Kamangir (Archer)
An Iranian looking at Iran as a foreigner…
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300, or Thanks for Making Fun of Me
Kamangir | March 8, 2007 | Category Iran
1- I have not seen The 300.
2- To my understanding, any “great” empire, including the loveable Persian one, became an empire because cities and territories were conquered. I can not imagine conquering a place, without killing people who, “mysteriously”, think they own the land. Thus, I “admire” all great Iranian kings for their sharp swords. For the exact same reason, I “admire” G. W. Bush for his sophisticated aircraft carriers.
3- Novels, movies, celebrities, TV shows and other similar stuff are produced for entertainment. It is bad to portray a nasty picture of others in order to enjoy yourself, and make money, but it is not a crime. At most, you can sue them or do the same to them, as if there is no Iranian movie ridiculing Americans and others.
4- Using Google Bombs, protests, angry blog posts, and mass emails for protesting against a movie is an overreaction, to my understanding.
5- Don’t watch stuff you don’t like to see.
6- As I have not done a DNA check, I am not sure if the Iranian “monsters” in 300 are in fact my ancestors.
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Salam (Hi) - سلام
Welcome to Kamangir. This is the personal blog of Arash Abadpour (Abad Pour), an Iranian student in Canada (more)
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In what way were you made fun of?
Vince P,
I have not seen the movie. Some Iranian are outraged by it, because they think it gives a nasty picture of Iranians.
Kaman: I couldn’t agree more…The Iranians are outraged as usual because they’re bored.
Holy Smokes Kamangir, I just did a post on that last night. That petition is worded really insanely, and a bunch of people have signed it. I think it’s released tomorrow. It almost seemed like the petition was a parody, because the arguments were way out in left field. Oh well. Chuckles for me.
im agree with your opnion and we able to give good response by making good film , novel and etc but i myself believed we should
change thought about iran by our action
Best Respect
I agree with everything you’ve said. I am, however, going to see the movie. I have read the original graphic novel and applaud both the book and the movie for the stunning artistry.
I can’t say I’m outraged by portrayal of Persians as nasty villains (indeed some groups of the Persian army and Xerxes himself look really cool and bad-ass) … what bothers me by reading the book is the constant referral to us in the text as snarling beast, I quote you a passage from the book:
“One hundred nations descend upon us. Snorting, snarling desert beasts. Howling barbarians. The armies of all Asia pledged to crush the republics of Greece. to make slaves of the only free men the world has ever known.”
I understand that serves the purpose of the story, but it’s still not very pleasant to read.
Anyway, I guess I’m just trying to say that the google bombing campaign can’t really be categorized in the same group as the other protests and specially the poorly-worded petition.
The google bomb/arts colab project is a celebration of art as much as anything else. Its goal is to gather “300-themed” related art as made by Persian and from the point of view of Persians and display it in a nice site … the google bombing part just makes sure more people get to see the art.
dude, did you just delete my comment cuz u didnt like it? i can’t believe I spent 10 minutes writing that!
I don’t get it.
woops. never mind, my bad, i guess it’s still awaiting moderation. now i look like a jerk!
Legofish,
Sorry I was having a very long launch. Sorry! :)
What do you expect Lego? The Persian ruled over the Greeks for over 150 years…You don’t expect them to call you names…?LOL
You will be killed soon [...]. You know nothing about the iranian’s culture. You are such an [...].
Arman,
Did you know that writing a hate message is an offense, especially because we are both in Canada?
I wonder why the film makers and entertaintment companies never make a random movie which admires us.
It reminds me a small grocery in our neighborhood in Tehran. This guy used to make frequent mistakes in his money calculations when you gave him bigger notes.
The interesting thing was that, he never made even a small mistake in favor of the customer. His mistakes were always against you and in favor of himself :D
Hate’s not only offensive in Canada, it’s illegal. At least in print form. Watch yourself Arman, because you know CSIS is. 300 is going to be orgasmic. I’m bringing tissues to the theatre just in case.
