Sometimes it's important to tackle ideas and ideals when talking about misunderstandings in one region or another. Sometimes it's just as important to tackle a symbol of those misunderstandings and a throughput of more misunderstandings. Iran International, the """news""" network, is such a throughput. It is a propaganda machine with a singular vision of a perceived enemy, who caters to the most vibe-based views on Iranian history, culture and systems. It is a cesspool of talking heads touting propaganda, and it serves as the worst in a series of already broken systems.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
Much like any country who has had massive social and political upheaval in the 20th century, Iran has a considering number of diaspora living abroad. This has created a schism in the pop culture of Iran, and has separated it into a homegrown and a diaspora-grown branch. Both of these branches though, still have a home in Iranian identity, and have created the dual-personality of Iranian culture.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
Food is such a peculiar subject. It is universally believed to be apolitical, even though our connection to it is increasingly becoming more and more political. It's one of those subjects that can lead to appreciation of a culture, while also quietly dehumanize it. It's a peculiar subject, and when it applies to any one culture as their defining trait, it makes putting aside the people of that culture in favor of their residual aspects much easier. In short, when food is involved, it's easy to diminish people into what they will serve you.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
The specter of Iranian Cinema outside of Iran is an odd and interesting one. It oftentimes frames some of the most unique movies out of this system as the "norm", and creates a stereotype of an Iranian artist as someone in tune with something extraordinary. Truth is a lot more complicated than that. A positive stereotype, is still a stereotype, and with it comes a misunderstanding. Iranian Cinema is not what the best of it represents, and Iranian filmmakers are far more varied than imagined.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
When it comes to the history of Iran, there's so much misinformation and misinformed opinions that it's hard to divide the wheat from the chaff. Even for most Iranians, whether they've been learning history through school or through revisionist texts online, the idea of Iranian history is a complex and contradictory mess. In this mess, some reviled ideals can harbor and fester, creating an identity based on a past that was never there, and try to return to that imaginary past.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
The matter of religion is always more complex than it seems, but it becomes doubly-so when it enters the varied world of Middle East. The outward view of many countries make them seem like purely religious puritans, even though their ultimate goal is control, and religion is just one single lever in their arsenal. Though, religiosity becomes even more complex when the actions of supposed religious governments inflate to reflect on the public, and there's no better example of that than Iran.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
The view on Iran can be categorized in many ways, and one of them is a geographical climate view. As with many other countries in the Middle East, Iran has been depicted time and time as a purely desert climate. Sand dunes, palm trees, oases with shallow water reserves, camels and desert people. This is how the world likes to view Iran, because that way they can diminish the Iranian experience and bring it down to a single monolithic view. But, that's not the truth. Iran is not a desert, and it never has been.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
When it comes to discussing politics in and about Iran, there's usually one or two stereotypes that people fall into. These two often reflect the political intent of the person spreading them, but nonetheless the effect is similar: it reduces a range of ideas, people and political identities into a single force. Iranians in either interpretation of these monolithic parties are zombified husks who will follow a singular leader, whether it's a tyrannical overlord or a disgraced prince.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
During the war between Iran and Israel, oftentimes Iranians were reduced to a monolith of ideals, ethnicities and even culture. It's a view that is prominent outside of Iran, and sadly it's even prominent inside of Iran. The idea that Iran as a whole is a unified set of beliefs and cultures is one that's pushed even by our government (then and now). It can't be farther from the truth though. Iran, throughout its existence, has always been a tapestry. It's always been complex, and it's always been more than a monolith.
Special Chapter #12 - It's the Circle of Noora: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/akhamseh88/episodes/Special-Chapter-12-Its-the-Circle-of-Noora-e36i050
Check out my appearance on "Re-Animate THIS!": https://reanimatethis.podbean.com/e/sky-captain-and-the-world-of-tomorrow-2004-the-devil-rides-out-1968-and-the-gorgon-1964-feat-ali-khamseh/
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
In this episode, we're meeting once again in person to sit down and talk in depth with Noora. We met each other while I was "cosplaying" as Santa, and then later... some other time... we think? Though we have had other connections that have made us to meet each other more and get closer with time. Noora is an artist, and has been from a very early age, so our talks inevitably went into talking about art, artists, our relationship with art and artists, including an in-depth discussion of Leonard Cohen and Mohsen Namjoo, with things inexplicably going to Salvador Dali's peculiar interests in intimacy.
