Thanks a lot Frank Miller, now you've done it!!

[DeToxRox]

Iran is not happy about the new film, 300. The film portrays the Persians as villains. Iranians are descendants of Persians.

Variety is reporting that the film "has a deeper resonance in the Mideast, where it's seen as a distorted view of very real events." The trade goes on to quote a recent headline of the Iranian newspaper Ayandeh-No thusly: "Hollywood declares war on Iranians." A cultural adviser to Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad also had less than kind words for Zack Snyder's comic book movie, saying 300 is "part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological warfare aimed at Iranian culture."

An internet petition has already been created demanding an apology from Warner Bros.

"What would people say if they made a film about Martin Luther King [Jr.], showed him as a monster, and tried to defend it as a fiction? You can't do that. It's unethical. This is a national matter for all Iranians," Hamed Vahdati Nasab, who started the petition, tells Variety.

"The film 300 is a work of fiction inspired by the Frank Miller graphic novel and loosely based on an historical event," responds a Warner spokesperson. "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."

[Vince]

Despite the negative light given in the film...

...how in the freaking world do you compare Martin Luther King Jr. to Xerxes?

[bulletsponge]

well Iranians do call themselves Persians, calling them arab is an insult to them. somehow they will find a way to blame the Jews, just wait

[cthomer5000]

"What would people say if they made a film about Martin Luther King [Jr.], showed him as a monster, and tried to defend it as a fiction?

I am writing this script right now.

[DeToxRox]

I think the entire this is laughable. Does Iran really need this type of propaganda to rally Arab people against the United States? I mean, it was working before this.

[gottimd]

I thought this thread was about my neighbor, Frank Miller and I began to wonder what he had done to anger the FOFC community.

[DeToxRox]

I am writing this script right now.

I assume if he's a monster it'll take more then a bullet to get the job done?

[gottimd]

I assume if he's a monster it'll take more then a bullet to get the job done?

Why does it have to be a bullet? What about a really sharp pencil? Or maybe a thumbtack?

[John Galt]

I think the entire this is laughable. Does Iran really need this type of propaganda to rally Arab people against the United States? I mean, it was working before this.

Just to point out what was already said - Iran is not an Arab nation. The whole reason they are pissed about the movie is that Persians live in Iran and Persian is the official language of the country. There is actually a long history of Persian-Arab conflict, so when Iran is expressing outrage, it is not to "rally Arab people against the United States."

[Critch]

Any way they can re-write it to make it the Spartans fighting against the Nazis so that everybody is happy?

[Raiders Army]

I liked it better when Iran was better known for their video game Contra.

[dawgfan]

I think the entire this is laughable. Does Iran really need this type of propaganda to rally Arab people against the United States? I mean, it was working before this.
I don't think it's entirely laughable. For anyone that knows the real history of the battle of Thermoplyae and know that the source material for the movie is a graphic novel, they'll understand that this is a highly stylized interpretation of the actual events and not meant to be taken literally.

However, there are plenty of people that won't now either or both before seeing the movie. And even those that do may find some of the images and depictions in the film to be bordering on offensive. Similar thoughts crossed my mind as I was watching the movie - even though I know both the history of the actual battle and the source graphic novel, I still found the depiction of some of the Persian warriors as grotesque monsters to be in questionable taste.

I'm not at all surprised by this reaction, and I'm not entirely unsympathetic to their position. I don't think Warner owes an apology, but they can go out of their way to emphasize that this is a highly stylized version of the truth and it's to be taken as essentially a work of fiction.

[WVUFAN]

, so when Iran is expressing outrage, it is not to "rally Arab people against the United States."

It's to rally Iranians against the United States. This film would NEVER have passed the censors to be shown in Iran, so more than likely the average person in Iran would never have known about it, much like the average American doesn't know the good number of anti-American films that were released in Turkey and Iran (I can name a few off if you like). The ONLY reason they're throwing a fuss is to incite yet another anti-American crowd.

