Iran accuses Hollywood of 'psychological warfare'

[Menydh]

Iran accuses Hollywood of 'psychological warfare'

The Guardian
March 14, 2007

Hollywood is already firmly established as a source of cultural decadence in Iran's pantheon of hated western symbols.

But now the country's Islamic leadership has accused it of "psychological warfare" over its depiction of the battle between the Greeks and Persians at Thermopylae in 480BC, regarded as a key event in the birth of western democracy by some historians.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has joined MPs, bloggers and local media in denouncing the newly-released Warner Brothers epic, 300, as a calculated attempt to demonise Iran at a time of intensifying US pressure over the country's nuclear programme.

Mr Ahmadinejad's spokesman branded the film "an insult to Iran" while four MPs have urged the foreign ministry to pressure other Muslim countries to ban it.

The film, directed by Zack Snyder and based on a novel by Frank Miller, grossed nearly £40m in ticket sales in three days after opening in north American cinemas last week. It portrays the heroic endeavours of 300 Spartans, under King Leonidas, who are shown resisting an invading force of 120,000 Persian troops led by Emperor Xerxes.

The plot depicts the tiny Spartan force repeatedly outmanoeuvring the invaders and being defeated after a three-day stand-off only through treachery. Iranians complain that it represents them as savage, murderous and warmongering.

The film's availability in Iran has been limited so far to pirate DVDs, but that has not stopped an outpouring of official condemnation.

The government spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, described the film as "cultural intrusion" and an attack on Iran's ancient civilisation. "Such a fabrication of culture and insult to people is not acceptable by any nation or government," he told reporters. "[Iran] considers it as hostile behaviour which is the result of cultural and psychological warfare."

The reformist newspaper, Ayandehno, accused the makers of trying to set international opinion against Iran to fit President George Bush's description of the country as belonging to an "axis of evil".

"In the film Iranians are considered to be monsters devoid of any culture, humanity and wisdom who know nothing except attacking other lands, threatening peace and killing human beings. There is no option other than to confront, fight and destroy this wicked tribe so that the world can be saved from this axis of evil," the paper's film critic wrote.

It is not the first Hollywood production to cause upset in Iran. There was widespread anger over the favourable portrayal of Alexander the Great in the 2004 film, Alexander. The Macedonian king is reviled in Iranian culture for destroying the seat of Persian imperial greatness at Persepolis after defeating Emperor Darius III in 330BC.


[source]

[Menydh]

Interesting to see the reactions to the film in this Iranian forum:

Against the illusive movie "300" - Iran Defence Forum

[Marcus Marulus]

Well, this may be even true. It is possible that Hollywood Jews in alliance with Anglo-American-WASP-Israelites (as they always did in the last several hundred years) are using this latest movie as a propaganda tool in the preparation of a new barbaric war, this time against Iran. It is highly probable that it is part of psychological warfare. We just have to rimind ourselves of how Hollywood was used during the second world war in order to denigrate Germany.

But at the same time, by his somewhat hysterical reaction, Mr. Ahmadinejad has proven not be a man of great prudence. It isn't wise to react like that. It only means to boost publicity for the movie and for the schemes of Anglo-Judaics who stand behind it.

I am planning on seeing it, at any rate, this has awaken my curiosity.

[Menydh]

There is no doubt that the reactions in Iran are hysterical. It is possible that an hysterical reaction was expected by the film makers, which could be easily exploited. But that's not the only reaction.

I heared about these news first on the radio, while driving back home. They were commenting that in the US, the reaction from Iran has provoked a counter-reaction in Americans and that everytime a Persian is killed in the film, the public applauded as if it was an Islamic enemy.

Can't tell that the Islamics are more ignorant than the Americans. Which was a known a fact.

[Galaico]

I can understand why they're so angry, it's not about being depicted as traitorous and murderous people, but as Negroid sodomites.

Damned racist and homophobic Iranians

[Errigal]

The movie also does the work of motivating US citizen's to join the military. I would not be surprised to see American recruiting ads done in the style of "300".

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

I heared about these news first on the radio, while driving back home. They were commenting that in the US, the reaction from Iran has provoked a counter-reaction in Americans and that everytime a Persian is killed in the film, the public applauded as if it was an Islamic enemy.

It seems Americans have been so brainwashed that they don't distinguish between fiction and reality. And ancient Persians were not Muslims in the first place.

[Strengthandhonour]

Well another thing is that 300 was written almost 10 years ago. The writer Frank Miller has hinted towards fascist points of view in his other works of writing and opposition to the American goverment(one of his works portrays two men that resemble Ronald Reagan and George Bush and how a group of super heroes declares war on America and tries to overthrow the government)
I think the Iranians are just making a big hype out of this. Not like they are saints anyways. I am sure many of us here have seen the Iranian style films.

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Strengthandhonour

Well another thing is that 300 was written almost 10 years ago. The writer Frank Miller has hinted towards fascist points of view in his other works of writing and opposition to the American goverment(one of his works portrays two men that resemble Ronald Reagan and George Bush and how a group of super heroes declares war on America and tries to overthrow the government)
I think the Iranians are just making a big hype out of this. Not like they are saints anyways. I am sure many of us here have seen the Iranian style films.

In any case it seems they have bitten the bait...

[Menydh]

One other comment they made on that radio programme, is what if the Greeks had not resisted the Persians at Thermopyale. Most interesting to speculate with relation to Europe.

[Susi]

Persians weren't really Iranians anyways, like has been said..

And practically no one around my age knows that Persia apparently is the same as Iran anyways. (Except for the "Persian" in my English class)

[Galaico]

Originally Posted by Susi

Persians weren't really Iranians anyways, like has been said..

And practically no one around my age knows that Persia apparently is the same as Iran anyways. (Except for the "Persian" in my English class)

No please! You just sound like oslonor!

Okay, Iran is not a synonym of "Persians", but Iranian is. In fact Iranian can be related to the term Aryan, therefore the Indo-European tribes that invaded current Iran. Iranian should be related to those tribes of Iranian speech: Persians, Pashtoons, Tadjiks, Ossetians, Alans, Sarmatians, and even Turkified Azeris.

[O Trovador]

I still haven't seen the movie, but this story makes me a little more interested.

With that said, I can't say that the Iranian reaction is reasonable or unreasonable. Regardless, it must be understood that it's a movie, and that movies rarely (if ever) portray historical events correctly. I mean, I wasn't up in arms when I first saw the 1961 'El Cid' film, where the great Castilian hero was played by the Anglo-American Charleton Heston.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Susi

Persians weren't really Iranians anyways, like has been said..

Well, what's being said is that Persians weren't Muslims. Mohammed was born one thousand years later than Xerxes I. So Islam did not exist yet.

If the film portrays the Persians as a barbaric people in front of the Greeks, then it is clearly yet another Hollywood distortion of History and of reality.

It was quite the opposite. The Greeks would appear as a barbaric people to the eyes of the highly civilized Persians.

[svin]

If the film portrays the Persians as a barbaric people in front of the Greeks, then it is clearly yet another Hollywood distortion of History and of reality.

This film features also 4 meters height people, people with sabres instead of their hands, other mutants etc. This is not distortion, it's just fantasy film based on historical events.

It's like making a movie about ancient Romans fighting with space invaders.