Iran Tries To Pacify Protesters With Lord of The Rings Marathon 419
Iranian state television's Channel Two is playing a Lord of the Rings marathon in an attempt to keep people inside watching hobbits and not protesting in the streets. Normally, people in Tehran are treated to one or two Hollywood movies a week, but with recent events the government hopes that sitting through a nine-hour trilogy will take the fight out of most of the protesters. Perhaps this was not the best choice in films if you want your people not to believe that "even the smallest person can change the course of the future."
Re:Can't have it both ways (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh yea. Blatantly rig an election, and people tend to get pissed off. It's about more than just lining up in front of the cute little box. They had substantially more votes than people in more than 10(?) districts, and the race which was predicted to be very close, turned out to be a complete landslide. Every observer called the election rigged, even some of the internal ones.
And you're wondering why they're pissed?
American meddling huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
So the tyrants of Iran are blaming this whole mess on the American media, then they're tying to placate the protesters with American media? A movie trilogy about a bunch of people banding together to overthrow an evil tyrant no less. Nobody could draw parallels between things like the dark riders and the police riding motorcycles beating people with clubs.
The sense of irony is weak with the Iranian dictatorship...
Showing them LOTR?! (Score:2, Insightful)
Great choice, show everyone they need to stand up and fight against evil forces trying to gain power over everyone. Yes that'll really Pacify Protesters.
Perhaps tomorrow they can show everyone George Orwell's 1984.
Re:What will happen (Score:5, Insightful)
It is when it runs counter to how they want things done. But when they see an opportunity to use Hollywood and Western culture to their advantage, they won't shy away from it. In the end, they are just politicians. Highly corrupt, brutal politicians, but politicians nonetheless.
Re:Wrong movie (Score:3, Insightful)
A fair number of Iranians have seen 300. "Not amused" would be fair description of the average reaction.
Re:Iran hopefully welcomes ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Excuse me. If you are referring to the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il, you need to realize that he is the smartest, most clever and most physically fit.
It's just that no one else seems to realize it.
Re:Drivel (Score:5, Insightful)
Most Iranians love Americans, love Hollywood, etc. They just hate our government.
In that respect, they're a lot like most Americans...
Re:Can't have it both ways (Score:3, Insightful)
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: If you have to ask the above question then I suggest you re-read the definition of "Tyranny" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyranny [merriam-webster.com].
I suspect that your original question was rhetorical, but look at the bright side. At least there are reports of arrests of Mousavi and Co. rather than just disappearances (although I'm sure those are happening also).
The sad truth is that in most of the rest of the world, revolution is the only effective means for a change of government. The advantage of Democracy (so far at least) as practiced in places like the U.S. is that it allows for changes in government to take place without the nasty "war-like" side effect that most revolutions entail. The down side is that changes are USUALLY slower to take place.
I hope that:
1) Iran transitions into a government that truly reflects the wishes of its people without bloodshed (alright, that moment is past. Without the need for FURTHER bloodshed).
2) The wishes of its people are for a government that will interact with the rest of the world in the tolerant and open fashion that the rest of the world has come to expect from most modern countries.
Re:Eagles? (Score:3, Insightful)
The eagles didn't do their deus ex machina until after the ring was destroyed and mordor made (relatively) safe. Presumably Sauron would have noticed a flock of giant eagles heading over..
Re:Drivel (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the Iranians hate their own government more than the US government, by a lot.
Re:Drivel (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not secular- it's overtly Catholic. So you KNOW things are getting bad when the Mullahs would rather people watch 9 hours of myths inspired by Catholic theology than protest in the streets.
Re:The Grotesquely Ugly Truth (Score:3, Insightful)
i agree with you except for this. our past and current interventions both in Iran and with its neighbors have directly contributed to the rise and sustainment of the current Iranian government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax [wikipedia.org]
Warsaw Pact Vs. Iranian Despot (Score:1, Insightful)
Then, after the Kremlin exited Eastern Europe in 1989, the peoples of each nation in Eastern Europe removed their authoritarian goverment and rapidly established a genuine democracy and a free market. Except for Romania (where its people killed their dictator), there was no violence.
That is how people act when they want freedom and free markets.
In 1979, after the Iranian people overthrow the despot whom the Americans supported, the Iranians immediately established a brutal, authoritarian theocracy.
That is how people act when they reject both freedom and free markets.
Cultures are different. Eastern-European culture and Iranian culture are different. The Iranians bear 100% of the blame for the existence of a tyrannical government in Iran. We should condemn Iranian culture and its people.
Re:Warsaw Pact Vs. Iranian Despot (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The Grotesquely Ugly Truth (Score:3, Insightful)
"In the absence of an external interfering force (e. g., army of the Soviet Union), the fate of a nation is determined by its people. Period. "
No country operates in a vaccuum. Period.
Re:Read the Silmarillion (Score:5, Insightful)
Gee, a mythology where a theological figure falls from grace? That ONLY happens in Christianity!
Re:Drivel (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Drivel (Score:3, Insightful)
However for these morons like the poster above; that act as though if the US had just not had any involvement everything would be unicorns and rainbows in Iran.
That's your own straw man. He implied that U.S. involvement prevented unicorns and rainbows in Iran, but not that the unicorns and rainbows would necessarily show up if the U.S. were not involved.