Check out my appearance on "Troubled Artists": https://open.spotify.com/episode/0TLIkphzhHlOMgpdUxlWmE?si=8cd011d820544fa9
Check out Noora's book on Mahasa Publishing: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCOI5Q4Cmrp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MW9meTFmM3V6amdrMQ==
When one reaches the end of an era, one has to look at one's contributions and works in that era and come to a conclusion: was the past showing signs of discontent or contentment? What happened in a season that its arrival was under the influence of its number? Was the unlucky aura of "13" enough of a curse on the season to bring about the end of one's own desires and wants regarding the project itself? How close can one come to the end, before finally going over the threshold?
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
Sometimes one needs a jolt of something to bring about all the things that one has lost. Sometimes, a great experience in a less-experienced field can have extraordinary effects on one who needs to jumpstart to their life. Sometimes, that great experience is "The Age of Decadence", a CRPG who boasts its social interactions and focus on more-dialogue based events rather than pure combat readiness, and a throwback to the CRPGs of the old; a claim that they manage to deliver on in droves.
Troubled Artists: https://open.spotify.com/show/4p5ItGGzt3NpMpzeteVXAx?si=57860b4d2b474078
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
Some people revel in the heroism of their fictional avatars. They embody themselves as the moral good of the story in the interactive world they inhibit. But that is not true for everyone. Sometimes one wants to be the imoral one, the thief, the villain... and it's also about the Iran-Israel war which is why this episode is a month late.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
The name "Timeline Up" will mean nothing to most, but will mean something to few. To those few, the name "Timeline Up" is evoking the true nature of a guilty pleasure, or a sunken treasure of their finances, or just a repetitive and easy-to-play mobile game which barely qualifies outside of the purview of "auto-play". For one, it is the herald of everything that is wrong with one's attention span and lack of motivation. It is the herald of all that is guilt and no pleasure.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
There are so many pieces of art in the world, that to experience all of them require almost infinite lifetimes. With such a vast world, it is understandable that some will fall through the fingers of anyone trying to capture all. Sometimes, that is one of the beloved games of its genre. Sometimes, that is "Prey" (2006 - the original one). To understand "Prey", is to understand a vast network of satisfying gameplay, mind-bending physics, and a lack of disregard for its story. To understand "Prey", requires one's attention.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
There are, sometimes, projects so massive and so expansive, that it becomes a beacon of hope for those who enjoy such projects, but also becomes a barrier of entry for those who REALLY want to enjoy those projects, but are extremely threatened by their lack of explanation. When such projects lack the necessary starting steps to guide one in, one can lose in some amazing and unforgettable experiences. Such is the story of "Crusader Kings III".
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
With one week of unplanned break, one returns to discuss yet another video game, and this time the subject matter is that of piracy. But not the cool piracy of the modern era in which softwares are shared with the masses, but the brutal piracy of the 19th century, in which Blackbeard and Henry Morgan thrived. This is the world in which Sid Meier (of "Sid Meier's Civilization" fame) has set his seminal piracy simulator: "Sid Meier's Pirates!".
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
In Switchblade City, the Aces used to fight crime, but that was a long time ago. Now, the city is filled with gangsters and crime lords, each trying to carve up sections of it for their own desires. In this city, one has to learn to fight to survive and use everything in their line of sight to fight, and that is the exact situation that "Fallen Aces" puts one in. Made by New Blood Interactive, "Fallen Aces" is the noir-inspired immersive sim, and it's one hell of a style over substance game.
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
When the courier walks through the ruins of Mojave, dealing with the intricate balances of power near Hoover Dam and the bustling city of New Vegas, it's hard not to want to continue their story further and further. Thankfully, the brilliant minds in Obsidian Entertainment decided to do continue the journey of the courier, even outside of Mojave and the confines of New Vegas. So, it's time for one to go through and talk about "Honest Hearts" and "Lonesome Road".
Check out my appearance on "Criterion Now": https://cinejourneys.com/criterion-now-episode-159-iranian-and-world-cinema/
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
When the courier walks through the ruins of Mojave, dealing with the intricate balances of power near Hoover Dam and the bustling city of New Vegas, it's hard not to want to continue their story further and further. Thankfully, the brilliant minds in Obsidian Entertainment decided to do continue the journey of the courier, even outside of Mojave and the confines of New Vegas. So, it's time for one to go through and talk about "Old World Blues" and "Dead Money".
Email me at: ContactAKhamseh88@gmail.com
