Parazit ( fa, پارازیت, ', meaning "static") was a weekly half-hour
Persian-language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and u ...
satirical television show broadcast on
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
's Persian service. The show poked fun at
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian politics.
Kambiz Hosseini
Kambiz Hosseini ( fa, کامبیز حسینی, born 1 August 1975 in Rasht) is an Iranian political satirist, actor, television host, and radio host. He is the host of Paradox, a Podcast series that airs on Radio Farda. He was the host of ''Polet ...
and
Saman Arbabi
Saman Arbabi ( fa, سامان اربابی; born 1973) is an Iranian-American journalist, video director, cartoonist, host, creator, and executive producer of Voice of America's satirical television shows ''Parazit'' and '' OnTen''. His work has b ...
, Iranian expatriates living in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, started the show as a 10-minute segment in another show influenced by the American satirical news show ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
''. Parazit was launched before the June 2009
presidential elections in Iran
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
. It became very popular in Iran, reaching its audience via illegal satellite dishes, the internet, or bootleg DVDs.
Its name is a reference to the Iranian government's repeated attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Because it was distributed through unofficial channels, it is impossible to determine the audience. However, as of January 2011, the show's
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel was viewed 45,000 times a week, while their
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page was visited 17 million times a month.
[ A new season was reported to begin on 17 August 2012 after a six-month hiatus, but did not resume broadcasting.
The program and its presenters have been subject to significant criticism in Iranian state media, described by some as "]character assassination
"Character Assassination" is a four-issue Spider-Man story arc written by Marc Guggenheim with art by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel Comics. The arc appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #584-#588. An interlude, "The Spartacus Gambit" ...
".
Hosseini and Arbabi appeared on ''The Daily Show'' on January 20, 2011.
Parazit aired its last episode in 2012.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Facebook page
Parazit Blog
Criticism of journalism
American news parodies
2008 American television series debuts