Tehran condemns "anti-Iranian" movie 300

dpa German Press Agency Published: Monday March 12, 2007

Tehran- Iran on Monday strongly condemned the US film
company Warner Bros. over the allegedly "anti-Iranian" blockbuster
film 300.
Javad Shamqadri, art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
told Fars news agency that the film was an insult to Persian culture
and in line with the American "psychological war" against Iran.

Zack Snyder's film, based on a comic book by Frank Miller, tells
the story of the battle of Thermopylae in Greek history in which 300
Spartan warriors led by King Leonidas heroically fought a massive
Persian army attack, delaying an invasion by King Xerxes' forces and
giving Greeks time for a counterattack.

Iran's has called foul over what it calls "deviation of history"
but also because the Persians in the film were shown as "ugly and
violent creatures rather than human beings."

The news network Khabar organised a special programme in which the
film was evaluated from several angles by film critics who argued
that the film's alleged efforts to expose Persians as violent was a
US political plot implemented through Hollywood and the Warner Bros.
company.

The state-run network also linked the film to ongoing political
differences between Washington and Tehran such as the nuclear
dispute.

The film critics further said that after Germans, Japanese,
Russians and Arabs, Iranians seem to become the new "villian" in
Hollywood productions.

A large number of Iranians abroad have already started a worldwide
email campaign to send protest missives to Warner Bros. for having
insulted Persian culture and history.

The film reportedly made 70 million dollars over its opening
weekend, making it the first official blockbuster of the year.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

Comment Here