Hi Kamangir,
I check your blog daily and I enjoy reading all your posts. It is one of the best websites I have ever seen. Iranians like you make me proud.
I disagree with the second point you’ve made on this post. You can’t compare the Kings of ancient Iran with Bush. They were living in a different era and the standards were very different back then. In other words, what is considered imperialistic and inappropriate today, wasn’t inappropriate back then.
Kamangir, do you often get death threats? What an odd way to add to a discussion.
It’s not that the movie is an attack on Persians, it’s just that the movie is about the Spartans and King Leonidas and the gang. It’s a really great story about one of history’s coolest battles. The story wasn’t concocted to make the Iranians look bad. Nobody actually thinks that Iranians are deformed ogre monsters. Maybe sometime Iranians can make broadcast something that shows them to be the greatest warriors the world has ever known. Maybe in the new version, they outfight the weakling Spartians.
dude you better take a DNA test ;)
Arash,
I have posted a discussion, The curse of Sparta, regarding your concerns about this issue on my weblog. Check it out, you might find it interesting!
Arash,
I have posted a discussion, The Curse of Sparta regarding your concerns about this issue on my weblog. Check it out, you might find it interesting!
fear the seeds,
So you are going to have “fun” watching a defamatory story done on Iranians? ;)
AK,
Nice to meet you. :)
So, you are saying invading countries was not that bad in the past? From whose perspective do you say that? Does it mean people cared less two thousand years ago when they were injured?
Brando,
Thanks for your concern. I don’t know who Arman is. I just checked his/her IP and it turned out to point to a Canadian university. He is most probably only a bit too mad.
I agree with your points.
Erfan,
I will. Wait a second, do you have the DNA of a great Persian king? ;)
Arash,
I have posted a discussion, The Curse of Sparta, regarding this issue on my weblog. Check it out, you might find it interesting!
One hundred nations descend upon us. Snorting, snarling desert beasts. Howling barbarians. The armies of all Asia pledged to crush the republics of Greece. to make slaves of the only free men the world has ever known.â€
Lego
I am quite sure that if Iranians made movie (ala Holywood) about Xerxes, greeks also would be described as snarling beasts, howling barbarians and terrorists (or equivalent). I mean that’s what each side thought about other side.
BTW I would be interested to see the iranian movie (with large battle scenes and a lots of skulduggery) about Darius or Cyrus II the Great, but IRI won’t do that, will they?
Arman
And you know so much about iranian culture don’t you? I am certain that your message “You will be killed soon” is a wonderful example of that great, iranian, culture.
Archer
Hmm, no DNA check? no connections to howling, snarling beasts? Poor you.
At the time of greek battle my ancestors were just coming out of trees in the great wilderness of eastern europe. And howling: “we don’t want to get down ,buuuu, we don’t want to get through feudalism, communism, socialism, capitalism, couple of wars, 9/11 and few ME crisises. We don’t want to come down from the trees, buuuuuuuu”
Did someone say oiled men in leather thongs? That’s all the plot I need. I hope the next one is based on the Sacred Band of Thebes.
Arman, nice to meet you. Now STFU.
Saeed,
Thanks. I also liked the link you provided.
Ella,
You made my day “buuuuuuuu”. :D
Lesly,
My history is very weak. What is sexy about that band?
I don’t think there is anything sexy about a roving band of homosexual soldier lovers for the average heterosexual man, but I appreciate the skin nonetheless! Every time there is a city-state or mythological movie dealing with ancient Greek and Rome I think about how the world’s attitudes towards homosexuality has changed.
Sacred Band of Thebes
Hm, my comment seems to have disappeared. Please delete if this is a duplicate.
Kamangir,
I don’t think there is anything sexy about a roving band of homosexual soldier lovers for the average heterosexual man, but I appreciate the skin nonetheless! Every time there is a city-state or mythological movie dealing with ancient Greek and Rome I think about how the world’s attitudes towards homosexuality has changed.
