Tehran condemns "anti-Iranian" movie 300

Jurnalo
Mar. 13, 2007

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. dpa fm ch