Triumph of the Tube...

"With democracy comes television. It's hard for some people to get used to."  - Saad Mohseni, founder of Tolo TV

Indeed, one study shows that two-thirds of Afghans living in the five most urban provinces watch TV every day or almost every day. The NY Times today shines the spotlight on what is, for most Afghans, as big a cultural change as any... 

A massive phenomenon in Afghanistan: Television. By Barry Bearak (IHT/NYT July 31):...Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, Afghanistan has been developing in fits and starts. Among the unchanging circumstances that still give people fits: continuing war, inept leaders, corrupt police and woeful living conditions...But television is off to a phenomenal start, with Afghans now engrossed -- for better or worse --  in much of the same escapist fare that seduces the rest of the world: soap operas that pit the unbearably conniving against the implausibly virtuous; chefs preparing meals that most people would never eat in kitchens they could never afford; talk show hosts wheedling secrets from those too shameless to keep their troubles to themselves. MORE

The latest national survey, which dates to 2005, shows that 19 percent of Afghan households own a television, a remarkable total when considering that not only was owning a TV a crime under the Taliban but that a mere 14 percent of the population has access to public electricity...

For the most part, that means that Tolo has harvested every cliché from television's vast international wasteland. True-crime shows introduce Afghans to the sensationalism of their own pederasts and serial killers. Reality shows pluck everyday people off the streets and transform them with spiffed-up wardrobes. Quiz shows reward the knowledgeable:  How many pounds of mushrooms did Afghanistan export last year? A contestant who answers correctly wins a gallon of cooking oil.

Some foreign shows, like those featuring disasters and police chases, are so generic that Tolo is able to rebroadcast them without translation. Other formats require only slight retooling....Music videos -- primarily imports from India -- are broadcast regularly. With a nod to Afghan tradition, the bare arms and midriffs of female dancers are obscured with a milky strip of camouflage. And yet sporting events are somehow deemed less erotic. Maria Sharapova played at Wimbledon with the full flesh of her limbs unconcealed.

But the strongest complaints against Tolo have come from politicians, including members of the government. Tolo's news coverage, while increasingly professional, is very often unflattering to the government and even irreverent. Parliamentarians have been shown asleep at their legislative desks or in overheated debate throwing water bottles. One lawmaker was photographed picking his nose and then guiltily cleaning his finger...