SOPRANOS-STYLE TV SPARKS CONCERNS ON ARMENIAN CRIME RATES

Kuwait Times
sid=MzIyNzY0MjM3
April 27 2010

Actor Harutyun Movsisian has no doubt why his character Hovo has
become one of the best-loved and most popular figures on Armenian
television. "Hovo is very kind, he respects his family and his wife,
and he loves his country," said Movsisian, who is one of the ex-Soviet
republic’s most recognisable faces since he started playing Hovo on
television series "The Trap" in 2008. "He is surrounded by jackals,
dishonest, cruel characters and he fights for justice and to protect
ordinary people." Given the desc ription, one might think Hovo was
a police officer, a crusading lawyer or even an Armenian version of
superspy Jack Bauer on American television series "24".

But Hovo is in fact the head of an organized crime family and "The
Trap" one of a slew of Sopranos-style television series that have
taken Armenia by storm. But as the popularity of these mafia dramas
has grown, so have Armenia’s crime rates, and police are raising
concerns that the glorification of crime bosses is to blame.

Last year "The Trap" was the highest-rated program on Armenian
television, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research’s Yerevan office,
with more than 27 percent of Armenian viewers tuning in every day
to watch Hovo struggle with corrupt police and rival gangs as he ran
his criminal empire.

Similar programs featuring hero gangsters, including "The Orphans",
"The Price of Life", and "Happy Unhappiness", were all in the top
five most-watched. Many of the programs, including "The Trap", have
now ended but thanks to their popularity many new mafia dramas are
now in production. Overall crime rates in Armenia, meanwhile, jumped
54.7 percent last year and police say local television’s love affair
with the criminal world is partly responsible.

These programs are propaganda for criminality," Armenian police
spokesman Sayat Shirinian said. "Glorifying criminals, humiliating
the police and showing that violence is the answer of course will have
an effect on people’s morals and lead to an increase in criminality."

Critics are especially worried about the impact of the programs
on children.

These series are teaching new behavior-that murder, terror or
blackmail are the fastest and most effective way to solve problems,"
child psychologist Khachatur Gasparian said. "Children identify
with the heroes of these programs and become more aggressive and
uncontrollable." Some have even raised concerns that the programs are
damaging Armenia’s international image by portraying the country as
a hotbed of crime. Critics fear the series could scare off investment
from Armenia’s widespread diaspora commun ity, which the impoverished
country relies on for significant economic and political support.

These series create the impression that the country has no honest
policemen or fair officials, that all questions are solved by
violence," said Hovik Musayelian, a member of Armenia’s Public Council,
an advisory body to the government. "Many Armenians from the diaspora
are afraid to invest because they think the country is in the hands
of criminals and the mafia," he said.

In the face of growing criticism, Armenia’s National Commission
on Television and Radio took steps this year to rein in the mafia
programs, imposing new restrictions on showing violence and on
positive portrayals of criminals. But critics say the rules can be
broadly interpreted and may not have much effect. Harutyun Gukasian,
a scriptwriter for "The Trap", said he cannot understand what all the
fuss is about and dismissed claims that mafia dramas may be behind
rising crime rates as absurd. "Don’t make me laugh… Nobody becomes
a mafioso from watching television," he said.

"We are following the same path the whole world has. Crime dramas
are popular everywhere."-AFP