anotheriranianamerican

Take five

We all know the substance of your blog goes beyond a movie, or a song, etc.

My question is why on earth should we care about how others see, and try to depict us? Americans, at large, are not very sophisticated; they are still heavily influenced by the propaganda machine run by  Hollywood, and  Rupert Murdoch's empire. for instance:

Back then, in the cold war era, any film footage(video was not common, then) from the Eastern block was deliberately taken by using a "fogging lens" for the purpose of leaving the viewer with a gloomy sensation. Of course all those lenses were removed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, so that people could see how everything is shining in life after the reds are gone. And the Americans simply believed it.

That's the way their social commercial machinery works, which we have to go past it. Living in America, doesn't necessarily mean living for America.

By the way, if we have failed to raise a different generation than the one whose image is on top of your blog, the blame should not be shifted towards Hollywood. They are the product of our own family studios.

Californication

Californication

I believe they are Americanized

As in Am - muh muh muh muh - icanized

As an Iranian living on the other side of the pond,

I find this blog a fascinating read. I also equally enjoyed reading eroonmad's counter argument.

Thanks guys

I'll Take Party Animal Anyday....

First to correct your statement, "in the movie 300, Persians were depicted as pillaging, deranged savages wearing rags.", This is absolutely incorrect.

300 was one of the most artistically elegant films made to date. Not a single depiction of Persians (including the scantily clad harem) wore "rags". I know, I saw the film 5 times in the theater and thoroughly enjoyed the detailed look at an Empire I had only dreamed, heard or read stories about. I came out of the theater telling everyone around me that I was Iranian and that FYI, 3 days after the 300 battle, the Persians conquered every last Greek and ruled there for years! (It certainly was "Good to be the King!")

In the film 300, each cadre of the army had it's own special uniforms and sophisticated weaponry, beasts, vehicles, and special tools and organized specific look. This was by no means "rags", and showed that by then the Persians had transformed war into an art-form of technical brilliant efficient execution and delivery. The special forces called the "Immortals", a 10,000 force (some were even women!) strong elite fighting unit trained to be the fiercest weapon of last resort (used finally on the 300 after multiple attempts at traditional battle failed to break through the strategic barrier of the canyon the 300 valiantly fought from). The Immortals were called that because they had masks to make them appear exactly the same, so if you killed one, there was another one exactly the same behind him (it), giving the illusion of a demon that cannot be killed, hence the name "Immortal". But don't mistake demon for demonization, the Persians did this on purpose to appear demonic to scare the enemy into submission. It was our plan all along. The Immortals were all the same height and weight, and even had their teeth ground to sharp points in case they ran out of weapons. Although the official guard was 10,000 strong, the reality was that there was an additional 10,000 in secret reserve! Truly they were immortal! As the film showed, these were the best of the best, and again they were not dressed in "rags". This concept, is far advanced and not demeaning as you would suggest. I am VERY proud to be from a Persian Empire that thought of this sophisticated approach to war. It shows how advanced our civilization was, and to what levels of complexity we had advanced.

While being the bad guy in the film obviously irked a lot of Iranians, the truth is, the Persian Empire was in fact invading Greece at the time. And we weren't doing it to give them Cyrus the Great's personal copy of human rights. We were doing it to own Greece. Read your history carefully, and try and understand exactly what Persia was at that time. Make sure you add up the dead we left in our wake as well. The Persian Empire was an overwhelmingly aggressor empire, it grew by conquering weaker peoples militarily (which means a lot of killing) and then taking their land, technology, and in many cases making things better for everyone UNDER it's mighty rule. It was NEVER a liberator or an innocent by-stander.

That being said, fast forward to today, we have been "converted" to a country of cowards, told to be afraid of an intangibly absent Allah (if "God is Great", where's all the justice? It seems that especially he has forsaken the very moslems who believe in him, the most.)", follow a ridiculous set of 6 times per day calisthenics and illogical dietary restrictions, told to hide ourselves (especially our women) from view, and obey the corrupt mollahs who intimidate us by fear of death, blindly?

Oh! How far we have fallen! Give me the "negative portrayal" from the film 300, ANY DAY!

I hear your concern for being depicted as decadent via this latest attempt to make Jersey Shore entertainment out of "LA Iranians". But accept this, like it or not, "LA Iranians" are a real modern evolved entity. Direct remnants of "The Persians" and if there weren't real "LA Iranians", there would be no reality show. 

So relax, we have seen nothing in LA Iranians that we have not seen and heard FAR WORSE from "Tehran Iranians".

I think it is time we showed who we really are in a contemporary (not imaginary Islamic) world, whether we like it or hate it. The UGLY truth might not always be pretty but it is always FAR FAR better than perpetrating a WORSE lie.

Great topic. Thanks for writing it! (Sorry for the long history lesson)

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What you said is so true:

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The sad thing is there are hundreds of amazing Iranian Americans who deserve some recognition: artists, fashion designers, film directors, actors, doctors, website founders, and more. But the quiet dignity with which these people live their lives isn’t considered “good TV.”

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This part is really funny:

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With Prince of Persia, ............. For once, my dad said he’d actually sit through a movie without falling asleep. We were all excited.

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Thank you for sharing your insight! Great job! A great blog!