Iran was not pleased with Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning 'Argo,' so it is planning its own take on the diplomat rescue drama. Political retaliationthrough moviemaking is an established practice.The Best PictureOscar-winningArgo has so piqued the Iranian government that not only does it plan to sue (whom, where, and how TBD), it is planning to tackle Hollywood on its home turf.
The Iranian Art Bureauhas announced it will fund a movie of its own entitled The General Staffabout how six American diplomats were spirited to safety during the 1979 Iranian revolution.
It might even appear at a movie theater near you.
Political retaliation through moviemaking, however, is hardly a new phenomenon, note movie experts, who say the fact thatIranhas moved from issuing fatwas to producing films in response to what it considers offensive works of art speaks to the power of movies as political props.
Movies have always been political, says Prof. Lester Friedman, chairman of the media and society department atHobart and William Smith CollegesinGeneva, N.Y. Nations as well as individuals have long used the power of film to persuade both at home and abroad, he says.
An Iranian version of Argo is not likely to play much outside the home country, he points out, but adds, this is part of the point, namely, to counter outside influences and control the narrative for your own constituency.
This was certainly the case in theSoviet Unionin 1982 in the aftermath of the Oscar-nominated Reds, director and starWarren Beattys take on radical writerJohn Reedduring the Russian revolution.
Soviet officials reportedly were miffed by the depiction of an American who was at first besotted by the radical ideas of the revolution but who lost faith as the totalitarian aftermath set in. They immediately gave the green light to an ambitious multi-part film saga dubbed Red Bells, saysNortheastern UniversityRussian expert, Harlow Robinson, who is currently finishing a book on Russian cinema.
Mr. Robinson, who was a graduate student in the Soviet Union at the time, is quick to point out that while it was highly unlikely that the film Reds would have been seen by many Soviet citizens during such a closed period in its history, the government still felt the need to promote its own version of history.
By The Christian Science Monitor
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