Sacred Band of Thebes
This is only a symptom of bigger problem which is not only unique to Iranian but all minorities. Remember the Italian-American outrage in regards to the not-so-favorable crime Portrayal of Italainas (Mafia and associated with organized crimes) when the TV series, ‘The Suprano’ first aired on HBO? Being a minority community in the US, everything is magnified and exploited by some who have other agendas in mind to create more division and hostilities.
Kaman: Have you ever heard of ‘No Irish Need Apply’ or did you know they called Italian-Americans as ‘blackies’ in not so distant past in the US? It wil all pass in a few more generations.
Serendip,
You do like it when people hate you, don’t you? ;)
Kaman: Do they really hate Iranians? Is that what you believe?
You decide…does the US hate Iranians?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-ballots24feb24,0,6679000.story
“Many longtime residents are outraged at the city’s decision to print its absentee and sample ballots for the March 6 municipal election in both English and Persian, from cover to cover.Federal law requires a municipality to provide ballot materials in other languages when more than 10,000 (or 5%) of its voting-age citizens are from a single language bloc, one that has comparatively poor literacy rates and language skills. Although the second half of the requirement may not apply to Beverly Hills’ 20% Persian population, it’s a routine and inexpensive ($7,500) courtesy.
What’s less routine, and more jarring in this case, is sending translated ballots to all registered voters, not just the targeted foreign-language speakers. But even that’s standard practice in cities such as Glendale (Armenian), West Hollywood (Russian) and Long Beach (Khmer).There’s nothing new about hostile reaction to foreign languages appearing alongside English on signs, pamphlets and other official reading material. But there’s something more comical about it when it happens in Beverly Hills. Maybe that’s because unlike much of the immigrant bashing in the rest of the country, the Beverly Hills clash isn’t about (comparatively) rich versus poor but rather (comparatively) rich versus rich.These aren’t entitled natives angry because low-income newcomers are gobbling up their tax dollars and overcrowding their schools; it’s established homeowners miffed at other established homeowners, at least in part because they’re different.
Much of the animosity between longtime residents and the newer population of Iranian immigrants is in reaction to what are pejoratively called “Persian palaces” being built around town by refugees from the Iranian Revolution. So we have the spectacle of people living in European-style manses, many based on film-set fantasy designs that represented the ultimate in ostentation for their time, upset by the gaudy ostentation of the Middle Eastern-style mansions arising next door. Even the ballot snit was at least partly about aesthetics…Foreign tongues don’t taint the ballot, they demonstrate the values it stands for.
Interesting facts about Iranian-Americans:
Factsheet on the Iranian-American Community From MIT
Iranian Studies Group Research Series – October 2003
Estimated Population in the U.S. (Source: 2000 Census, July 2003 update)
Persons claiming primary and secondary Iranian ancestry: 338,266 *
* The Iranian-American community believes there may be serious underestimation of the actual population due to adverse perceptions of Iranian-Americans on claiming Iranian ancestry. Higher bound of the uncertainty range is estimated at 540,000 people.
Educational Attainment (Source: 1990 Census, 2000 Census data not yet available)
High School Diploma and Higher 90.8% (Second highest among 67 ancestry groups)
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher 56.2% (Second highest among 67 ancestry groups)
Master’s Degree of Higher 26.2% (Highest among 67 ancestry groups)
Income Levels (1990 Census data, 2000 data not available)
Median household income: $36, 800 (20% more than National average)
Median family income: $42,000 (20% more than National average)
Iranian-Americans and the U.S. Economy
Iranian-Americans have founded and served in senior leadership positions of many major U.S.
companies, many of them in the Fortune 500. The following ten Iranian-Americans have been
engaged in the senior leadership of companies worth over $1000 Billion.
