My Boiling Point

Have you ever been in that angry/frustrated state-of-mind where you just wanted to cry out of shear exasperation? That is me as I write this. So really, I probably shouldn’t be writing this, should really wait till I cool off a little – but hey, what the hell. I won’t use swear words, might get censored…

My mood has been building over the passed couple of weeks and tonight has just been the straw that broke the camels back (actually quite apt for this place).

I’m watching Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance (America), I missed it when it was on in Oz so am kind of glad it is on here - no spoilers please! Anyway, there was this beautiful contemporary piece on and, as I was a contemporary dancer and choreographer, I will always watch and love this type of dance. Anyway, whilst watching this piece they continued to cut to shots of the choreographer or the audience or the judges and I suddenly realised that this wasn’t done by the actually show, this had been done post production by the geniuses who monitor television in the Middle East. It was at this point that my blood began to boil.

I cannot believe that people are so damn prudish that they cannot deal with watching two stunning dancers perform a piece that wasn’t in anyway explicit (it was about old loves, for crying out loud). The dancers rolled on the ground and I saw another bit where the female dancer launched herself into the guys arms and well, that is about all I can tell you because they allowed maybe 15 seconds of the dance to air. I’m so angry I can barely express how I feel. Seriously??? It’s DANCE. I am so disappointed and disgusted all wrapped up into a little ball of fury that settled into the middle of my chest.

So far I don’t think I have watched a show that hasn’t been edited in some way… Nope, can’t think of one. Everything is tainted by the almighty censorship people. Even a scene in ‘Shrek’ in which Shrek and Fiona kiss was deleted!!! What the…?

I should clarify here that the satellite channels here are also aired in Yemen and Saudi and they are far more rigid, closeted, uptight (etc, etc, etc) then Oman.

MP and I had a discussion about how people get their sex education here. It’s not taught in schools, the longest kiss on TV is a peck between married (and only married) couples for about 2 to 3 seconds– any longer and it’s edited – all birth-related scenes are completely removed (think Rachel in ‘Friends’) – even the famous quote from ‘Kindergarten Cop’ was edited to “Boys have a bleep, girls have a bleep”. So that leaves the home, BUT sex is a taboo subject at the best of times. How on earth does this society manage to function? It’s no wonder that when I walk down the road to my local post office with my head uncovered, that I get stared at to the point I feel unsafe. And what is so frustrating about that is that if some man did approach me and behaved inappropriately, I am not able to tell him where to go because I would be the one who would get into trouble with the police! Backward doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Oh and the fashion (and I mean normal fashion, not abayas) is so hideous! We are going to London in a few days so I have been trying to find a few decent pieces of clothing that I can wear to the theatre, etc. Ohmygod, the tops are just revolting – floral prints that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. Think shopping at the dodgiest secondhand stores that you find in some country towns and you’ll start to understand what I am up against.

I cannot wait for some civilisation… And this is not just me, from the look of all the fully booked flights leaving Muscat during the upcoming holidays, all the expats in town are fleeing like rats on a sinking ship.

I wonder how the Omani’s who are educated overseas feel when they return to their homeland. Do they feel oppressed? Do they long to be able to make their own decisions about what they want to watch on television? Do they miss the freedoms they had with the friends they made in their overseas homes? Or do they want to return to the simple life in which everything is mapped out for them till they day they die?

These are the people I would love to talk to, if I was allowed…

I used to think that Australia was an immature country that had a lot of growing up to do; I have since re-evaluated this position.