Iran: “300” went too Farsi…

It appears that “300,” which I praised below, is not going to be a big hit in Iran:

“Javad Shamqadri, an art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused the new movie of being “part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture,” said the report.

“Shamqadri was quoted as saying ‘following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture,’ adding ‘certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies.’

“The movie’s effort wound be fruitless, because ‘values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans,’ said the Iranin official.

“Shamqadri, who is also a filmmaker, said that production of more domestic and artistic films which portray Iranian achievements is a proper response to movies like ‘300.’”

Okay, so the Iranians didn’t like the LGBT version of Xerxes the movie presented. It was poetic license, and now that Allison has explained to me about the comic book effects of Frank Miller, I appreciate the movie even more. I especially love it when the ephors start shouting, “Leonidas lied, and people died.” Oops! That wasn’t actually in the flick.

The movie idolized Spartan culture, which we learned in high school was militaristic and less brilliant than Athenian culture. What we learned in high school was right. But I suggest that sometimes we need Spartan values if we are to preserve Athens. Historical accuracy? This is a movie that has sent me hunting for my trusty Bulfinch to compare the movie to accepted saga. 

A historian has challenged the accuracy of many points of the film, pointing out that Sparta was even more brutal than portrayed in the movie. Actually, the historian probably objected to the notion that sometimes brutality is necessary for survival and to the movie’s failure to mention that Sparta had slaves who were killed as practice for warfare. But he did note one thing that, while very artistic, bothered me just a bit – the depiction of the democrats – I mean ephors:

“Elected annually, the five Ephors were Sparta’s highest officials, their powers checking those of the dual kings. There is no evidence they opposed Leonidas’ campaign, despite 300′s subplot of Leonidas pursuing an illegal war to serve a higher good. For adolescents ready to graduate from the graphic novel to Ayn Rand, or vice-versa, the historical Leonidas would never suffice. They require a superman. And in the interests of portentous contrasts between good and evil, 300′s Ephors are not only lecherous and corrupt, but also geriatric lepers.”

But you gotta admit it was effective.

“Shamqadri was quoted as saying ‘following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture,’ adding ‘certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies.’

“The movie’s effort wound be fruitless, because ‘values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans,’ said the Iranin official.

“Shamqadri, who is also a filmmaker, said that production of more domestic and artistic films which portray Iranian achievements is a proper response to movies like ‘300.’”

Okay, so the Iranians didn’t like the LGBT version of Xerxes the movie presented. It was poetic license, and now that Allison has explained to me about the comic book effects of Frank Miller, I appreciate the movie even more. I especially love it when the ephors start shouting, “Leonidas lied, and people died.” Oops! That wasn’t actually in the flick.

The movie idolized Spartan culture, which we learned in high school was militaristic and less brilliant than Athenian culture. What we learned in high school was right. But I suggest that sometimes we need Spartan values if we are to preserve Athens. Historical accuracy? This is a movie that has sent me hunting for my trusty Bulfinch to compare the movie to accepted saga. 

A historian has challenged the accuracy of many points of the film, pointing out that Sparta was even more brutal than portrayed in the movie. Actually, the historian probably objected to the notion that sometimes brutality is necessary for survival and to the movie’s failure to mention that Sparta had slaves who were killed as practice for warfare. But he did note one thing that, while very artistic, bothered me just a bit – the depiction of the democrats – I mean ephors:

“Elected annually, the five Ephors were Sparta’s highest officials, their powers checking those of the dual kings. There is no evidence they opposed Leonidas’ campaign, despite 300′s subplot of Leonidas pursuing an illegal war to serve a higher good. For adolescents ready to graduate from the graphic novel to Ayn Rand, or vice-versa, the historical Leonidas would never suffice. They require a superman. And in the interests of portentous contrasts between good and evil, 300′s Ephors are not only lecherous and corrupt, but also geriatric lepers.”

But you gotta admit it was effective.