Opinion: An Iranian Holocaust drama, and how government is here to help you with death

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Think Americans are the only ones with a God-given right to groundbreaking TV? Think again. Granted, this season showcases the morbidly adorable Pushing Daisies, the grimly hilarious Reaper, and the culture-clashing Aliens in America, whose young protagonist finds himself saddled with a Pakistani Muslim exchange student.

But even that last move by the CW is overshadowed by Iran’s hot new drama, Zero Degree Turn, in which a young Iranian man rescues his beloved, a Jewish woman, from the concentration camps. And on state-run television, too.

Pause, and rewind: President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has publicly denied the existence of the Holocaust. Nevertheless, the month of Ramadan is prime TV-watching time throughout the Muslim world, and the romantic drama is probably a refreshing change from the clerics that normally feature on the ‘Bearded Box.’

Iran may be trying to reshape its image through fiction, but across the border, entertainment is thumbing a televised nose at the state. Iraqis currently have a choice of at least three (count ‘em) shows satirizing their beleaguered government, according to NPR:

Ouch. And I thought Warner and Levin were harsh.