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Gryneos's Replies
We're probably the same age, and I would hope that you were only a kid when you came home from school and not an adult. But, if insulting people online is your thing, have a nice rest of your life.
I don't know. We only have that one dream-sequence to go by for how he might react and realize what to do in his situation. We don't really know if he would resign or not, but he would be shaken by the knowledge that magic is real. That goes against every bit of science he knows, including psychiatry.
Djinn/genies aren't supposed to be real. To his training, that would make anyone believing in them delusional, and if he starts to see real magic, he'd question his own sanity, even with knowing the truth. It would be difficult to break that training and indoctrination from his beliefs. He very likely would have to either resign anyway, or take an extended (as in six months or more) leave of absence just to come to terms with the reality of magic. Expect Jeannie to visit him wherever he went, too, which likely would exacerbate his psychological healing process ;-)
The show was neither stupid nor terrible. Because if it truly was, you would never have seen Barbara Eden playing the lead role, or even a bit part.
part II
Governments would also be willing to use violence to gain control of Jeannie or any other djinni. Any one of them could take over the world easily with that kind of power. And despite how the show's writers reduced Jeannie's power over the years, in the first season she controlled the weather and the planet when she was granting all of those wasted wishes of Tony's (flooding a desert, making it snow on Jamaica and not melt away, causing Alaska to melt and not revert back to snow and ice).
She can change time and reality, too. Anyone getting control of her could easily change the past to make the present into the form they wish it to be. If the Soviet had gained control of her and weren't out to just be greedy (like Cosmonaut Sonja Tiomkin) they could have her change the past so that they not only won against the Germans in WWII but then swept the rest of the Allied forces out of Europe and took over the rest of the Western world (and maybe the Asian world, too).
Tony probably has thought of all of that, having seen everything she can do. He's traveled in time with her often and seen that he can change the present day by what is done in the past. He has also seen that nothing happens in the future from visits to the past (such as the first time when they went back to Jeannie's time in "My Hero"). He knows people like Dr. Bellows would resign when confronted with the reality of magic due to being a staunch scientist at heart. He probably knows that the generals would immediately want to take her to the heads of the government and again, it would be about taking over the world, even if for western ideals of the time. Nothing humans could do would stand in the way of such powerful force.
So, it's best to keep her a secret, and take his chances with random friends or humans accidentally finding out about her and then wishing her to make them forget it all (as he requested Jeannie do to Suzie).
part-I
Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but in re-reading it, I see a need to clarify certain things and maybe start the conversations up again around here :-)
This is long, so get comfortable! (in two posts)
I think y'all are not thinking deeply enough on this. Sure, it's just a show, but because we're talking of how things would operate within the context of the show, this is an important question to ask:
How do you think the entirety of the world's population would react to knowing without a doubt that <b>magic</b> was real?
95% of the human race has some kind of spiritual beliefs, but no one belief rules all humans. Magic is like the existence of a spiritual belief, but one where all humans get to recognize that it is true and real. (Presumably, if NASA knew about Jeannie and other djinn, and managed to control her or other djinn, then the governments of the world would learn of it and then all people would.)
Think about how much chaos that would cause, first with people's beliefs in science and in spirituality. If magic can counter anything science can do (and we have seen in the show that it indeed can and so much more) then think of how badly that would shake the very foundations of the scientific community. They can't touch magic. There is no scientific proof than can use it because it's a force that requires one to have the power be able to use it. Sure, Jeannie would be tested, but if you can't pull that power out of her to use as a universal force (like electricity) then it turns known science on its ear, and it won't recover.
The various religious leaders of the world will also either embrace the existence of magic as a universal good thing, or a universal bad thing. Expect many to call it a "force of the devil" leading to violence against anyone using Jeannie's powers. Just watch the movie "Contact" for an idea of how humans can react to the existence of alien intelligence in the world.
You're welcome :-)
I haven't checked, but the subtitles are probably on the regular black and white DVDs. I don't know why the subtitles were removed from the colorized versions, but it probably had something to do with the process of colorizing each frame.
Try this version for the subtitles: https://archive.org/details/01theladyinthebottleunairedpilot
As for the language she speaks, it is Persian and not Arabic. At least according to these two links (http://www.payvand.com/news/08/aug/1287.html , https://iranian.com/2008/12/20/nostalgia-larry-hagman-dreams-of-a-persian-jeannie/ ) and to what little has been written about it in the two books on the show. Supposedly, there were no tutors in Arabic to be found when they needed them, so they made her language Persian or Farsi. That makes more sense anyway, due to Baghdad having been originally within the Persian empire. It was the dominant language of her birthplace and time.
