Iran outraged over Oscar win for Argo, "which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros."

What would Oscar night without a paranoid anti-Semitic conspiracy theory from the Islamic Republic?

"Iranian media criticize Oscar win for ‘Argo,’" by Jason Rezaian for the Washington Post, February 25 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

TEHRAN — For the second consecutive year many Iranians had good reason to stay up late into the night to watch the Academy Awards ceremony.
Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which recounts the successful rescue mission of several American diplomats during the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran, won best picture Sunday night, and Iranian media was quick to react on Monday.

The Post’s Ann Hornaday discusses Ben Affleck’s Oscar-nominated film “Argo.” She weighs in on the film’s chances for best picture and Affleck being passed over for a best director nomination.

The elation that followed Iran’s first Oscar victory for the film “A Separation,” which won best foreign film last year, however, has been pushed aside by what many here see as a politically motivated choice for this year’s best picture winner.

That perception was re-enforced by the surprise presenter of the award, Michelle Obama. Fars News, Iran’s main hardline outlet, wasted no time in questioning her role, writing, “In a rare occasion in Oscar history, the First Lady announced the winner for Best Picture for the anti-Iran Film ‘Argo,’ which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros.”

Others criticized the way Affleck referred to Islamic Republic in his acceptance speech when he said, “I want to thank our friends in Iran who live under terrible circumstances.” Mehr News ran this headline: “After distorting history, Ben Affleck continues to show a bleak picture of Iran: Iranians live in terrible circumstances.”

The Asriran news Web site wrote, “Argo is a movie against Iran and it seems that Javad Shamghadri was not able to use his lobby to prevent an anti-Iran movie from winning,” referring to remarks by the deputy for cinema in Iran’s Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance who last week claimed that, at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s request, his organization had lobbied hard for “A Separation” to win in 2012, and that the efforts had paid off.

The award comes less than two days before already tense nuclear talks between Iran and global powers resume in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran over the hostage incident, and tensions between the two countries continue to be high over concerns about Iran’s ongoing nuclear activities.

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9 Comments

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Buraq | February 25, 2013 1:54 PM | Reply

Hollywood gives us 'Argo', and the Theocratic Republic of Iran gives us aggro.

Clowns!

miriam rove | February 25, 2013 1:57 PM | Reply

Good. F...em. They are aggravating us let them have a turn with it.
M

nacazo | February 25, 2013 2:14 PM | Reply

Reza Aslan agrees.

CornHolio | February 25, 2013 3:12 PM | Reply

It's instructive the phrasing the Iranian news agency uses: "the film is AGAINST Iran". Not "unfairly critical", not "libelous", not "untruthful" or "misrepresenting", just the simple Mohammed-inspired "against".

Doesn't matter if the criticisms are deserved or truthful, not a bit. They don't even bother to try to point out inaccuracies or lies in the film, they simply decree that since it is AGAINST Iran (and by implication, Islam), that it is therefore evil and can, presumably, be "fought against". (Allah's favorite phrase and mechanism for social change).

This reflex is trained into Muslims from birth. If an unbeliever opens his mouth and starts to criticize, he's already wrong, he's already evil, and there is absolutely no point in ARGUING with him or even listening to his whole argument. He's "against" Islam.

Ilovepork!! | February 25, 2013 3:34 PM | Reply

You have to love it!!

Who wants to bet there will be riots in the street, people killing each other over this "outrage", what a joke Islam is.

You said it Burag, they are a bunch of clowns! LOL

gravenimage | February 25, 2013 5:49 PM | Reply

Iran outraged over Oscar win for Argo, "which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros."
..................................

Not perfect, but over all Argo is an excellent film—no wonder it enrages the pious Mullahs! I posted a review here at JW when I saw it last month.

While it does have a few ugly—and false—implications that the United States herself "incited" the hostage crisis, this is thankfully pretty perfunctory.

While the film never completely explores the Islamic roots of the Iranian revolution, it does feature chilling scenes of Allahu Akbaring mobs storming the US embassy, and shows the common decency of American embassy staff.

It also showcases the heroism of Ben Affleck's character, the marvelous Tony Mendez (the CIA agent who was the real-life hero of the incident). It also shows the quieter heroism of the Canadian ambassador, who risked his life and the loves of his family and diplomatic staff in giving sanctuary to the six desperate escaped Americans who come to him after being—shamefully—turned away by other Western embassies.

It also shows sharp Westerners running rings around thuggish, violent Muslims. At one point, a bunch of devout morons are trying to shoot out a jet airliner's tires with Kalashnikovs. What a bunch of barbaric losers.

Over all, I'd give this film a solid "B+" as an Anti-Jihad film, and a full "A" as stirring entertainment.

As for smearing Warner Brothers, it is well to remember that Warner Brothers was one of the very first American film studios brave enough to oppose the threat of Fascism, producing the fine 1939 "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" featuring Edward G. Robinson, a staunch anti-Fascist in real life. The film won the Board of Review award for Best Film in 1940. The movie was banned in Germany, Japan, and many Latin American and European countries.

Others criticized the way Affleck referred to Islamic Republic in his acceptance speech when he said, “I want to thank our friends in Iran who live under terrible circumstances.”
..................................

