Movies & TV

They oppose the great satan but they still suck.

It's by Panahi, it's pretty good. He's an Iranian dissident that has been forbidden from making films in Iran, yet he keeps making movies in Iran (often about how much he doesn't like the Islamic Republic and its attitude towards women and freedom of expression), gets thrown in prison, everybody in the West goes "hey when you get out next, you should leave Iran," and he declines and continues to live in Iran and make movies because he loves Iran. His movie about his daughter dressing as a man to sneak into a football match because she's a football freak is fantastic. No Bears is probably my favorite of his. He opposes the Islamic Republic but under no circumstances is he a freak like the deranged Iranian diaspora who wants Iran to get bombed; during the Twelve Days War he supported Iran and condemned Israel, so I imagine he's doing the same now.

I have no doubt in this clear and non-negotiable point and I have stated my position explicitly and will say it again: an attack on my homeland, Iran, is in no way acceptable. Israel has violated Iran and should be tried in an international trial as a war aggressor.

Panahi is important because you can show his movies to people, and the overwhelming impression they get of Iran is that it is a "normal" place if that makes sense. It's not some foreign strange where with zealots and crazies and robes flowing and shit, it's just a normal place where people gotta pay bills and grumble about their government and go to parties.