March 6, 2006
It’s Oscar time once again. We’ve been bombarded with Oscar propaganda for nearly a month now. MBC and One TV (a channel from the Emirates) have been promising us live Oscar coverage since January. It seems like all the interviews and programs for the last week at least have been about the Oscars- Barbara Walters, Oprah, Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight- it’s an endless stream of Oscar nominees and analysts.
Now I’ve seen the nominees- we see them every year- and I’ve come to a conclusion- Iraqis need an award show. While the Hollywood glitterati make good entertainers, our local super stars, Hakeem, Jaffari, Talabani, Allawi et al. make GREAT entertainers. This last year we’ve seen several dramas unfold and our political leaders have been riveting!
So… not to be outdone by Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey- we bring you the Baghdad Burning Oscar Special!! Except, for our award show I suggest we change the name of the little statuette from Oscar to something more local and familiar. (Oscar is too close in pronunciation to the Arabic word "Iskar" which means "get drunk". Should we use "Oscar" I fear the award show would be hijacked by Sadr’s religious militia, hence I would like to suggest the "Sayid" Awards!)
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we bring you the nominees for the 2006 Sayid Awards!
Nominees for Best Actor:
Ibraheim Al-Jaffari in "Free Iraqi Elections" for his attempted portrayal of a non-sectarian, independent PM of a 'legitimate’ Iraqi government.
George W. Bush in "OIF: The War on Terror" The third sequel to the original "Operation Iraqi Freedom: Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom: Liberating Iraqis". Bush’s nomination comes for his convincing portrayal as the worlds first mentally challenged president.
Bayan Baqir Solagh in "Torture Houses", for his world-class acting as the shocked and indignant Iraqi Minister of Interior during the whole torture houses scandal.
Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem in "Men in Black [Turbans]" as the deeply devout Mullah pretending to be independent of his masters in Iran.
 Mihsan Abdul Hameed in "Fickle" for his compelling portrayal of a victimized pro-war, then suddenly anti-war, anti-occupation Sunni politician.
Nominee for Best Leading Actress:
Condi Rice in "Viva Iran!" as the vicious Secretary of State in the charade to stop Iran’s nuclear power program (in spite of Iranian control in Iraq).
Nominees for Best Supporting Actor:
Jalal Talbani in "Kaka President" (Kaka = Kurdish word for 'brother') for his attempt at playing the 'legitimate’ leader of the New Iraq (and although, technically, he’s the star of the movie, we nominate him for best 'supporting’ actor as the PM managed to upstage him all year).
Dick Cheney in "OIF: The War on Terror" for his role as the devoted, fanatical VP and his relentless insistence that all goes well in Iraq.
Muqtada Al Sadr in "Viva Iran!" as the young, charismatic, black-turbaned spiritual militia leader intent on protecting Iran from all harm and promoting tolerance between Sunnis and Shia (in spite of his Sadr militia responsible for vandalism and attacks against Sunnis and secularists).
Scott McClellan in "OIF: The War on Terror" and "Denial" best known for his ability to keep a straight face while reading through White House press briefings.
Nominees for special effects:
Ahmed Al Chalabi in "Disappearing Act" for his magnificent evaporation from the Iraqi political scene this year. Mr. Chalabi is quite the master of illusion and received a previous nomination for his disappearance from Jordan in "The Petra Bank Scandal".
Best production:
"OIF: The War on Terror" (originally called "My Daddy’s War") produced by Washington neocons, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc.
"Free Iraqi Elections"- produced (and directed) by Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem et al. and his army (quite literally) of supporters (the Badrists).
Best motion picture:
"OIF: The War on Terror" starring George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condi Rice and others. A riveting drama set in Iraq. Rated "G" for 'Gullibility’ and "R" for 'Republican".
"Disappearing Act" starring Ahmed Al Chalabi, Adnan Al Pachachi, and Ghazi Al Yawir.
"Free Iraqi Elections"- A black comedy based on the farfetched theory of free elections under foreign occupation starring Abdul Aziz Al Hakeem, Ibraheim Al-Jaffari and Muqtada Al Sadr.
"Kangaroo Court" - starring Saddam Hussein, Barazan Hassen, and various judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
Many honorable mentions:
First and foremost, an honorable mention to Bush’s speech writers. It must be the most difficult job in the world writing scripts to make George W. Bush sound/look not great, not even good- but passable. It must also be challenging having to write speeches using words with a maximum of two syllables.
An honorable mention to the Saudis for their support of Sunni extremists and Wahabis, the Iranians for their support of Shia extremist, and Americans for their support of chaos.
And so, as our Green Zone glitterati retire to their camps to celebrate their great victories, Iraqis wonder what wonderful, new cinematic opportunities await. There is much talk that a block buster is in the works - in the pre-production stage of this years most anticipated psychological thriller "Iraqi Civil War".
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