The "notorious" poet Ferdowsi

Hossein Shahidi
by Hossein Shahidi
25-Aug-2011
 

A while ago, a woman presenter on Press TV, walking on stage with a lot of eshveh, spoke of the 'infamous Shahnameh'.

She had probably thought 'infamous' meant very famous, just as 'invaluable' means very valuable. Presumably, no one else at the English-language station knew the meaning of the word either.

Now the English-language opposition website, Lenziran, based in the West, is displaying a short video broadcast on Iranian TV with the title, 'The notorious poet Ferdowsi in a satire animation about Iranian TV'.

There is no hint of irony anywhere in the introduction. So Lenziran too must have thought that 'notorious' means, perhaps, 'very notable', with a positive connotation.

The clip is very well-made, funny, and sad. I am personally grateful to Lenziran for running it: //www.lenziran.com/2011/08/18/the-notorious-poet-ferdowsi-in-a-satire-animation-about-iranian-tv/

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more from Hossein Shahidi
 
R2-D2

I Love "Ganjoor" .....

by R2-D2 on Fri Aug 26, 2011 01:56 PM PDT

and have used it repeatedly in the past - It's not excatly the most accurate source, but a wonderful source regardless -

I visited the site after the comment by Tabarzin below, and noticed the "Reduction" in the number of poets appearing there -

I always felt that no one (and I mean "No One") has any copyright ownership for the works of people such as Rumi, Ferdowsi, etc. -

First, they are hundreds of years old - And secondly, they are indeed our Collective National Heritage -

For example, in the U.S., works of literature lose their copyright ownership after a certain period of time - Regardless of who the author may or m,ay not be -

Can anyone elaborate further on this -

 

R D

 

P.S. Regarding Reality-Bites' comment, like I said, the Arabs couldn't do it 1,000 years ago at their peak, and neither would this petty modern version of the Barbarians of the past, ie. the IRI -

 

Period ..... !

 

 

 


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Reality-Bites

Tabarzin, fair point and duly noted.

by Reality-Bites on Fri Aug 26, 2011 08:07 AM PDT

.


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Tabarzin

Was there ever any doubt to begin with?

by Tabarzin on Fri Aug 26, 2011 07:46 AM PDT

But there are also many who wear ammamehs who find these actions by the regime incredibly offensive.


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Reality-Bites

Is there still any doubt to anyone that....

by Reality-Bites on Fri Aug 26, 2011 07:41 AM PDT

The Islamic Republic is the single biggest threat and implacable enemy of Iranian history, national identity and cultural heritage?

If anyone still has doubts, they are either wearing an "amaameh" on their heads or in their hearts.


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Tabarzin

All national poets are a threat to this regime

by Tabarzin on Fri Aug 26, 2011 07:19 AM PDT

Nezami Ganjavi was recently banned by these bastards. The site ganjoor has been forced to take down 2/3 of the poets and works which used to be on its site until recently (including Ferdowsi and Rumi). Obviously the Persian literary heritage is a threat to these SOBs. No question when Nezami Ganjavi is banned, Ferdowsi is to follow. Even Hafez is a threat to these monsters.


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Ari Siletz

Great video

by Ari Siletz on Fri Aug 26, 2011 03:11 AM PDT

Especially loved the ad crawlers at the bottom of the screen.


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R2-D2

Just A Reminder .....

by R2-D2 on Fri Aug 26, 2011 07:24 AM PDT

The works of our beloved Ferdowsi survived a thousand years ago when the Islamic civilization was at its peak, having already invaded Iran 300 years prior -

Had it not been for people such as Ferdowsi, and his great work of the Shahnameh, there is no doubt in my mind that we would probably be speaking Arabic in Iran today - Just as with the rest of the Arab-invaded countries over 1,000 years ago -

To be honest, I'm not one bit worried about these ignorant idiots trying to defame the wonderful memories and works of our beloved Ferdowsi - As they reside in all of our hearts -

It couldn't be done 1,000 years ago with the might of the Arabs at the time, let alone by these 'petty criminals' running our beloved Iran today - 

Sincerely,

R D


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Jahanshah Javid

Heading in that direction

by Jahanshah Javid on Thu Aug 25, 2011 07:28 AM PDT

Given how things are, Ferdowsi is in actual fact getting closer and closer to being labeled by the Islamic Republic a national security threat, let alone "notorious" or "infamous". Painting over a major mural based on Shahnameh stories in Mashhad, or the removal/disappearance of "un-Islamic" statues in various cities, or the Ershad Ministry's discovery of "immoral" material in Khosrow and Shirin are just a few examples of recent cases that demonstrate the ever-increasing narrow-mindedness of these religious nuts.


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