Name Position Company Company Value
(in US$ billion)and Fortune 500 rank
Golnar Motaharipour VP for LD General Electric 284.2 2
Shaygan Kheradpir CIO Verizon 90.9 4
Hossein Eslambolchi CTO AT&T 200.2 8
Nasser Greyeli VP for Technology INTEL 202.2 18
Ali Sajassi Chief Architect CISCO 139.2 35
Behrooz Abdi VP& GM for SPS Motorola 31.7 43
Bahram Mahbod VP for e-services Oracle Corporations 67.2 88
Farhad Shakib VP & GM Nortel Networks 17.8 95
Behrooz Zarrabi Manager Lucent Technologies 12.7 133
Pierre Omidyar Founder and CEO Ebay 5.2 445
Source: Corporate Governance Websites and Reuter company value estimates 2003
Fact sheet about Iranian-Americn from MIT
http://isg-mit.org/projects-storage/census/Factsheet.pdf
Additionally,If 300 was touted as an actual historical portrayal, the outrage indicated by this petition would be somewhat valid. However, it is based on a comic book. It is the creative fantasy of a comic book genius. The mere connection drawn by Tinoush and others only emphasizes the trouble with Iranians when it comes to the arts and literature: these are separate creative spheres that exist independently of politics and politicians
The History channel is running a documentary on the last stand of the Spartans this week. I watched it a couple nights ago. It was obviously not as fanciful as the movie, as the stand was more of a tactical move (allow retreating Greeks to reform).
When the Persians pushed in to Greece, it was extremely violent. They made it a point to burn all the temples, for instance, just because it was a move which broke the spirit of the people.
When Greek rebels attacked a Persian city before the invasion, they weren’t any less brutal.
However, without the influences of the Greek and Roman empires and their “rule by the people” philosophies (though flawed and manipulated) can we say that we would this democratic society that thrives to this day?
If the Persians or the Huns had maintained control…where would we be today?
Just some musings on a Friday afternoon before I hit the pub for a couple beers and maybe some vodka! ;)
Happy weekend!
tom: Here is a bit of Persian History..The Persians ruled over the Greeks over 150 years…the Greeks were inspired and influenced in every aspects of their lives by the Persian..from politics to architecture…I’m pressed for time but here is a bit of Iranian history:
Some of you may know that Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic world religion, was the official religion & philosophy of Iran prior to first Arab-Isam invasion of Iran in the 7th Century, with the second Islamic invasion occurring during 1979 ill-conceived revolution. Zoroaster (Zartosht) – the philosopher & teacher – more than 3000 years ago, advocated the concept of duality being Good vs. Evil (Ahura Mazda & Ahriman) similar to (God & Satan, ‘Lucifer’, in Christianity). The main motto for Zoroastrians (Zartoshtis) is Good Thoughts, Good Words, & Good Deeds. It was under the influence of Zoroastrianism that Cyrus the Great set out his policies and carried out his noble acts (freeing the Jews from slavery and giving them permission to build their temple). When Cyrus the Great mentions (Ahura) Mazda, in the first declaration of human rights, he is referring to the Zoroaster’s God (Goodness).
“The charter of Cyrus the Great, a baked-clay Aryan language (Old Persian) cuneiform cylinder, was discovered in 1878 in excavation of the site of Babylon. In it, Cyrus the Great described his humane treatment of the inhabitants of Babylonia after its conquest by the Iranians.
The document has been hailed as the first charter of human rights, and in 1971 the United Nations published translation of it in all the official U.N. languages. “May Ahura Mazda protect this land, this nation, from rancor, from foes, from falsehood, and from drought”. Selected from the book “The Eternal Land”.”
The following is a translation of the cuneiform script written on the original cylinder. Although sections of the cylinder have been destroyed through time, the principal message of Cyrus’ Declaration is readily apparent. The cylinder is currently housed in the British Museum & a replica of the cylinder is kept at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/United_States/photo585650.htm
The Declaration:
I am Kourosh (Cyrus), King of the world, great king, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters, son of Camboujiyah (Cambyases), great king, king of Anshân, grandson of Kourosh (Cyrus), great king, king of Anshân, descendant of Chaish-Pesh (Teispes), great king, king of Anshân, progeny of an unending royal line, whose rule Bel and Nabu cherish, whose kingship they desire for their hearts pleasure. When I well-disposed, entered Babylon, I set up a seat of domination in the royal palace amidst jubilation and rejoicing. Marduk the great god, caused the big-hearted inhabitations of Babylon to …. me, I sought daily to worship him.