They usually <i>are</i> good dreams. Some are frustrating because I'm dreaming of new episodes that have never existed in waking reality. Sometimes dream-reality-me is able to record them within the dreams, yet I can't get that material to exist out here in waking life :-D
I've never had the actress show up in my dreams, but Jeannie has been in them a few times. Maybe because I separate the character from the actor, and that the actor doesn't mean as much to me as does the character. I mean, the show isn't "I Dream of Barbara" ;-)
That's your opinion, but her books are well-researched in the mythology. If her content is not to be trusted, why is the information you posted <i>about the mythology</i> more trustworthy? It's mythology. <b>All</b> mythology is fictional.
While your assertion is correct about them being spirits, the rest is limited in scope. Here are a couple of excerpts from The Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes.
Also read the folktales. There are many female djinn who don't look like monsters. They often marry other djinn, or are the offspring of a human and a djinni.
Djinn
Also known as: Jinn; Genie; Jinni
Djinn are the indigenous spirits of the Middle East and North Africa. They preceded Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the area but have since traveled the world with Islam and are now found far from their original home.
The name Djinn derives from Old Arabic and means “covert” or “darkness.” Most Djinn are secretive, covert spirits who are invisible most of the time. Many are ambivalent toward people.
See also: Afrit; Aisba Qandisba; Bagblet el Qebour; Bori; Chemharouch; Genie; Jezibaba; Kel Asuf; Lalla Malika; Lalla Mira; Lalla Mkouna Bent Mkoun; Lalla Rekya Bint El Khamar; Maezt-Dar L’Oudou; Mimoun, Sidi; Mimouna, Lalla; Zagaz; Zar
.
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Lalla is a Berber word, which literally means Lady. It is used for human women but is also the most widespread term of address for female spirits, common to both Muslims and Jews. The same term is used to address female Muslim saints, female Jewish saints, female Djinn or other female spirits.
Lalla Malika (more at https://occult-world.com/lalla-malika/ )
Lalla Malika, daughter of a King of Djinn, is beautiful, elegant, flirtatious and coquettish. She likes men, especially married men. Lalla Malika engages in sacred marriages. (See the Glossary entry for Marriage.) As her favorite partners are already wed, it’s crucial to negotiate terms with her. Men engaged in marriage with Lalla Malika must receive her permission to continue relations with their wives or other women. Lalla Malika is a good-natured spirit but keep boundaries clear to avoid any unpleasantness.
It is. Her harem clothing is the redesigned version for the movies. The bottle has been redesigned as well. I don't recall seeing any behind the scenes photos of the original sets for the first-season and color-seasons bottle interiors. Maybe some of the IDoJ collectors might post some images for us one of these days. I'll look through what I've found online, but I don't recall seeing any set pieces but enlarged items like the telephone, mugs, and pencil cups.
Unless you want to look at traditional Arab folktales, in which case males and females are part of the mythology. Also, have a look for the book "Encyclopedia of Spirits" by Judika Illes. There are several female djinn detailed within the pages, such as Aisha Qandisha, Lalla Mira, and Lalla Rekya Bint El Khamar. There are many others, but those are three of the most known and powerful among the female djinn :-)
The other thing to consider is that <i>I Dream of Jeannie</i> is not really based upon historically-accurate accounts of the djinn. It was inspired more by contemporary movies of the time ("The Brass Bottle" 1964, from the book by 19th-century fantasy-author F. Anstey) including all of the Arabian Nights films made ever since movies have been produced. As a work of fiction, artistic license is a thing and encouraged. No authority exists that states authors and creators <i>must</i> stay true to the source material.
Yes. According to this website, there was an Iranian influence back then:
http://www.payvand.com/news/08/aug/1287.html
<b>Persian Anachronisms in Dialogue:</b>
Jeannie has entire dialogues in Persian/Farsi in this very first Episode that clearly suggests that Production was familiar with the Iranian language (distinct from Arabic most commonly associated to the Middle East characters in Hollywood movies)
<i>"Sheklat mesleh Seemayekh Khalif Hast"</i> aka "You look like the Caliph"
<i>"Seemorg"</i> aka "Phoenix"
<i>"Sardar aghar Khatereh Tora Azar Dadam, mano bebakhsh"</i> aka "Master if I made you angry please forgive me"
<i>"Yah Shaheh Paryan"</i> aka "Oh my goodness (not sure about translation)"
<i>"Kashti"</i> aka "Boat"
<i>"Az Ma Khoshnood Ast?</i> ..." aka "Are you angry?"
There was never a blue djinni-outfit. Before Jeannie's sister was introduced, Jeannie sometimes wore a green outfit, where the vest did have a kind of teal shade to it.
The other outfits Jeannie wore were the two sets of red and pink (closed-vest in the first season, and open-vest in the color seasons), and an orange outfit only used once in the pilot episode (when Jeannie turned the interior of Tony's house into a harem room.) There are several examples of it online if you do an image search :-)