I'm an Iranian and i was shocked reading some threads, many people mentioned they were surprised that Tehran looks modern, well that was strange.
Movie didn't even portray modern or beautiful places of Tehran and that makes me ask myself what was your opinion about Tehran which that surprises you?
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... they were surprised that Tehran looks modern, well that was strange.Don't be shocked. Lots of people have preconceived ideas about certain things.
Movie didn't even portray modern or beautiful places of Tehran...It didn't need to. It was a domestic drama, not a travel log and was probably made on a fairly tight budget. However it still gave an insight into life in Iran. share
I looked at some of those comments as well. I too was a bit perplexed by their comments and thought, perhaps, that the writer(s) may have possibly been american. They can often hold a fascinatingly limited view of the rest of the world.
I always found Tehran to be a fascinating juxtaposition between its rich Persian heritage and its progressive and rapidly growing modernity. However, I must remind myself that the period that I regularly travelled to Tehran was in the late seventies, during the reign of Pahlavi. I also had the delight of travelling again to Tehran in the late nineties. It was fascinating to compare what I remembered from the seventies and twenty years later. For me, however, my greatest pleasure came from the people. I was always warmly welcomed into homes and I enjoyed many nights where I was made to feel part of the family.
Yes, I feel the need to apologize on behalf of my fellow ignorant Americans. Most of us feel it's a burden to remember more than one thing about about the few "important" countries. Americans generally only know that Iran is in the Middle East and that means it's crazy and backwards, which is of course wrong. Please have patience with us. We may come around eventually.
shareHey Melinda! You are very kind to have written this. I always say there's always hope as long as life and breath remain! Bless your american socks!
I work in Transylvania Romania and The Republic of Moldova with victims of child trafficking. All I ever hear when I'm 'across the pond,' speaking, is questions about Dracula and vampires. It truly can become disheartening at times. But I've learned over the years of the importance of bringing a large map, which particularly points out where countries such as the UK, Germany, France, Austria, etc., are located, and where the Ukraine, Russia, and China are in relation to Romania and Moldova. I find that it helps considerably in introducing the basic concepts of geography - but not always the fundamentals of distance and culture and presumptions.
I've been asked (I wish I were lying), what language do we speak in England, how long a ride is it on the Underground from Leicester Square to Glasgow, whether people in Transylvania are afraid to go outside their homes at night and gawd forbid...how do I cope with all that fog and mist when walking around London!
As I say, there's always hope! And now I see that it's nearly tea time, so I'd better get out my doilies and china cups, because, as you know, when Her Majesty takes tea, the world stops!
Thank you again!
Fr B+
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LOL, well you're very kind as well! Kinder than we deserve considering how we kick everyone else around. Yes, Transylvania is always going to trigger the vampire association, just like how my city of San Francisco is assumed to be 90% queer when it's really more like 10%. Anyway, vampire is not considered a bad association for us, maybe because ve vant to suck your oil. Ha ha, enjoy your tea!
shareHonestly, I was quite surprised as well. Didn't know Iran had such a bustling and vibrant city. Will probably visit Iran someday.
shareThank you Night! Indeed, whether it's the beauty of the Azadi (Freedom) Tower or skiing in the Tochal Mountains, it's a magnificent and progressive country, rich in beauty and heritage. Sadly, some media only focus on features that incite and draw reaction, without offering focus on the good. I suppose it would be similar to the world seeing only what happened in Ferguson Missouri, or years ago the sadness of life and strife in Harlem, New York, or the suffering in the automotive cities of Michigan and believing that's the sum-total interpretation of american life. It's a real pity. I'm grateful that I've lived, literally, in all four corners of our planet, plus the Middle East. My life has been and continues to be enriched because of those friends I have around the world.
May all your own journeys be ones of discovery!
Fr B+
It's got quite a few, actually. Tehran just happens to be the biggest as well as the capital. Enter "IRAN" into Wikipedia and I think you'll be surprised.
shareGreat movie. Just saw it on TV ! I think many say they are surprised because Americans like me do not really know anything about Iran. I was dating a doctor many years ago and he referred to himself as Persian ! I see now they never say Persian, only Iranian ! I also thought women were not permitted to drive as it says by many newscasters. Lives there are just like lives here. I am so happy to see this movie and now realize many of us do not know the real Iran !
shareI think that those who live there almost always describe themselves as Iranian, while those living permanently abroad - especially those whose families fled because of the revolution - often call themselves Persian. On several occasions I've been corrected pretty forcefully by British Iranians/Persians when I described them as 'Iranian'.
shareWestern media never really shows Iran, other than unappealing scenes such as protests. Many people in the west confuse Iran with Iraq as well, or many people just assume that the entirety of the middle east is just a deserted wasteland. People unfortunately have many preconceptions like this.
I think Iran looks like an incredible country and I hope to visit someday soon. I'm just waiting for mainstream western media to show places like Shiraz and Isfahan so people here can see what Iran really has to offer.
Not many people even know what Tehran is, including myself. It's perfectly normal to not know geography and have preconceptions based on media.
shareTake a class. Read an atlas. Be more selective and stop watching sensationalistic TV programs that are geared toward the lowest common denominator.
I have yet to venture outside the Americas but consider myself reasonably well-versed in Iranian geography, Persian culture, history, and language (dating from the late Neolithic to the present day), as well as other closely related Indo-Persian cultures, and non-Persian segments of Iranian society (Kurds/Yazidis, Turko-Azeris, Armenians, Arabs, Balochis, Assyrians, Russians, etc).
As guardians of one of mankind's most ancient and advanced cultures, they have much to be proud of. As an American, I can't help but feel embarrassed but I hear some right-wing neocon hurling such vile and hateful insults at them. Disagree with their current government's policies if you must (a situation for which we and the UK must bear a portion of the blame), but don't confuse hardliners with reformers.
And don't fall for the tired old propaganda of truly destructive, repressive, backwards and culturally impoverished systems such as the greedy Wahhabist Saudi dynasty or other absolute monarchies of the 'Gulf Arab' pseudo-states...or the increasingly senile Likudnik leader of Israel who attempts to drive out the native Muslim & Christian Arab Palestinians by arming radical "settlers" and allowing them to invade (read: terrorize) all non-Jewish inhabitants, many of whom have lived as refugees for generations now, from the occupied territories (in contravention to international laws which directly prohibit such aggressive annexations). Were one to believe this clown, one must also believe in his new anti-Arab 'blood libel' stating that Axis Germany began the Holocaust simply AFTER Palestinians allegedly ordered them to do it 😹. Oh, and Iran would also have blown up the entire Earth by this date because of that gigantic and imaginary arsenal of nukes which they swore up & down that Iran would've by now obtained and used any day now. You know, just for kicks...
Don't fall for the proxy wars.
I'm glad that I'm not the only American who realizes that it is sad we lack so much knowledge about the rest of the world. Or that, for developed nations, we have one of the lowest number of passport-holding citizens who travel. As Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts . . ." While you can learn about other countries, there really is nothing like traveling to them to help one realize that the people in Egypt or Japan or Guatemala or Iran or any other country are just like us in so many fundamental ways. They want to earn enough money to survive, see their children are safe and healthy, live according to their beliefs and, if you're respectful of their culture, are generally always welcoming and kind. In some countries that we see as "backwards," I have found a devotion to family (including extended) and community that is sadly lacking in much of the US.
I enjoy movies like this one that give me a glimpse into life in yet another country that I haven't yet visited.