I recommend a book by Abbas Milani called “LOST WISDOM”
Here is an editorial review:
In the essays collected here, Abbas Milani uses an impressive array of cross-disciplinary Western and Iranian theories and texts to investigate the crucial question of modernity in Iran today. He offers a wealth of new insights into the thousand-year-old conflict in Iran between the search for modernity and the forces of religious obscurantism. The essays trace the roots of Shiite Islamic fundamentalism and offer illuminating accounts of the work of Iranian intellectuals—both men and women—and their artistic movements as they struggle to find a new path toward a genuine modernity in Iran that is congruent with Iran’s rich cultural heritage.
Lost Wisdom: Rethinking Modernity in Iran challenges the hitherto accepted theory that modernity and its related concepts of democracy and freedom are Western in essence. It also demonstrates that Iran and the West have more that brings them together than separates them in their search for such modern ideals as rationalism, the rule of law, and democracy.
These essays will reward the scholar and the general reader alike, and will go far toward explaining the enigma that is Iran today.
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Wisdom-Rethinking-Modernity-Iran/dp/0934211892/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-1368292-5112658?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173469107&sr=1-2
serendip,
I don’t know. You are the one who thinks Iranians are hated.
serendip,
Thanks for sharing your delighting narration of the history. :)
kaman: When did I ever say that I think Iranians are hated? My posts are here for everyone to read and decide.
Kaman: I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not…but it’s quite alright.
1-Just for my curiosity, Serendip: Aren’t you Iranian?
2- Arash: Please a new post!
shimblhaan: Yes, I’m an Iranian-American…Why?
Funny that the petition against the movie is gaining so much steam. I can understand that people who today identify themselves as Persian would be offended by their ancestors being labeled Barbarians but it has been 2500 years since the battle of Thermopylae. What’s more, everyone who was not Greek was considered to be Barbarian by the Greeks–Etruscans, Lybians, Egyptians, Medians, Lydians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and yes, Persians were all Barbarians.
The battle is one of the most celebrated in Western European history as it was the turning point where the Mediterranean began to gain strength over, and eventually came to rule, the fertile crescent. It is generally seen as the impetus for the establishment of democratic Greece–prior to the battle only Athens was a democracy while the other city-states were tribal cheifdoms. Before the Battle of Thermopylae, Greeks identified themselves by their city-state rather than by their Greek identity. This battle paved the way for the unification of Greece and laid the foundation for the Greek Empire of Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great and more importantly for European history, the Roman Empire.
As far as the description of Persians, some of it no doubt comes from Herodotus’ history which most people in the West have ceased reading.
serendip,
Chakerim. :D
kamangir: Is it ok for girls to say, Chakerim too? If it is, then ma ham chakerim…LOL
Shimbalkhaan,
Post on what? Absolutely nothing is happening in Iran. Actually, I feel bad when I search through the news sources for an “interesting” story. It seems that Ahmadinejad, and pals, are having fun, somewhere, and so no one is doing anything stupid. I wonder if I would have any interest in blogging after all problems in Iran solve overnight, maybe by a miracle. Can you imagine life in a “good” Iran?
serendip,
That describes some things… ;)
Serendip: I check this blog each day more than once and read all the comments so I have a blur profile for each commnetator. I just wanted to check the accuracy my observations. My ID shows that I am iranina too, but probably you are not curious about this! and not it is OK …, but also it is very cool. ;) Nice to meet you!
Shimbalkhaan,
I am wondering if “Shimbalkhaan” has any meaning at all in Persian. :)
Dear Archer!
