"Daily Show" In Iran: Jason Jones Gets Access To Evil (VIDEO)

The "Daily Show" sent Jason Jones to Iran the week before the elections so he could file stories about a country on the brink. Little did they know the enormous impact the election would have on the nation. Jones returned before any violence occurred, but he did get insightful interviews with modern Iranian families, vendors, and journalists.


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Comments

[Tom Maher]

Thought the segment was great, as well as the others. and hopefully more Americans go out and see that people (not governments) are pretty much the same and it's just language that separates us. There's a great episode of a show called outer limits that really points out that we fear the unknown and the more we know and the less we are ignorant of others the better off we are. I for one can't wait to travel to Iran and the rest of the middle east and I think the more we all go out of our bubbles the better off this world is. Namaste.

[joanevan]

Excellent piece. Obviously people on this board do not understand satire. Yes, it is borat-like, but people in this country (read red states) think iranians ARE evil. They don't realize how similar we are. Maybe if pieces like these played more on fox news, so many mouth-breathers would not have been so anxious to go to war in Iraq.

[deepblue13]

Disappointing segment. A for effort (going to Iran), D for execution.

[Hawaii5-0]

L for lame. It's gets pretty sad when you have Iranians saying, "We don't hate America" and Jones saying, "I can't understand what they are saying." That's not funny, it's lame and it's not about if I am a conservative, which I am not.

[Buffyboy]

This segment was extremely crude, extremely rude, and not funny at all.

[Javida]

A great go at cultural sensitivity even if the "cheap-cheap" joke was cringe-worthy.

[euripedes923]

The beginning and end of The Daily Show is the best TV has to offer regarding news and satire as well as political commentary.
It's the middle that's more often than not cringe-worthy for me.
Now I understand what Jason Jones was going for, but in my opinion he failed miserably with this bit. And this happens more often than not with him and a few of the other produced pieces. But bless them for trying and occasionally making their point in a way that isn't simply embarrassing.
The Bruno/Borat-style of 'gotcha' wears thin fast. I personally prefer Samantha Bee's style of allowing the overblown to let the air out of themselves than Jones's overplayed "I'm stupid for buying into the stereotypes about you" style. Once I become embarrased for him as he continues his awful schtick the subtlty of the point is lost.

[kybo88]

So is it only funny when a British comedian does it?

[Jordan Anderson]

I was laughing so hard when they were playing Dire Straits and rocking out.

[applescruff]

Come on. This was just a liberal media depiction of what they want us to believe Iranians are like. Boehner,Ro­mney,Gulia­nni and McCain know the real "Right" truth. Bomb these people into democracy or they will be attacking us the first chance they get..TDS actually thinks we would believe that Iranians have cute little polite kids like this. Please, These Barbarians are all alike, They live to see the Death of America.

[Sepulchre]

You really aren't that bright are you? Do you even read overseas papers or do you just rely on poor journalism here in the US, and FOX the non-news all opinion channel?

[jimbobuddy]

Err,..dude it was sarcasm. If it seems too ridiculous to be true, then maybe check out his earlier comments( I did). I always say that there is no excuse , in this day and age for lazy, sloppy non-fact checking. Well I dont exactly say it like that .
To the point of the piece however: it was a poor, attempt at a 'Borat' schtick. It really sucked.

[Patricia84]

obviously not nearly as bright as you.

[Todd Sullivan]

pretty hilarious

[brooklyncitizen]

OK- generally I've observed that kids abroad whether in Spain or Iran or Latin America are better informed, better behaved and more wholesome than kids here.... who can be sullen, ill mannered and feel entitled.

[tierone]

Wow. Someone needs to visit some "real" families here in their own country!

I know hundreds of kids in America who are well-behaved and wholesome. Maybe you should get out more.

[Michael Powers]

Bah, I know there are thousands of kids in America who aren't. It's in our culture.

Have a look at Nick or Cartoon Network someday. All the adults are annoying and stupid, and the kids are detached and snarky. We breed post-modern self-aware ironic children in a way that other cultures don't.

No sense denying it -- it's what makes America America. Love it or leave it.

[brooklyncitizen]

That's anecdotal....the point is that there is a cultural difference; there is such a thing as American culture and it is largely self-indulgent and demands instant gratification.
Are there sweet kids and families? yes. But we all participate in this culture and it isn't until we step out of it and step into another that we see how different it is and how unhealthy.

