Another propaganda stunt pulled by western media

I actually wanted to bring this topic up a month ago when I first heard about it. Anyway, here it is. It's about the latest historical movie "300" by Warner Bros.

Their latest campaign is said to be one of the most horrific renderings of the ancient Persian empire and her citizens. Meanwhile, the Greeks are portrayed as superior and "civilized" compared to the tyrannic Persians and this really bugs me. Now don't get me wrong, I have utmost respect for Greece, her history and her people. But due to the current political status in the world, propaganda is being used to affect people's general opinion of eastern countries, especially Iran. Some of you might know of the Cold War and how America always portrayed itself as the good side while the Soviet Union was regarded to be evil (to some extent I agree here though). But the Cuban missile crisis for instance was actually a pure provoking act by USA. Just take a look at a collection of pictures from the movie that I've selected, they give the wrong image of one of the world's oldest civilizations.

The Greek leader Leonidas in the middle and the Persian Shah Xerxes to the right.

The Persian Shah Xerxes.

An original picture of Xerxes on a wall of the Perspolis palace (Wikipedia image)

Another stupid portrait of the Persian emperor (he actually looks like a guy from the Village People, see below).



The mighty and heroic Spartans...

... and the pathetic rendering of Xerxes' elite fighting force.

This movie is being hyped and I intend to see it even though I am very sceptic of it. Well, actually most Iranians are (please read this thread from PFDC's General Discussions Forum!!).
A petition against the message of this production has been created over the net by a group of people (probably Iranians all of 'em) and it has been addressed to Warner Bros directly. Please visit it and just read the message, it says quite a lot about why this movie is so unpopular among Iranians!

To: Warner Bros. Picture Company

Cc: Zack Snyder (director)

Dear Warner Bros. Picture Company,

We the undersigned, through this letter, protest your irresponsible, unethical and unscientific actions.

This letter is in concern of making the movie, 300 by your company, which, according to all historical documents, is fraudulent and distorted, and its broadcast guarantees the violation of undeniable international legal rights.

It is a proven scholarly fact that the Persian Empire in 480 B.C was the most magnificent and civilized empire. Established by the Cyrus the great, the writer of the first human right declaration, Persians ruled over significant portions of Greater Iran, the east modern Afghanistan and beyond into central Asia; in the north and west all of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the upper Balkans peninsula (Thrace), and most of the Black Sea coastal regions; in the west and southwest the territories of modern Iraq, northern Saudi-Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, all significant population centers of ancient Egypt and as far west as portions of Libya. Having twenty nations under control, encompassing approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, unquestionably the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity.

Based on the Zoroastrian doctrine, it was the strong emphasis on honesty and integrity that gave the ancient Persians credibility to rule the world, even in the eyes of the people belonging to the conquered nations (Herodotus, mid 5th century B.C). Truth for the sake of truth, was the universal motto and the very core of the Persian culture that was followed not only by the great kings, but even the ordinary Persians made it a point to adhere to this code of conduct.

We did not expect Warner Bros. Picture company, as one of the world's largest producers of film and television entertainment to ignore the proven obvious historical facts, and damage its own reputation by showing the Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae as some monstrous savages, and thus create an atmosphere of public mistrust in its content, and hurt the national pride of the millions of Persians while doing so.

While announcing our disgust at such a heresy, we demand an immediate historical review and quick apology from the responsible people.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Alright, I am aware that nothing will be done and frankly I don't think that these efforts will result in anything significant for Iranians in general. Warner Bros will not apologize for this production, of course not. And even if they did, it would probably not mean shit (unfortunately). But yet and still, it is annoying to see how the might of the Persian people and the Persian empire has to be victimized this way.

Thank you for your attention.