This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/nov/07/ben-affleck-argo-iran-revolutionary-themes

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ben Affleck's Argo takes Iran's revolutionary themes as its own Ben Affleck's Argo takes Iran's revolutionary themes as its own
(about 20 hours later)
In December 1979, a handmade placard outside the occupied US embassy in Tehran read: "As an Iranian I want you corresponders + journalists + film-takers [to] tell the truth to the world." Whatever the truths of the Iranian revolution – most would agree it began as a popular uprising driven in part by plausible claims against US policies – film-makers addressing its aftermath from inside Iran have had to depend on allegorical techniques, while those free to address it less obliquely from abroad have had much read into their motives.In December 1979, a handmade placard outside the occupied US embassy in Tehran read: "As an Iranian I want you corresponders + journalists + film-takers [to] tell the truth to the world." Whatever the truths of the Iranian revolution – most would agree it began as a popular uprising driven in part by plausible claims against US policies – film-makers addressing its aftermath from inside Iran have had to depend on allegorical techniques, while those free to address it less obliquely from abroad have had much read into their motives.
Iran's rulers regard foreign productions on Iranian subjects – whether by émigrés or non-Iranians – with prejudice. Warnings of "soft war" and "psychological warfare" waged through culture and entertainment are a recurring theme in Iranian state media. Such is the degree of misgiving that, in 2007, officials turned away the potentially sympathetic Oliver Stone, who had expressed interest in making a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad biopic. Ahamadinejad's media adviser, Mehdi Kalhor, told the LA Times: "We believe that US cinema is devoid of culture and that their art is only a stratagem." Iran's rulers regard foreign productions on Iranian subjects – whether by émigrés or non-Iranians – with prejudice. Warnings of "soft war" and "psychological warfare" waged through culture and entertainment are a recurring theme in Iranian state media. Such is the degree of misgiving that, in 2007, officials turned away the potentially sympathetic Oliver Stone, who had expressed interest in making a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad biopic. Ahamadinejad's media adviser, Mehdi Kalhor, told the Fars News Agency: "We believe that US cinema is devoid of culture and that their art is only a stratagem."
No doubt the 1979 "Canadian caper" – whereby six American diplomats fled Iran using Canadian passports in a scheme devised by the CIA, film industry professionals and the Canadian government – helped to shape the regime's suspicions.No doubt the 1979 "Canadian caper" – whereby six American diplomats fled Iran using Canadian passports in a scheme devised by the CIA, film industry professionals and the Canadian government – helped to shape the regime's suspicions.
Ben Affleck's Argo, on which the former CIA "exfiltration" expert Antonio J Mendez worked as a consultant, happily embraces the regime's assumptions. Yet if Affleck's portrayal of the episode is psychological warfare, it is "soft" indeed. Here is a film that apologises for its derring-do by taking revolutionary themes as its own: it begins with a self-critical history lesson, shows US diplomats condemning Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (for which there is historical basis), and even depicts Americans bullying Iranians in the US during the hostage crisis. It also exaggerates the competence of the nascent revolutionary authorities, if only in a gaudy bid for dramatic tension.Ben Affleck's Argo, on which the former CIA "exfiltration" expert Antonio J Mendez worked as a consultant, happily embraces the regime's assumptions. Yet if Affleck's portrayal of the episode is psychological warfare, it is "soft" indeed. Here is a film that apologises for its derring-do by taking revolutionary themes as its own: it begins with a self-critical history lesson, shows US diplomats condemning Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (for which there is historical basis), and even depicts Americans bullying Iranians in the US during the hostage crisis. It also exaggerates the competence of the nascent revolutionary authorities, if only in a gaudy bid for dramatic tension.
Yet it is the subject, as often as the content, that is taboo. Mohammad Hosseini, Iran's minister of culture and Islamic guidance, described the film to Mehr News as an "offensive act", motivated by "evil intentions". Such "worthless works", he said, will soon be countered by young Iranian film-makers. Reza Farrokhi, writing for the pro-government Asre Fars news site, placed the film among a long line of "anti-Iranian" pictures threatening Iran's national security, including Not Without My Daughter, House of Sand and Fog, 300, The Stoning of Soraya M, and, curiously, The Wrestler. He called for planning to counteract "psychological war".Yet it is the subject, as often as the content, that is taboo. Mohammad Hosseini, Iran's minister of culture and Islamic guidance, described the film to Mehr News as an "offensive act", motivated by "evil intentions". Such "worthless works", he said, will soon be countered by young Iranian film-makers. Reza Farrokhi, writing for the pro-government Asre Fars news site, placed the film among a long line of "anti-Iranian" pictures threatening Iran's national security, including Not Without My Daughter, House of Sand and Fog, 300, The Stoning of Soraya M, and, curiously, The Wrestler. He called for planning to counteract "psychological war".
Not Without My Daughter (1991) depicts an American protagonist moving to Iran with her Iranian husband before fleeing with their child. Although the film-makers may have hoped to address the abolition of Iran's family protection law following the revolution, their stark juxtapositions between the protagonists' religions make the film a crude vehicle for Christian triumphalism. (A retaliatory documentary, Without My Daughter, in which the ex-husband fires back, is no better.)Not Without My Daughter (1991) depicts an American protagonist moving to Iran with her Iranian husband before fleeing with their child. Although the film-makers may have hoped to address the abolition of Iran's family protection law following the revolution, their stark juxtapositions between the protagonists' religions make the film a crude vehicle for Christian triumphalism. (A retaliatory documentary, Without My Daughter, in which the ex-husband fires back, is no better.)
