Reality TV is managing to do in Iraq what few other Western imports have over the last three and a half years -- gain a large and devoted grass-roots following. With more than a dozen home-grown shows already having taken to the Iraqi airwaves, the phenomenon has added another country to its global conquest. "These shows are appealing to anyone, but more so in Iraq because it's being handed to people starving for a vision of something better," says Dr. Douglas Gentile, Director of Research at the National Institute on Media and the Family. "We're talking about a country experiencing turmoil, where people are struggling -- jobs are gone, infrastructure destroyed, and a lot of basic needs out of reach," Gentile added. "Reality TV is showing them they can have a better life, strike it rich, become famous, . . . a sort of American Dream, Iraqi style."
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