[WSUCougar]

Actually, I think the Spartans have just as much of a beef. All that jumping up in the air and stabbing BS. It's an insult to their warrior culture. Sheesh.

[Mustang]

I think Iran seriously overestimates what percent of the U.S population could actually tie Persia & Iran together in any way, shape or form...

[Raiders Army]

If the movie had made $2 million last weekend, would this be an issue?

[lordscarlet]

I liked it better when Iran was better known for their video game Contra.

Best post of the thread.

[MrBigglesworth]

This film would NEVER have passed the censors to be shown in Iran, so more than likely the average person in Iran would never have known about it...
Why do you think it would have never passed the censors? I'm not an expert on Iranian censorship, and this wikipedia list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Iran#Banned_films) might not be exhaustive, but I don't see anything that would suggest it would be banned.

[WVUFAN]

Why do you think it would have never passed the censors? I'm not an expert on Iranian censorship, and this wikipedia list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Iran#Banned_films) might not be exhaustive, but I don't see anything that would suggest it would be banned.

Um .. Iran banned Pinocchio, for god's sake. The sex scenes alone would cause this film to never be shown in that country.

In terms of banning media, according to that same list you linked: "Iran censors more Internet sites than any other nation except China" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China)

It's not so much of a stretch that censorship in that country is more than just internet, but extends to film, television, and literary works.

[MrBigglesworth]

Um .. Iran banned Pinocchio, for god's sake. The sex scenes alone would cause this film to never be shown in that country.

In terms of banning media, according to that same list you linked: "Iran censors more Internet sites than any other nation except China" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China)

It's not so much of a stretch that censorship in that country is more than just internet, but extends to film, television, and literary works.
I do not think that it is the Pinocchio that you think it is. The Wiki link goes to Roberto Benigni's 2002 live action Pinocchio. That Pinocchio was also banned by Malaysia and Iraq, so maybe there was some anti-Muslim stuff from the French actor/director (it is also the worst reviewed movie ever at Rotten Tomatoes, so maybe they just all have good taste).

From doing some research it looks like Western movies were widely shown in Iran (though edited), and then Iran banned American movies in late 2005. I'm not sure of the result of that ban.

[WVUFAN]

I do not think that it is the Pinocchio that you think it is. The Wiki link goes to Roberto Benigni's 2002 live action Pinocchio. That Pinocchio was also banned by Malaysia and Iraq, so maybe there was some anti-Muslim stuff from the French actor/director (it is also the worst reviewed movie ever at Rotten Tomatoes, so maybe they just all have good taste).

No, I know which Pinocchio it was talking about (I've seen it, and yes, it's HORRIBLE), but my point still remains. 300 would NEVER have gotten through the censors. [/quote]

[JediKooter]

Wow, the Iranians getting mad at something that is a work of fiction would be like people getting mad at the Da Vinci code.

[MrBigglesworth]

Wow, the Iranians getting mad at something that is a work of fiction would be like people getting mad at the Da Vinci code.
Ironically, that book was banned by Iran, as well.

[JediKooter]

Ironically, that book was banned by Iran, as well.

That does not surprise me in the least. The Diary of Anne Frank is probably banned too.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, the Da Vinci Code was deemed blasphamous, IIRC. It put the prophet Jesus in a bad light.

[Sporkimata]

It is amazing how little the average american knows about history and cultures. My biggest pet peeve.

[Leonidas]

When I heard this my immediate thought was, "What are they so PO'd about? I mean, they won the battle, right." And don't they know that in America bad guys are much cooler to root for than good guys? They need to watch the WWE a couple times and maybe they'll get it.

[EagleFan]

It is amazing how little the average american knows about history and cultures. My biggest pet peeve.

Ah yes, because the "average" citizen of every other country knows so much about these things... :rolleyes:

[MrBigglesworth]

Ignorance of history is universal. It's just math and science that we are relatively bad at.