BASRA, Iraq — Shadows are growing long on the afternoon of Oct. 1 when British Army Captain Steve Morte, 39, strolls into the garden courtyard of a decaying Saddam-era palace-turned-British base in this sweltering city of 2 million. In one sweaty hand he clutches a government-issued receipt book. In the other, $25,000 in cash in a soggy yellow envelope. His grip on the money tightens as he approaches two Iraqi men sitting on a bench, for they are — or were — the enemy. But dealing with erstwhile enemies — and tolerating cultural mores that seem somehow wrong to Westerners [...]
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 [...]