Not saying it's all bad either.

[kittyonice]

Generally I've observed that adults AND children in other countries such as Europe and the ME are much better informed and savvy about the world than MANY Americans. It's sad, but true; wherever I travel, in traditionally Christian and Muslim countries alike I am always impressed with the level of awareness of American politics, down to knowing who's who in the American Admin., etc., it's quite impressive, and a bit embarrassing, knowing how ill-informed most Americans are in comparison.

I think that outside of the US, people are generally much more aware of geopolitical issues and world dynamics than the average American. Not sure exactly, but my sense is that American culture encourages us to be so self-involved and so protective of our individual pursuits that we become numb to anything that is happening outside of our borders, THAT IS, until the citizens of some far off country with an oppressive regime and tyrannical leader rise up in protest for greater freedoms and liberty -- and dare I say, democracy-- THAT is what gets our attention. To us, these protests are a heart song from a far off land, to which Americans cannot resist wanting give a helping hand. But we have to be very careful, the Tyrannical Leaders have already found enough excuse to accuse us with "interventionist policies" and inciting the riots. Our politicians need to be careful, but Americans can do a lot to show support.

[brooklyncitizen]

I'll go one further. I just got back from travel to Spain and spent time with a friend's family and their kids and it was unbelievable how cultured and informed everyone was. People READ. Our conversations centered on architecture, churches that combined gothic facades with Romanesque interiors...these folks were not architects (I'm an Architect) ; political discussions with the kids (teens) were thoughtfully framed by philosophy and these kids are wholesome and curious in a way that is missing here. It was healthier. I have nieces and nephews and while they are not dufuses/dufi they are typically American mall brats wanting to buy everything in sight and constantly bored ....still good and kind but so self-absorbed.

[mrman]

It never ceases to amaze me how all children from all around the world are so much alike until adults start teaching them their own bad habits. I think if more American people saw more foreign families living thru everyday celebrations, tragedies and ordinary events we'd realize...the common people have more in common than the media (in all countries) lead us to believe. That is the greatness of this new age of communication. Even a ten year old who has access to the internet, twitter, etc. will eventually move beyond his humble community. Jones said it with humor....very seldom do politician's rhetoric reflect the true beliefs of the people. The world is becoming smaller and we'd better learn to accept our differences and seek out our commonalities.

[missviv]

It truly sad how kids are so misguided by the adults in their lives. I remember being four years old and experiencing racism by other four year olds.. in retrospect, I know they probably didn't even know the impact of their words they just had some really horribly "adults" in their lives. I'm a total advocate for people moving out of their communities and getting out into the world, it doesn't take long to see that we're not all that different.

[smchp]

My god those little kids looked so evil! The neocons were right all along!

[JustAnotherScreenname]

I'm Iranian and I loved that segment! I wonder what else the Daily Show team has in store for us?

[GayGrandpa]

That's good to know because I wonder what good if any does this do...but then again...I guess the humor is going right over my head.

[eternalkerri]

let me 'splain it. "Ignorant American Abroad Being Ignorant."

[huffpostuser77]

I'm guessing that they tell the people they interview that it's kind of a joke. I didn't enjoy the part where he asks people to say they "hate america" if they didn't realize he was goofing around. So, I just assume they explain it in the end. It was so nice to see a family like that, living in Iran. We don't get to see that sort of thing, and in that sense it was kinda funny and also kinda sad. I'm sure there are even some nice Republicans too! :) We not only demonize other countries and simplify people, but we do it to ourselves as well. It shouldn't take a Susan Boyle or a Daily Show routine to remind us that we're all very much alike. Although, I'll take what I can get -- I need reminding too.

[Bootoomee]

You are a fair minded person my friend. We can all be fairer to each other.

Thanks for being kind and reasonable.

[PazPraSempre]

I too enjoyed seeing a family at home. It seems like the only image we see of Iran or other countries in the Middle East or Central Asia is when people are protesting or violence is erupting.

[TedB]

I've heard so much of this axis of evil crap for so long that I began to believe the propaganda. All it took to bring me back to reality was watching the ten seconds with the video game and the dancing to Dire Straits! We may eat different foods, speak different languages and worship different gods, but people around the world are all cut from the same fabric.