Hello
I noticed this controversy over new 300 Spartans movie. The Iranians should I say Persians or maybe it is Babylonians don't like it.
Anyway has anyone seen the movie yet? Any Comments what it is like?
Mike
The Iranian community in the US and Canada is very keen on e-petitions as a form of protest.
The latest issue to grip Iranian expatriates is the Hollywood blockbuster 300. According to the protesters, it projects an "irresponsible" and "distorted" image of ancient Persia.
The film, which has broken US box office records, is a special effects-laden depiction of a battle in which a small Spartan army resisted a Persian invasion.
It is based on Frank Miller's epic graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
The film shows the Spartan king and his army of 300 - white, muscular soldiers - strongly resisting Xerxes and his savage Persian army of hundreds of thousands.
Loud opposition
The film has stirred controversy among Iranians across the world, but it is the expatriate community in North America that have been the loudest voice opposing an "assault on its culture and tradition".
Iranian bloggers started their campaign against the film a week ahead of its opening. Not only does it give the wrong outcomes to battles, it grossly misrepresents the Persians and their civilization
Omid Memarian
Bloggers have taken offence at the way in which the Persians have been depicted in the film and the way the battle of Thermopylae has been narrated.
Award winning Iranian blogger and journalist Omid Memarian has been among these voices. He is worried about what he sees as historical discrepancies in the film.
"Not only does it give the wrong outcomes to battles, it grossly misrepresents the Persians and their civilization. Some see a hidden anti-Iranian agenda in the film
"It is unfortunate that very few curriculums in the US cover world history and it is very easy to misdirect the general public on historical facts."
Mr Memarian is also concerned about the film's balance.
"Let's not forget that Cyrus the Great, Xerxes's grandfather, drafted the first declaration of human rights in 539 BC, freeing hundreds of thousands of Jews from Babylonian slavery."
Iranian officials have joined the angry protests and some are seeing it as part of a wider campaign against Iran.
Javad Shamaqdari, a cultural advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said it was "plundering Iran's historic past and insulting this civilization".
He branded the film "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people.
A daily Iranian newspaper, Ayandeh-No, recently carried the headline "Hollywood declares war on Iranians".
Image problems
Omid Memarian is not surprised at the reaction to the film due to what he calls "skewed media coverage on Iran and anti-Iranian rhetoric which has escalated in the US".
Warner Brothers, the film's producers, has been quick to explain that "the film [is] a work of fiction, loosely based on an historical event".
The makers say 300 is a work of fiction, not to be taken seriously
A statement by the company said: "The studio developed this film purely as a fictional work with the sole purpose of entertaining audiences; it is not meant to disparage an ethnicity or culture or make any sort of political statement."
Some bloggers and commentators have opposed the petition against 300 on the grounds that there are bigger battles to fight - such as opposing what is seen as the increasing threat of military action against Iran.
Salman Jariri, a Farsi blogger, published an open letter addressed to the protestors.
"The actions of leaders of third world countries has a more destructive effect on the westerners' perception of these countries than Hollywood productions," he said.
Google-bomb
One Iranian blogger in Canada has an alternative to the petition.
Pendar Yousefi, who blogs from Toronto, is "Google-bombing" the film.
His "bomb" aims to divert internet traffic searching for 300 to a web site that introduces the various aspects of Iranian culture through art.
Mr Yousefi, who is upset with the way ancient Persians have been depicted in 300, has called on Iranian cartoonists and artists to send him work that will help educate people about the Persian empire. A number of artists have obliged and some 600 Iranian blogs and websites have established permanent links to Mr Yousefi's site.
300 Spartans
There are 15 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 4,548 times. The latest Post () was by InHarmsWay.
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I'm a big Gerry Butler fan but I'm the one person who didn't really like it. It's pretty much one long, bloody battle. It's based on a graphic novel. I don't know why people get upset about movies. This is what Butler said in Esquire:
Esquire: "In the movie, a small band of proto-democratic freedom fighters take on a Middle Eastern enemy -- did you discuss parallels with contemporary world politics?"Gerard Butler: "300 was sold to me one way: The Spartans are the U.S. But I think if you look at it with half a brain, then you see that the situation is absolutely reversed. I've really got to be careful what I say here. [Director] Zach [Snyder] and I never tried to compare it to politics, because, to be honest, that doesn't work for me. I mean [the Iraq war] is such a *beep* It is a mess. Who are the heroes there? There are no heroes. It's all just dirty."
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Hi
I haven't seen the film but have heard it is one of the goriest films ever made.
It is ironic and slightly sad that the present middle east culture, one which gave the world civilisation is so sensitive that it will pick on anything that it considers derogatory to its own creeds and beliefs, while at the same time trying to blow up the world and kills its own citizens indiscriminately.
When it comes down to it the film tells of a historical event that happened thousands of years ago when 300 Spartans attempted to hold the pass at Thermopolae and were slaughtered by the Persian army.
as for the protests when the film The 300 Spartans was made in the 50s/60s with Richard Egan were there widespread protests, also Richard Burtons Alexander the Great which depicted Alexander actually defeating the Persians in battle, didn't raise a murmour, both were accepted as being mediocre films not giving a history lesson, just attempting to entertain the film going public.
Perhaps Mexico can complain about how they were portrayed in The Alamo and The Last Command.
If you take Mr Gibson's efforts in The Patriot and Braveheart perhaps we should be burning effigys and complaining that he is anti British. The fact that we don't possibly shows that our civilisation perhaps is a little more tolerant and perhaps more advanced since then
If anyone thinks that I am tub thumping I am not. I genuinely believe that everyone has the right to say what they think and believe that is their god given right as is mine.
regards
Arthur -
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Hi
I haven't seen the film but have heard it is one of the goriest films ever made.
