The Audio File: Fall of the Shah

Britain has had a long history of producing quality audio dramas. I suppose it is partially because television arrived there later than it did in America. Of course, even after television arrived, the British continued producing audio dramas, even into the present day. That brings us to the podcast we're reviewing today. We're taking a look at Fall of the Shah, a BBC production.

Fall of the Shah tells the story of the early days of the Iranian/Islamic Revolution. We see this historic event though the eyes of many people. There is of course, the Shah and his wife, but also leaders in America and Britain, a Canadian journalist, and an Iranian family divided by the revolution.

Okay, I know that doesn't sound terribly exciting, but this is an excellent podcast. Being produced by a major company means that the audio production is a true cinematic experience. The BBC usually does with their productions. I say usually because there have been some occasion, many within the last few years, that they've gotten sloppy with their audio drama standards. Thankfully, Fall of the Shah is not one of those instances. Everything from the voice acting, to the music, to the sound effects, are all top of the line. Fall of the Shah has a full voice cast, but also features a narrator, voiced by Dame Diana Rigg, who helps to set the scenes and explain some of the background details about the various events the podcast depicts.

I should perhaps give a bit of background to help set the stage.  The Iranian/Islamic Revolution wasn't the first revolution. The first revolution occurred in 1953. It was a socialist uprising, and since it was the Cold War, the United States and United Kingdom didn't look too kindly on it. Especially since Britain owned several oil companies in Iran, and the Iranians were trying to reduce British influence in their nation. The uprising was swiftly squished, and America and Britain installed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as the Shah of Iran. The Iranian people always resented this, especially since Pahlavi was rather incompetent as a ruler. This anger continued to simmer until it boiled over into a new revolution.

Obviously, the Shah gets a fair bit of focus. I'm heard some people accusing this podcast of whitewashing the actions of the Shah. I would argue that it doesn't, as it takes time to have other characters voice precisely why so many people are angry with the Shah's government. More on that in a bit. Even if it might go a bit soft on the Shah, I'd argue that the writers did so because they knew what came after him was much worse. It's a bit like how media relating to the Russian Revolution tends to downplay Tsar Nicholas II's faults, because everyone knows how much worse the Soviet Union turned out to be. And I will applaud the writers for really humanizing the Shah.

On the flip side, the podcast also does an excellent job portraying Ayatollah Khomeini. He's cold, cunning, and calculating. The podcast doesn't say away from the fact that he was a religious extremist. At the same time, the podcast also makes a point of show how he was able to manipulate people and gain their support. Hats off to the voice actor who played him, and really captured Khomeini's public speaking ability. Many of those who initially supported the 1979 Revolution were socialists, but they believed the Ayatollahs and their followers would be useful idiots. They wrongly assumed that the Ayatollahs would be too obsessed with their religion to be of much harm. It is quite ironic that Khomeini's exile took him to Paris, a modern secular Western city. He railed against all of these things, and yet he only survived because of them.

We also get to see things from the perspective an Iranian family, and see how revolution divides, and ultimately disillusion them. The kids begin by getting involved in student protest groups, which were key in the early stages of the revolution. Then the fundamentalists begin to seize control of the government. Like I said before, the podcast might glossed over the Shah's flaws because the fundamentalist government was so much worse. For example, the Shah had 3,000 political prisoners, but the Islamic government had over 300,000 political prisoners, and that was just at the start of the revolution. One definition of revolution is to move in a circle, or in other words, make things like they were when you started. Having the family as one of the groups of focus characters gives a really great street view of revolution.

We also get to see things from the perspective of leaders in America and Britain. First, off, whoever played Jimmy Carter really nailed his voice. The writers also did a good job portraying Carter sympathetically. Carter is often remembered for how he mishandled the Iranian Hostage Crisis. In my opinion, Carter wasn't a bad president per se, but he got dealt a bad hand. It was during his presidency that the OPEC Oil Embargo, and the ensuing Oil Crisis, occurred. My mother tells me she remembers that because she'd just gotten her drivers license and gas had gone up to the outrageous price of one dollar per gallon. Carter can be said to, perhaps, have been in over his head, and might have made a better Secretary of State than president. He was a nice guy, but maybe not necessarily pragmatic enough for the job.

The podcast ends on a somber note. The Shah has died in exile, and the fundamentalist government maintains its grip on Iran. Women who once dressed as freely as Western woman now walk the streets clad in burkas. The desert waits for rain, and the Iranian people wait for the day when they can breathe freely once again. A powerful ending indeed.

So there you have it. Fall of the Shah is an excellent audio drama podcast from the BBC. It chronicles the Iranian/Islamic Revolution from a variety of perspectives, and I happily recommend it. Sorry if this review was a bit on the short side. I've been planning a...not so secret project, shall we say. If you are in the same Facebook groups I am you should be able to guess what it is. If not, you'll be hearing more about it relatively soon-ish.

Well, I think that should be enough from me for now. I will see you guys next time.