Stupid things in Iran. Are you crazy? Everything is OK there! ;)
Don’t focus on Ahmadinejad and Pals. I can provide you a list of stupid things over there. I thought you are confused of choosing a subject. :)
So, it is a good ID for an Iranian!
shimbalkhan: Great to meet you too. take care guys…I’ve got to go…
Dear Archer,
We like it or not and not including what is going to happen. I think, someone may find it stupid, the current govenments in Tehrab and DC are the only ones who can make the Great Deal! If they don’t do that it will take a long time to happen.
Shimbalkhaan, wait….blur profile? For every comment leaver? Should I be concerned…especially if I decide to run for a public office in the near future? :D
shimbalkhaan,
I would more than happy to have that list. ;)
Tom,
How about me? Did I just miss destroy the chance of becoming the next Supreme Leader? ;)
Kam,
It’s a fair cop! ;)
Dear Tom,
I think you underestimate the power of Intelligence Agencies! What do you think I am going to do whith this huge amount of information I have! Sure, you should be. ;)
Shimbalkhaan,
It turns out that in fact stupid things are happening in Iran (see the newer posts).
Shimbalkhaan, let me know if you want first dibs on writing my biography. :D
Tom, Shimbalkhaan,
A portion of any profit made from that book, plus the movie rights etc., should be paid to Kamangir, i.e. me. :D
Dear Archer,
So, what it is your suggestion on each one’s share?
As it seems we have a chat room here! I let you know I am signing off. :)
Shimbalkhaan,
40% (of the profit) for me and you divide the rest. I am going home too. Nice to meet you. Come back soon. :)
Kamangir, I posted a response but it didn’t show up.
Serendip wrote: “You decide…does the US hate Iranians?”
No, not in a real sense of the word. The article you linked shows that Americans are just as suseptible to jingoism or schizphrenic nationalism as people from other countries are.
Here is another suggestion for a good book on greco-persian wars: Tom Holland’s “Persian fire : the first world empire and the battle for the West”.
A very good book not only on wars but also on persian empire. I was surprised to learn that during that time people who travelled main roads in Persian empire had a food allocation and something like a voucher for food in inns depending on their status. Even horses were allocated certain amount of food (and small-beer!!) depending on their owner status. What’s more the people had a limited time they could spend on the roads and they had to keep to their schedule, otherwise they would pay a penalty for taking a longer time than was necessary for their business.
And they had really large bureaucracy, in fact, persian empire was one of the first bureaucratic states.
lesly: That was exactly my point…we are all the same…
Lesly,
Sorry, Wordpress for some reason had moved the comment into the spam directory. Sorry that I did not check there.
Just a small question
Does my ID look Iranian too?
Just got home from seeing 300…. if only the current rulers of Persia had as much brooding sexual tension when they threaten my leaders.
BTW this is good to read, sorry that it’s in Persian…
http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2007/03/057956.php
Lesly:
The US never “hated” Iran until Iran decided to go on a world-wide Kill-The-Americans spreee.
Though I wouldn’t say the US “hates” Iran … The US has to bother with defending itself against a militant theocracy and religious cult.
از Ú©ÛŒ تا Øالا نئولیبرال شدی؟
Since when have you become a neo-liberal?
Actually I find it funny to hear that Iranians have such a strong reaction against this movie. Well, it shows that Iranian don’t read! this movie was adapted from graphic novel by Frank Miller which published the book in 1999. So it’s ok for the book to be published and no one complained, but it is not ok to show it on the theaters.
I hope some Iranians will lighten up, it’s just one guy’s imagination of an Empire..that is all! don’t make it real, by your reactions!
Mashdihassan,
Of course it does.
Mashdihassan,
Thanks for the link. With all respect, what is anything but a more passionate urge to go Google Bomb the Internet?
Freida,
Good point.
Hossein,
Pardon?
I am not really outraged at this moment. I haven’t seen the movie and I cannot say anything. Actually I am not even going to see it :D not only this movie, I didn’t see Alexander either. The Alexander’s poster was enough for me to know that it was a crap. The actor looked more like a teenager rather than a person who conquered half of the world with his sword and horse, without rifles, tanks and missiles.
