So I started watching Shah’s of Sunset because of MJ on traitors season 2. Reza on the Traitors show was a blur because he got eliminated the first night and maybe had a minute of screen time with him talking. So I watched all the seasons of Shahs of Sunset and came to realize Mike got in jail. Horrible!! He is why they didn’t bring the show to more seasons. Esfand failed us!
The highlights for me: I enjoyed seeing the Iranian culture of the refugees from the 70’s understanding that they fled their homeland and landed in beautiful Beverly Hills. Persian American Muslims and Jews could mostly get along in the show even if they agree to disagree. I had not realized the religious aspect of the Iranian revolution was so big. Makes sense because most dictators cleanse the people that have different ideals them themselves. The evil eye ritual- I was delighted to see enchanted to see.
The show seemed to push the words Iran instead of Persian at first few seasons, probably do the fact that when they came over like most immigrants that had wars to hide there identity to not be singled out in their new country. Though in Tehrangeles, they definitely spoke Farsi a lot and brought over as many family as they could. Different than Germans that tried to just speak English and assimilate never teaching their children their native tongue after WWII, I read that some Italians did the same too during the war.
The Shahs of Sunset had no shame in fighting in the open. I don’t know if that is technology era feel— you just say what you feel and damn the conquences or it’s a cultural difference with the fighting in public places. Americans in big cities are more hands off in others lives but have opinions on the internet now, verses in rural American I’ve seen that behavior before and it’s tolerated with friend groups exactly like the Shahs of sunset. Even in India, the village I lived in had that feel that everyone in the community knows your business, hears your personal life details and says things when it tests the values of the culture or there are two culture clashes.
Honestly, having grown up in Southern CA and talking to my Mom and Grandparents about the civil rights segregation my family in San Diego did not experience what the south in the United States did with African Americans, drinking out of water fountains that were labeled “Blacks only.” They drank out of the same water fountain and segregation according to them was non existent. Was it because of being San Diego near the gold rush culture and/or so close to the Mexican border they had that chill Baja Mexico feel. I’m not sure.
I grew up in LA on a very poor street with a diverse community and we got along well despite the crime that befall the area.
Is Beverly Hills and Malibu just snobby because of the affluence of riches? Is that why they never in the 80’s tolerated the Iranians, or was it culture difference with the smells of saffron. Reza in one of the episode kind of implied that but it was not a developed point.
Even NYC with its long lists of immigrants since the 16 century had Jews and Irish coming in tons and changing their culture and American culture. Bring tons of innovation, possibly because of the poverty. They had nothing to loss but everything to gain. Gentlemen ideals and values were diminished thankfully by the Jews who established equality for people of different backgrounds.
On to the food, I was shocked that Tehrangeles doesn’t have a famous local dish of LA styled Chelow kabab. In New York, “Jewish cheesecake” or Israeli cheesecake from ashkenazi Jews (which according to family history DNA can be traced back maternally to 4 women) recipe was changed by dropping the Quark cheese that one could not get in NYC at the time, so the recipe changed to cream cheese and sour cream at a restaurant now know famously as the “NY- styled cheesecake.
The Irish in NYC changed the way Americans celebrate St Patrick’s day forever with the corn beef and Cabbage as opposed to more expensive cuts of meat they used cheap corn beef at the time.
When studying Berlin I saw that the Turks in 1990’s moved there after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The cheap real estate no one else wanted to live on at the time. The Döner Kebab is one of the most famous cuisines of Berlin. It’s so delicious! It took Berlin only a short period of time to infuse the Turkish Kebab as their own.
New Orleans is a capital of infusion of cultures and foods like the Muffuletta being one of my favorites of Italian Americans the locals introduced us to it.
Baja Mexico has the Lebanese infused taco the El Pastor, which thankfully those immigrants went to Mexico and helped to created that culinary delight. Where is the Persian cuisine that defines famously Tehrangeles? Tell me it’s Ghormeh Sabzi or a Persian Charcuterie board with lots of cucumbers on an ornate golden platter. That finally puts Los Angeles on the map for food.