Iran elections

[GreyMouser]

This is an interesting tie-in, fro an anonymous source in Tehran

June 24, 2009 | In Tehran, state television's Channel Two is putting on a "Lord of the Rings" marathon, part of a bigger push to keep us busy. Movie mad and immunized from international copyright laws, Iranians are normally treated to one or two Hollywood or European movie nights a week. Now it's two or three films a day. The message is "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Let's watch, forget about what's happened, never mind. Stop dwelling in the past. Look ahead.

Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish that none of this had happened."

Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

.....

Back to "Lord of the Rings." Gandalf the Gray returns to the Fellowship as Gandalf the White. He casts a blinding white light, and his face is hidden behind a halo. "Imam zaman e?!" someone in the room asks. Is it the Mahdi, the last imam and, according to Shia Islam, the savior of mankind?

Who picked this film? I start to suspect that there is a subversive soul manning the controls at Seda va Sima, AKA the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. It is way too easy to play with the film, to draw comparisons to what is happening in real life. There are the overt Mousavi themes: the unwanted quest and the risking of life in pursuit of an unanticipated destiny. Then there is the sly nod to Ahmadinejad. Iranian films are dubbed (forget the wretched dubbing into English in the U.S.; in Iran dubbing is a craft) and there are plenty of references to "kootoole," little person, the Farsi word used in the movie for hobbit and dwarf. "Kootoole," of course, was, is, the term used in many of the chants out on the street against President Ahmadinejad. He is the "little person." ("And whose side are you on?" Pippin asks the ancient, forest-dwelling giant named Treebeard. Those watching might think the answer is Mousavi, since Treebeard is decked out in green.)

The 9-year-old in the room loudly predicts that the "Lord of the Rings" marathon will put an end to the nightly shouts of "Allah Akbar" from Tehran's rooftops. People will not take to the roofs and windows because these films will keep them occupied. Besides, there is a dubious rumor going around that the basij are marking the doorways of those households that continue to call out "Allah Akbar!" at night, a kind of reverse Passover. Fear, as well as Tolkien, will no doubt play a part.

.....

Back to the movie. Gandalf's white steed strides into the frame. It is instantly transformed by local viewers into Rostam's mythical horse, Rakhsh. Rostam, the great dragon-slaying champion of Ferdowsi's poetic epic "Shahnameh," which recounts the whole history of Iran.

The 9-year-old is wrong about the rooftops. The sound begins as a low roll from a nearby park then quickly builds upward. "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!" No way. We rush to the window. It begins at 10 at night and will continue for another 30 minutes ...

On the television screen, Boromir, human of Aragon, falls. He dies an honorable death defending the lives of his compatriots.

"In edame dare." This is to be continued. The phrase has become our hesitant slogan, our phrase of reassurance. "In edame dare." People are not going to let up so easily. "Baraye Neda. In edame dare."

Each time I've lost faith, I've been wrong. Iranians are proving to be a sturdier lot than I have given them credit, much mightier even than the formidable kootooloos that stand in their way

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20.../tehran_seven/

[Insidious Rex]

Thats great. Clearly Tolkien was sourcing the Quran when he wrote Lord of the Rings! Right Telcontarion? Or could it be simply that there is inevitable universal symbology in many classic works of literature that can then be used by others for their own purposes? Nah thats not nearly as exciting...

[The last sane person]

"For Neda, this will be continued."

Don't undersetimate the Iranian people.