsAFP - 1 hour 57 minutes ago China not demanding immediate return of Taiwan artAP - Tuesday, March 3 Random House buys `Moosewood Cookbook' publisherAP - Monday, March 2 CORRECTED: Rebellion on "Sarah Silverman" setReuters - Monday, March 2 Enlarge Photo Contraband pirated DVDs of American television series are displayed in Tehran, on February 25. Many Iranians have acquired a taste for US TV series in recent years. Some follow their favorite shows through satellite but others get their contraband DVDs delivered to their homes. 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