After decades of portraying Iranians as terrorists and villains, Hollywood has taken the first step toward giving my community its due by creating a blockbuster fantasy/action epic film based on the immensely popular video game with the same title, against an accurate backdrop for sixth century ancient Persia. As a proud Iranian American, I couldn't be more pleased.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which opens this weekend and stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton, is a film with no political angle and no reference to modern day Iran. In fact it is a complete fantasy set in Ancient Iran or Persia. This is a good thing. By portraying Iran's ancient world in romantic and mythological ways - similar to how Hollywood has historically treated Rome and Greece - it becomes one of the most important mainstream films yet for Iranian Americans.
There are no stereotypes, no falsifications, and no misconstrued messages. The film and the video game were inspired by two of the greatest works of Persian literature: the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, a massive poetic composition written by the great poet, Ferdowsi (also considered Iran's national epic), and A Thousand and One Nights, a collection of stories incorporating ancient Persian folktales and legends.
Now juxtapose this with 300, the blockbuster film released four years ago in which the Persians were presented as monstrous, bloodthirsty savages. 300 drew a lot of criticism from Iranian Americans who were outraged, not because they could not appreciate a comic-book movie, but because of the film's overtly political message. Surely Iranians weren't the only ones to recognize that the conflict between barbaric and superstitious Persians and the rational and courageous Spartans depicted in the film was an allusion to the East vs. West, Clash of Civilizations ideology so prevalent in the post-9/11 world.
Of course, even before 9/11, movies routinely depicted Middle Easterners as either religious fanatics or toothless villagers. Growing up in the US, I remember well the responses I would get from Americans whenever I told them I was Persian. They would either give me a look of disgust and say, "You mean Iranian," or they would stare at me blankly as though I had told them I was from another planet. I quickly learned that these types of negative responses went hand in hand with the misconceptions most Americans have about my heritage.
In fact, most Americans have no clear concept of what it means to be Persian. They may have heard of Persian rugs or Persian cats, but they know nothing of the 2,500 year-old Persian Civilization that once ruled the known world (How many Americans know that, after King David, the first person to be called Messiah in the Bible, was the Persian king Cyrus the Great?). With its attention to detail, this movie may start to change that. The weaponry, costumes and jewelry are all reminiscent of ancient Persia. Arterton's character, Princess Tamina, wears clothing with paisleys on it- a design very often seen on Iranian clothing; her shoes are reminiscent of the giveh- hand woven, embroidered slippers often worn during ancient times.
One of the most common (and wrong-headed) criticisms of the film - outlined by Chris Lee in the Los Angeles Times - is that the hero, Dastan, played by Gyllenhaal, doesn't "look Persian." The fact is that Persians are Aryans that settled in the Iranian plateau. Before the conquest of Islam in the 6th century, many Persians were fair skinned and had light eyes, and this is still true today. In other words, they looked a lot like Jake Gyllenhaal. Not to mention that there are only a handful of international stars who could carry a $150 million blockbuster. By this logic, perhaps the many shades of dark that represented the Persians in 300 is what these critics prefer. The fact is that Persians have never had a homogenized look.
For once, Hollywood offers a sensible mainstream depiction of a rich and ancient culture. My culture. The fact that Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have teamed up to create the first major motion picture set in ancient Persia is, in and of itself, a step forward for the community. Now, maybe when I tell people I am Persian, I won't get the same blank stares.
hi
as a proud Persian, i'm even prouder to find out people like you from other great nationalities or ethnic origins in the greater Iran plateau also call themselves "Persian" in spite of their own great history and culture.
such a great pleasure indeed to share one's pride with other proud people anywhere, and in particular with you from an Armenian heritage ...
you have talked about certain points, all of great interest to me as well as i'm sure to many other Iranians / Persians but here i'm going to emphasize on one particular item more than anything else: the fact that Aryans look(ed) fair-skinned and light-eyed ...
not wrong of course but not totally true either: Aryans have had their own 'branches' of looks since ancient times and some can be simply dark skinned / dark coloured as well but let's not get so 'racially' involved in here as i don't want this post to sound 'racist' by even the remotest measures!
i'm just ending my note in here with this:
"Persianhood is not in the blood or race, but it is a mindset. You dont have to be born in Iran to be Persian. Persianhood is the psyche and essence of being Persian. Persianhood is in your soul, in your heart, in your mind and in your bone marrow."
http://www.youtube.com/user/godblesspersia
best wishes for you & everybody, Persian or else! ;-)
sincerely
d
Consider that Tom Hanks movie about being stranded, stateless, in an airport. The original, on whom the movie was based, is an Iranian in Charles de Gaulle. But there was Steven Spielberg, the man who brought us lovable aliens, making the character some sort of Eastern European.
Every year, the skirts get shorter and the bootlegger moonshine gets stronger.
Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness"
Check out About Elly, Children of Heaven, Gabbeh, The Willow Tree, Baran, Color of Paradise, Ten, Taste of Cherry, Close-up, Song of Sparrows, The White Balloon or Offside.
Thank you for a different perspective. :)
The parallels are kind of striking. Both characters are fictional (rather than reality based) and neither are portrayed by actors who are from the Country being portrayed.
It like teaching the world the US by using Rambo, or Spiderman.
But it has been only a few years since the first Charlie Chan film was made with a non-Asian playing the role. Oh wait a minute, 1931 is quite a while ago isn't it now that I think of it. I guess some of us are more pleased with modest gains over a long period of time. At this rate it will be another 79 years before an Iranian is portrayed by an Iranian actor.
It would be groundbreaking, because it would be all about capturing the attitude of the man, and my cast members would be pretending (acting) like there wasn't some kind of a racial anomaly. I'd probably get an oscar.