*Very* important—I was very impressed by this. While this was pretty low key, Affleck was solidly indicating that the Hostage Crisis wasn't just some incident that happened over thirty years ago, but that oppression in the Islamic Republic of Iran is *very much ongoing*.

The Asriran news Web site wrote, “Argo is a movie against Iran and it seems that Javad Shamghadri was not able to use his lobby to prevent an anti-Iran movie from winning”...
..................................

Horrors! The Iranian lobby was not able to intimidate the Academy of Motion Pictures! What are things coming to? sarc/off

The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran over the hostage incident, and tensions between the two countries continue to be high over concerns about Iran’s ongoing nuclear activities.
..................................

Cutting off official relations with the appalling Islamic Republic of Iran was one of the few smart things we have done re the Muslim world. I don't think this would happen today—we haven't cut off relations with Libya, even though four of our diplomatic staff, including the ambassador, were *slaughtered* there just a few months ago. We also haven't cut off relations with Egypt, even though our embassy was attacked there—in fact, we're still shoveling billions of dollars in aid to them.

In addition, Iran *continues* to kidnap and abuse our citizens. Remember the three hikers who were kidnapped and held for over a year, and who were finally ransomed for huge sums?

And right now, Iran is holding an American citizen and *torturing* him:

"Iran: Imprisoned American pastor tortured, threatened with death -- 'the message is you will be treated this way until you become a Muslim'

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/02/iran-imprisoned-american-pastor-tortured-threatened-with-death-the-message-is-you-will-be-treated-th.html

And consider some of the other films up for Best Picture last night: Zero Dark Thirty, about the killing of Osama bin Laden; and Lincoln, which focused on the president's heroic final abolition of slavery.

All in all, a *lot* of films sure to bother pious Muslims. What a great year! Maybe there's hope for Hollywood after all.

ala sux | February 25, 2013 8:49 PM | Reply

There have been a few times I compared iran to the movie "Beneath the planet of the apes" because the Apes aspire to use the nuclear bomb to cleanse the Earth of those filty humans and all non-apes.
They worship their ape god and deem themselves as the super race destine to rule the world after there ape god repopulate the planet.
So what a shock to see Ben Afleck watching a Planet Of The Apes movie as he's on the phone tryin to solve the crisis and fabricates a Movie filming don't by canadians.

dumbledoresarmy replied to comment from gravenimage | February 26, 2013 12:30 AM | Reply

The thing is: good films get bums on seats = income.

Sure, people can watch pirated copies off the internet on their iphones, but nothing beats going to a good cinema with a full-sized screen (far bigger than the average so-called 'home cinema' can ever hope to have) and proper sound and sitting down with a whole bunch of other people to much popcorn and watch a good movie.

The same principle applies in arts and journalism as in politics and religion.

Every time anyone in those fields, within the non-Muslim world, steps up and says or does something that shows they're starting to grok the meaning and menace of Islam, that person (or entity, in the case of a movie house or publishing house) requires to be encouraged, and further educated, and if they are a moviemaker or publisher, supported in the most basic sense: by lots and lots of people buying their product. (Behaviour that is rewarded, will be repeated).

It wouldn't be a bad idea for people to write to Warner Bros and express appreciation that the story of 'Argo' was told as well as it was (even if it could have been told better). One could always hint, hint, hint at all those *other* great stories of humanity's Self-Defence Against the Jihad, that are simply itching to be given the grand cinematic treatment.

*I* think it's high time somebody did an epic film about the creation of the US Navy in response to the unprovoked jihad-driven aggression of the Barbary Pirates. Let's *see* and *hear* the US founding fathers - Jefferson and Adams - coming up against Islam. Let's *hear* Jefferson delivering that marvellous line - 'millions for defence...and *not a penny for tribute*".

gravenimage replied to comment from dumbledoresarmy | February 26, 2013 9:35 PM | Reply

I agree with you about Argo, DDA. A fairly solid piece of Anti-Jihad—and a gripping—but true—story as well. Surprisingly, it is also *very* funny—but not tastelessly so.

Further, you wrote:

I decided to see if Hollywood had ever told the story of our fight against the Barbary Pirates, and I found a handful of films:

http://www.barbarywarfare.com/cultural-legacy

Most of them sound like your average pirate adventures, and the two sound films—ridiculously—feature treacherous Americans feeding information to the pirates (never mind that before the invention of the telegraph this would have been virtually impossible).

Nothing is recent, and the silent film "Old Ironsides" sounds like the best of the bunch.

It's high time someone made a serious film about the subject—goodness knows, the story is thrilling enough without tossing in silly movie clichés.

In my search, I also came across an excellent 9-minute documentary on the subject from 2009, which makes marvelous use of 19th century paintings and maps:

"Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8OCiZsWGw

Unlike the movies, this is entirely accurate—*and* it solidly notes the Islamic roots of this piracy. It also seems to be a plea to mount a new defense against Muslim pirates—this time the Somali Pirates.

While it sometimes seem we have all too little to celebrate in the sporadic and frequently chaotic and inconsistent defense against Jihad, the fight back against the Somali Pirates waged by a coalition of Infidels (and even a few Muslims for whom this particular Jihad proved inconvenient) has been overwhelmingly successful. Piracy off the Horn of Africa is much diminished.

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