{"id":16588,"date":"2021-08-04T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2021-08-05T12:44:13","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:44:13","slug":"how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become a Tyrant Sounds the Alarm with Dark Humor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Citizen Jones Co-Founders Jonah Bekhor and Jonas Bell Pasht talk to <\/em>TV Real about the Netflix docuseries <\/em>How to Become a Tyrant, narrated by Peter Dinklage.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zeroing in on the most infamous dictators of the 20th century, <\/span>How to Become a Tyrant<\/span><\/i> exposes the well-worn playbook they used to accumulate and exercise their power. Aptly narrating the dark-humored Netflix docuseries is <\/span>Game of Thrones<\/span><\/i> star Peter Dinklage, who makes the case for tyranny while arming audiences with the warning signs and patterns that have turned up time and again over the course of history\u2014and are repeating themselves once more in the present day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Citizen Jones, co-founded by Jonah Bekhor and Jonas Bell Pasht in 2014, is the production company behind the series, which is executive produced by the duo. \u201c<\/span>Our roots are in cinema and that informs our approach to storytelling and collaboration,\u201d says Bekhor. \u201cWe want to make best-in-class series that are visually striking and bring out the best in the creative people we collaborate with. And if there is a strong, positive message our series can share with the world, all the better!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>How to Become a Tyrant<\/span><\/i>, Bekhor and Bell Pasht wanted to tackle the topic of tyranny in a provocative way in order to reach a broad audience. \u201c<\/span>There has been a disturbing rise in authoritarian impulses around the globe, and this subject feels urgent and important,\u201d notes Bekhor. \u201cIt turns out that all tyrants\u2014past and present\u2014follow a nearly-identical playbook to achieve ultimate power, and we wanted to reveal those tactics in a manner that would grab viewers\u2019 attention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The factual genre is awash in documentary features and series that delve into the lives and nefarious actions of dictators. Through its unique style and tone, <\/span>How to Become a Tyrant <\/span><\/i>aims to cut through the clutter and grab the interest of those who might not ordinarily sit down to stream a history series. <\/span>\u201cThose shows can feel dusty and unrelatable,\u201d says <\/span>Bell Pasht.<\/span> \u201cTo cut through, we knew we needed a distinctive style that felt fundamentally different from other traditional docs about dictators. Among other things, we used animation as a signature element in the series. It gives the show a signature look. But more importantly, it\u2019s a powerful storytelling tool that allowed us to reveal the surprising moments from each tyrant\u2019s life for which there is no existing footage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bekhor and Bell Pasht also realized that adding a dose of humor to the series could further up its appeal, provided it struck <\/span>the right tone. Key to finding that sweet spot was Dinklage\u2019s narration. \u201cHe\u2019s definitely not a traditional narrator in this series,\u201d says Bekhor. \u201cRather, he plays a character who is ostensibly attempting to seduce the viewer with the merits of ruling the world through any means necessary, but ultimately the narration combines with all the storytelling elements to convey a deeply cautionary tale. It\u2019s a dark, sardonic tone. And had he not struck the right tone, it could have been incredibly offensive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We knew early on that the project presented a unique challenge and opportunity for our narrator,\u201d adds <\/span>Bell Pasht<\/span>. \u201cWe also knew we wanted an iconic voice for this. Peter was such an obvious choice. He\u2019s brilliant and a fan-favorite\u2014but he\u2019s also best known for playing the ultimate power insider on <\/span>Game of Thrones<\/span><\/i>. Who better than Tyrion Lannister to share the secrets for ruling the world?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Become a Tyrant<\/span><\/i>, by virtue of the unfortunate universality of power-hungry rulers, stands to be relevant and intriguing to international audiences. \u201cThe subject of tyranny touches audiences all over the world in different ways, and there is clearly a trend toward authoritarianism taking place in different corners of the globe,\u201d says Bekhor, who adds that though history foretells of such cycles repeating, memories are often short. \u201cTyrants can be seductive; they are charismatic and they get things done. But history has shown that we continually allow them to rise to power because we simply aren\u2019t familiar with the playbook they all follow.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>How to Become a Tyrant<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Bekhor and Bell Pasht hope to offer<\/span> a note of caution for audiences alongside the entertainment. \u201cIf you go into this series with an open mind, you just might recognize a few of the tyrant\u2019s tactics in your own politicians,\u201d says <\/span>Bell Pasht<\/span>. \u201cRegardless of your political affiliation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Citizen Jones Co-Founders Jonah Bekhor and Jonas Bell Pasht discuss the Netflix docuseries How to Become a Tyrant, narrated by Peter Dinklage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1033,"featured_media":16589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[5687,5688,5689,5690,5691],"class_list":["post-16588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-citizen-jones","tag-how-to-become-a-tyrant","tag-jonah-bekhor","tag-jonas-bell-pasht","tag-peter-dinklage","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Become a Tyrant Sounds the Alarm with Dark Humor - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Become a Tyrant Sounds the Alarm with Dark Humor - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Citizen Jones Co-Founders Jonah Bekhor and Jonas Bell Pasht discuss the Netflix docuseries How to Become a Tyrant, narrated by Peter Dinklage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-04T13:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-05T16:44:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/HowtoBecomeaTyrant_Season1_Episode1_Netflix-821.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/\",\"name\":\"How to Become a Tyrant Sounds the Alarm with Dark Humor - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-04T13:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-05T16:44:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/how-to-become-a-tyrant-sounds-the-alarm-with-dark-humor\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Become a Tyrant Sounds the Alarm with Dark Humor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\",\"name\":\"Chelsea Regan\",\"description\":\"Chelsea Regan is the managing editor of World Screen. 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