So I was reading the New York Times last weekend when I suddenly realized that I knew the Muslim comedian profiled on the front page - just that I last met him as a chimpanzee performing standup comedy in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Sami Shah is a comedian from Pakistan who fled the country (in part) to escape death threats provoked by his pointed humor about religion, and is now a rising star in Australia. And the thing is, back when he was still performing in Pakistan, he practiced a lot in Second Life as an avatar called Orionalation Carver, often in The Wasteland, and sometimes as a monkey. (This was around 2008.) I even shot some video of his routine, which you can watch below -- it's probably one of the more surreal events I've experienced in Second Life:
"I get on average a 20 to 25 people crowd," he told me at the time, "and end up making around 1800 to 2000 [Linden] bucks a show." He'd perform his show live, and interact with the avatar-based audience logging in from around the world: "Even when I am lagging, my voice is unhindered Carver: my shows are completely real-time."
In my 2008 profile of him, he also told me how his Pakistan performances would cause discomfort, when he joked about terrorism and religion:
"It's not like they are pro-terrorism, it's just they are uncomfortable making fun of it or of me mentioning religion in any context (most Pakistanis will joke about religion in private but not in public.)" Being in Second Life gives him an opportunity to fully unload, in scabrous terms that most Western comedians would hesitate to use. Not Orionalation. "I can say things others might be too PC to say," he tells me. "I can call Saudi Wahabism misogynistic and racist without fear of being called intolerant, and then there is my tendency to turn stereotypes on their head. I address the common misconceptions about Pakistan and Islam, and mock them while confirming how much of it is bad PR [that's the] Muslim world's fault. So it's kinda fun combining these elements to get a good reaction from the crowd."
Good to know he's still doing so, and feeling freer to express himself in Australia. I wonder if he still performs in Second Life from time to time. (I asked him on the weekend, and will update if he replies.)
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