What do you think will be output of “an east/west conflict history” + “western writer(s)” + “western director(s)” ?
I have already seen so many hatred messages from westerns towards Iranians in several forums. They are already affected by the movie. Look at these pictures:
A Persian fighter
A Greek fighter
Does Gerald Butler really look like a hero? look at his body, his muscles, and the feeling that he has in his face. Look at his cloths, doesn’t he remind you homosexuals in playboy magazines? :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKN-gZuSH2o&mode=related&search
Could you please recommend some books on the history of the land that is now called Iran?
Rohit,
I am afraid I am not the right person to ask this question from. Sorry.
Mashidihassan: The picture you put up with the label “A Persian Fighter” is a lie.
That person is the Spartan traitor who told Xerxes how to bypass the location the 300 were blocking and led to thier death.
Why do some Iranians seem to lie about everything?
Well you might think the Greek guys looked a little metrosexual, what about the Persian Leader?
The Persian Leader
I dont think even the French could manage such gayness.
Mashidhassan & Vince
haven’t you read anything about Sparta and Persia? It is historical knowledge that majority of Spartans were bi-sexual (both homo and hetero) . As for Persians, many persians at that time were also homosexuals.
There was no christianity or islam to tell people that “homosexualism is bad, bad thing” Mind you, I do not really like it, but facts are facts and we can not change the facts just because at present both monotheistic religions tell us that “it” is bad.
Mashidhassan
But Alexander the Great was a teenager. He was I think 19 when he took power, his father was 16, Cyrus the Great was also a teenager when he started ruling his land.
On the other hand I think you are right about the movie. ;-)
Rohit,
Which period in Persian/Iranian history? There’s roughly 3000 years of civilization–architecture, literature, philosophy, science, theology, art–to account for.
Vince,
1- Sorry for my mistake. It was not a lie or purposely done. Please don’t get outraged :D
2- The first side (Greek leader) was enough to say that personas are far from the reality.
Dear Ella,
Thank you for reminding it. With all that said, I feel the movie should be consistent in the way of depicting an important part of the history in terms of being loyal to the real texts or showing a mythologic picture from the story. And this is again my problem with the 300.
Why on the earth they should choose real names of the other nation’s history?
Also, don’t forget that we Iranians are not going to stop the movie or anything like that. However, as a great nation with a great history we should stand and say our words.
This is our power comparing to other nations in the region. That’s why all other civilizations conquered by Islam disterminated but Persians carried their arts, literature, science, and functions.
This is how a nation survives in all difficult times of their history. May be after thousand years (if still there remains any life), our people still speak in Persian and keep their history up. Of course if today we don’t close our eyes!
Ella: I myself am gay. I remember hearing something about that stuff going on back then.
I dont think the Iranians should be concerned about thier image from this movie.
Firstly, most of us here in the US know that this movie’s visual style is deliberately exagerated. The intention of the movie is to be a movie version of a specific comic book that related this same story.
2ndly , The nation and people of persia/iran weren’t demonized. Yes they are the villians of the film.. but that’s the history.. Persia did set out to invade Greece.
Of course the movie made the Persians very sexual.. but most of us in the West understand that’s how pre-Christian/Islamic world was back then. The Spartans are protrayed being just as slutty.
Finally, the movie’s main message is about Sparta and its virtues. It is not about Persia. (at least that’s my opinion of what I saw).
The film was pretty harsh on protraying the cowardly aspects of Sparta’s political class. It held up the 300 as being heros for raising to the challenge of defending freedom and dignity against subjeugation, death and slavery.
@Kamangir: no dude I don’t have their DNA and I really don’t care but it seems you are interested in a DNA test ;)
aga kaman.
vatan forooshi baraye khoshamade 2 ta visitore khareji kaare dorosti nist.
Translation:
Betraying your country to get a handful of visitors from abroad is wrong.
Maani,
I betrayed my country because I criticized how Iranian bloggers reacted to a movie?