Sympathetic portrayals of Iranians can trouble the Iranian government, too. House of Sand and Fog (2003) portrays a tragic real-estate dispute between a dissolute American couple and a cash-strapped émigré family. Although the Iranians are more likable than the Americans, they are also, from a regime perspective, undesirable "former people". Ben Kingsley appears as a Pahlavi-era airforce colonel, while Shohreh Aghdashloo, herself an Iranian émigré, plays his anxious wife. The pro-government Kayhan newspaper has dismissed Aghdashloo as a "Baha'i" presumably because of her support for the persecuted religious minority.Sympathetic portrayals of Iranians can trouble the Iranian government, too. House of Sand and Fog (2003) portrays a tragic real-estate dispute between a dissolute American couple and a cash-strapped émigré family. Although the Iranians are more likable than the Americans, they are also, from a regime perspective, undesirable "former people". Ben Kingsley appears as a Pahlavi-era airforce colonel, while Shohreh Aghdashloo, herself an Iranian émigré, plays his anxious wife. The pro-government Kayhan newspaper has dismissed Aghdashloo as a "Baha'i" presumably because of her support for the persecuted religious minority.
Persepolis (2007) is based on the moving autobiography of a France-based émigré, Marjane Satrapi, and was well received by many Iranians. In the course of the 2009 Green Movement, it even received the honour of an opposition-themed tribute, Persepolis 2.0. The Iranian government, however, labelled it Islamophobic. Its title refers to the capital of the pre-Islamic Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE), a Unesco world heritage site and symbol of Iranian culture.Persepolis (2007) is based on the moving autobiography of a France-based émigré, Marjane Satrapi, and was well received by many Iranians. In the course of the 2009 Green Movement, it even received the honour of an opposition-themed tribute, Persepolis 2.0. The Iranian government, however, labelled it Islamophobic. Its title refers to the capital of the pre-Islamic Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BCE), a Unesco world heritage site and symbol of Iranian culture.
300 (2006), by contrast, presses Iranian antiquity into an elaborate caricature of oriental despotism. The film pinched such a national nerve that it inspired mass email campaigns and a song by the rapper, Yas. The government, usually wary of nationalist sentiment associated with pre-Islamic history, climbed aboard. (This, despite an attempt by a reactionary ayatollah, Sadegh Khalkhali, to destroy Persepolis, palace of the film's villain Xerxes, shortly after the revolution.)300 (2006), by contrast, presses Iranian antiquity into an elaborate caricature of oriental despotism. The film pinched such a national nerve that it inspired mass email campaigns and a song by the rapper, Yas. The government, usually wary of nationalist sentiment associated with pre-Islamic history, climbed aboard. (This, despite an attempt by a reactionary ayatollah, Sadegh Khalkhali, to destroy Persepolis, palace of the film's villain Xerxes, shortly after the revolution.)
The Wrestler (2008) forms a peculiar addition to the "psychological warfare" narrative. Its protagonist, Randy the Ram, faces a character called the Ayatollah in the ring, but Randy and the Ayatollah are buddies, and the Ayatollah represents satire levelled at the stagey jingoism used to plot such spectacles, not at Iran. The only Iranian in the film is Dr Moayedizadeh, who reasonably tells Randy to stop wrestling before he kills himself. Moayedizadeh, however, is portrayed by Armin Amiri, an émigré who fled Iran when he was 12.The Wrestler (2008) forms a peculiar addition to the "psychological warfare" narrative. Its protagonist, Randy the Ram, faces a character called the Ayatollah in the ring, but Randy and the Ayatollah are buddies, and the Ayatollah represents satire levelled at the stagey jingoism used to plot such spectacles, not at Iran. The only Iranian in the film is Dr Moayedizadeh, who reasonably tells Randy to stop wrestling before he kills himself. Moayedizadeh, however, is portrayed by Armin Amiri, an émigré who fled Iran when he was 12.
The Stoning of Soraya M (2008) is adapted from émigré journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's account of the killing of Soraya Manutchehri, in the village of Kuhpayeh, in 1986. Although the film stars James Caviezel – Mel Gibson's Jesus – and shares a producer with The Passion of the Christ (a film Iran's censors actually approved), it projects no Christian prejudice, and portrays Soraya as a Muslim betrayed by worldly hypocrites. Aghdashloo narrates the film as Soraya's aunt, and explicitly pleads the case for curiosity from abroad when, unable to communicate all she has seen, she tells Sahebjam: "I want you to take my voice with you."The Stoning of Soraya M (2008) is adapted from émigré journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's account of the killing of Soraya Manutchehri, in the village of Kuhpayeh, in 1986. Although the film stars James Caviezel – Mel Gibson's Jesus – and shares a producer with The Passion of the Christ (a film Iran's censors actually approved), it projects no Christian prejudice, and portrays Soraya as a Muslim betrayed by worldly hypocrites. Aghdashloo narrates the film as Soraya's aunt, and explicitly pleads the case for curiosity from abroad when, unable to communicate all she has seen, she tells Sahebjam: "I want you to take my voice with you."
Such appeals, the words on the old revolutionary placard might imply, are made only by propagandists and psychological warriors; but equally its author may have reflected, in time, on a revolution betrayed by the militant faction that held American diplomats hostage, and might hear, in such a plea, an echo of his own.Such appeals, the words on the old revolutionary placard might imply, are made only by propagandists and psychological warriors; but equally its author may have reflected, in time, on a revolution betrayed by the militant faction that held American diplomats hostage, and might hear, in such a plea, an echo of his own.