It is ironic and slightly sad that the present middle east culture, one which gave the world civilisation is so sensitive that it will pick on anything that it considers derogatory to its own creeds and beliefs, while at the same time trying to blow up the world and kills its own citizens indiscriminately.
When it comes down to it the film tells of a historical event that happened thousands of years ago when 300 Spartans attempted to hold the pass at Thermopolae and were slaughtered by the Persian army.
as for the protests when the film The 300 Spartans was made in the 50s/60s with Richard Egan were there widespread protests, also Richard Burtons Alexander the Great which depicted Alexander actually defeating the Persians in battle, didn't raise a murmour, both were accepted as being mediocre films not giving a history lesson, just attempting to entertain the film going public.
Perhaps Mexico can complain about how they were portrayed in The Alamo and The Last Command.
If you take Mr Gibson's efforts in The Patriot and Braveheart perhaps we should be burning effigys and complaining that he is anti British. The fact that we don't possibly shows that our civilisation perhaps is a little more tolerant and perhaps more advanced since then
If anyone thinks that I am tub thumping I am not. I genuinely believe that everyone has the right to say what they think and believe that is their god given right as is mine.
regards
Arthur
Excellent post, Arthur, and sentiments with which I wholly agree.
If the Iranians didn't act so hostile toward the West and its' values, I'd probably be more inclined to feel a bit of sympathy toward their complaints but as is my feeling is.......TS, ragheads.
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I haven't seen the movie yet. Not sure if I will or not, but we'll see. I heard that this movie was inaccurate in a lot of areas, but again it is only a movie, so what is the the harm.
Most movies stereotype regions. For example, the south is portrayed as stupid, slow, red neck, gun rack in the pickup truck and their confederate flag. Well with the exception of a very few people that is not true. Don't have my confederate flag. And other regions being stereotyped as well, so Hollywood misses the boat again, and so what if they offend the Iranians.
I don't hold what Hollywood says, they are here to entertain, and takes stories beyond belief to catch the audience's attention.
My saying is "Get Over It!"
Cheers
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Excellent post, Arthur, and sentiments with which I wholly agree.
If the Iranians didn't act so hostile toward the West and its' values, I'd probably be more inclined to feel a bit of sympathy toward their complaints but as is my feeling is.......TS, ragheads.
Ditto my agreements with you all. "And all I can say is: Truth hurts, don't it buddy?" -
All I can say is that if the Iranians or whoever are complaining then it must have hit alittle to close to home on some level. Also, make more of these types of movies that depict the middle east as nothing more then a hate filled area that cannot seem to grasp the ideas and values of a civilized world. And if that don't work, pull all our troops out and make it "glass" over there.
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I think the people in charge over there will latch on to anything that they think can further there cause no matter how much it doesn't make sense.
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I for one liked the movie, but I would have to say I'm disappointed in Butler's remarks. Typical Hollywood double talk though. With that said, the movie is a fantastic adaptation of the graphic novel and even though it is violent, it is done in a way that is over the top and nothing realistic compared to "Saving Private Ryan". You get what you expect, especially if you've seen "Sin City". As far as the "Persians" being pissed, what exactly do they not protest. They use these things to further the 'pc' generation and make inroads to divide our country. Unfortunately, it will work. Do to my inability to feel sorry for any of them, I'm inviting my whole enforcement team to watch the thing again.
Bo -
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I for one liked the movie, but I would have to say I'm disappointed in Butler's remarks. Typical Hollywood double talk though. With that said, the movie is a fantastic adaptation of the graphic novel and even though it is violent, it is done in a way that is over the top and nothing realistic compared to "Saving Private Ryan". You get what you expect, especially if you've seen "Sin City". As far as the "Persians" being pissed, what exactly do they not protest. They use these things to further the 'pc' generation and make inroads to divide our country. Unfortunately, it will work. Do to my inability to feel sorry for any of them, I'm inviting my whole enforcement team to watch the thing again.
Bo
Hi Bo, one thing I never heard of them griping about was, at how much Bubblegum we Americans like to chew ;-D But give them time and they will gripe about that as well. -
I posted about this in the Last Non-Western thread but .....
I would say that this movie wasn't anymore gorie than say Saving Private Ryan. It is just the nature of war. I was a little disappointed in the movie. A little more background would have been good, though the movie would have had to have been longer I think. As for movie inaccuracies, that has come to be expected. That is also one of the reasons I refuse to watch Flight 93. There is no way that the makers of the film can know what actually happened on that plane and I for one would not dare to speculate.
/me gets of soapbox -
Hi
After all the comments, the reviews over here tend to be favourable with many of the critics comparing it to comic book fantasy with fantastic action sequences. And I still haven't seen it.
Regards
Arthur -
I've seen the original film 300, some parts of which I thought were comic in the quality of acting. My son has seen both the old and new film and he agrees with me that the story as told by Herodotus is the best of any.
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I think one thing that has been overlooked in this is that it is fictionalized. In the movie the Persian ruler portrays himself as a God, and talks in a deep almost multi layered voice. He is well over seven feet tall, maybe even eight feet tall. He rides a "carriage" that is a throne on a massive slab of rock that slaves are forced to carry. Also they have a Quasimodo type hunchback character who is deformed and a real monster that is a killing machine.
So if people are so sensative about the fact that it's anti Persian/Iranian then I ask them where they have been hiding the mythological creatures that make appearances in the movie. Of course they are just fictional and so is most of the movie.
It's based on a TRUE historical PREMISE. The battle did happen. And the rest is movie magic.
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incredible movie...
alot of movie magic as said before, but yet it was historical.
