Being creative is one thing, but being offensive is something completely different

Protests in Palestine over the film "Innocence of Muslims" (Image: The Guardian)

It has been another bizarre week where I have drawn to a conclusion that the world has gone mad. As the Olympic and Paralympic Games finished almost a month ago, our positive mood about life has turned to negative while societies and cultures which came together in harmony during London 2012 have now been detached. Unfortunately, Olympic fever is a thing of a past and the "legacy" and "inspire a nation" is now forgotten.

What went wrong? I guess you can point fingers to the incompetents who like to alter others' interests for the fun of it imposing negative reactions. In America for example, a series of filmmakers have created this film courtesy of Media for Christ, "Innocence of Muslims", an Arabic language dubbed 13.51 minute trailer which represents Prophet Muhammad as a "thuggish womaniser", according to The Daily Telegraph. This extended advertisement was meant to be a two-hour feature film but this content is allegedly missing - same as those who were highly involved in producing the film. Filmmaker Alan Roberts, Media for Christ president Joseph Nassralla and writer and producer of the film, Nakoula Basseley have all been in hiding knowing if they were found, their consequences could be as bloody as former Libya leader Colonel Gaddafi when he was first found after hiding last year.

This film has caused uproar across the world with dozens of countries involved in protests, some leading to fatalities. In Nigeria, tens-of-thousands protested in the city of Kano on 22nd September while a little less demonstrated in Kaduna two days later. More protests occurred in Canada and the United States while countries in the Middle East have shown their displeasure of the film outside US Embassies. In Lebanon, a KFC was torched due to the fast food chain restaurant's association with America. Iran did something a little different and announced they are going to boycott next year's Oscars. In simpler terms, this film has impacted massively in the Muslim-world, like in 1988 when author Salman Rushdie released the book "The Satanic Verses".

Salman Rushdie in 1988 (Image: The Telegraph)

"The Satanic Verses" is a fictional novel which looks into the words in the Qur'an, combining magical realism with historical fiction. It has provoked both positive and very negative response. In its positive sense, it has won a series of prestigious awards such as the Whitbread Award and was a finalist in the Booker Prize. The negative is that it has offended almost every Muslim with bookstores being demanded to withdraw selling such "blasphemous book". Protests, similar to the demonstrations against "Innocence of Muslims" and saw some casualties. Then Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against the author. This was after Mr. Rushdie's apology to the Muslim-world over the book was rejected by the Iranian government - therefore the author went in hiding for years.

Now Rushdie has been out of hiding for a considerable amount of time, he still has the fatwa imposed on him. He could only have this rescinded once he has been relieved by the person who issued it and Khomeini has been dead for over 20 years. This however, has become a big confusion as in 2006, Iran says the fatwa was still in place but others have recently reported it was lifted in 2002. However, this has not bothered the author who has made a remarkable comeback, writing another novel, this time about his time in hiding. The book "Joseph Anton" is set to be a success but some are still quite sceptical over the whole thing. He decides to waltz back into the public eye despite people still wanting him dead.

This questions people's definition of "free speech". Salman Rushdie is one author who fully supports one and says that "The Satanic Verses" defines it. I also support free speech but on the other hand, when writing in this blog or in a tweet, I like to consider other people and never wish to write something that would cause so much uproar that they would attack Embassies or Kentucky Fried Chickens. People like Salman Rushdie and those who were involved in the "Innocence of Muslims" knew that they would be offending Muslims so why abuse free speech by intending to offend but also claim to be controversial? After Prophet Muhammad, Islam use the words "Peace be upon him" to indicate the religion's intentions in society, so why would they test people's innocence?

Creating anything about religion is dangerous and people like Rushdie have to reason to why they wish to publish something to the public. I remember when "The Da Vinci Code" book by Dan Brown was published, it was praised by critics, so much so, a blockbuster film with Tom Hanks was made out of it - but hated by Christians in which some of them bought the book only to burn it. Religion is a very touchy subject and those who want to create a media piece out of it must either glorify it, or ignore it altogether.

Meanwhile, a little country in the British Isles have had their fair share of being upset and I am also one of those who would like to protest about a certain television programme. MTV channel on the 25th September premiered the much-anticipated show "The Valleys", a programme about a series of youth from the Rhondda Valleys, Gwent and its surrounding areas in Wales live in a house in the Welsh capital, Cardiff and experience the night-life and basically "living the dream". Some of the contestants claim that there are no jobs in the Valleys and since they have the muscular figure, or have F-cup fake breasts and use a large supply of fake tan - they feel making "good TV" would give them the career they absolutely craved. In hindsight, this show is a mirror to "The Only Way is Essex" (TOWIE) and "Geordie Shore", but MTV wanted to be creative and choose south Wales as the next ideal location to humiliate and offensively stereotype.

The Valleys MTV (Image: Belfast Telegraph)

"The Valleys", I am delighted to say has been slammed by some household Welsh names. One being Charlotte Church as the outspoken Cardiff opera-turned-pop-star predicted on Twitter that the show will be, "exploitative and a horrific representation of the country that I love." Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood follows Miss Church suit, being quoted to say "It looks to me as if it’s going to be just the dull, cheap, tacky and over-promoted television programme which now I think is quite boring." Others have also criticised but the list is so long, this blog post would be far too long for anyone to read, let alone me going through each and every one of them. In basic terms, the show has been given widespread criticism.

However, I think I have found a small positive to come out of "The Valleys". I am glad to see people like Charlotte Church hating the show, considering when she was younger she had partied hard in the streets of Cardiff, consuming large amounts of alcohol which was exploited in gossip magazines and tabloid newspapers. Now 26 and has two children, Church has admittedly learnt her lesson and it's visible to see her transformation from being an attention seeker to a responsible adult. However, her case is rare - but the drinking problem in today's youth isn't.

I find it frustrating when watching true-crime shows like "Traffic Cops" and "Crimewatch" exploits Cardiff and south Wales in general as an abomination to society where during the day time, the Welsh capital can be one of the greatest and peaceful places in the world. In the night however, the television unfortunately tells the truth as people come to Cardiff on a Saturday night just to get drunk. It's a problem that aggravates me a lot. As "The Valleys" shows this exploitation further, people who find this show embarrassing to their country, which is rich in beautiful scenery and fascinating history, can have a chance to rectify Wales's unfortunate reputation. Certainly, the show has put a dent into Wales's dignity but the programme shows alarming signs that the drinking culture in youth needs to be combated.