![FOLLOWING the Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic guidance’s Hoax of Hollywood conference in Tehran this week, it has been reported that Iran may “sue Hollywood” over what it considers to be unrealistic portrayals of the country in several films.The most recent offender is Ben Affleck’s Argo, based on the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981 and winner of this year’s best picture Oscar. Others named include 300, The Wrestler and Not Without My Daughter. The representation of Iran in Argo is certainly questionable but, as when the Kazakhstan foreign ministry threatened to sue over Borat, the prospect of a lawsuit doesn’t seem entirely realistic. Do nations or governments have a right to accurate representation in fiction? In what jurisdiction could such a case be brought? Wouldn’t there be some sort of statute of limitation on suing over, for example, Not [polldaddy poll=6964607]Bearing in mind that “Hollywood” is not a single or coherent entity, who would actually be sued? And, if this story is true, will the organisers of the Hoax of Hollywood conference turn out to be the adorable Thermian aliens out of Galaxy Quest, who come from a planet without fiction, mistake old broadcasts of a Star Trek-like television show for “historical documents”, and end up kidnapping the show’s ageing cast to defend them in a real intergalactic war? Picture poor Ben Affleck as the film’s clapped-out Captain Kirk character, having to explain the concept of movies to the uncomprehending faces at the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance: “On our planet, we, er ... we pretend. To .. to entertain. I am so sorry. God, I am so sorry.”Furthermore, should the Canadian government get in on this? According to former US president Jimmy Carter, “90 per cent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan (in Argo) was Canadian”, not the work of the CIA as it is shown almost exclusively to be. Indeed, one of the fishiest things about this entire story is that the Hoax of Hollywood conference lasted just one day. Hollywood has made up far too much stuff to cover in a mere day. In the wacky parallel universe where this suit succeeds and sets a precedent, lots of countries could have a case for “unrealistic portrayal”: MONGOLIA: National pride offended by perhaps the worst casting decision of all time, when John Wayne played Genghis Khan in The Conqueror.NEW ZEALAND: ... has really had enough of people turning up and demanding to see hobbits.ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA: Teaming up to take down Eat Pray Love.PAKISTAN: Upset at the possible damage to its reputation, sues for appearing too stable in Charlie Wilson’s IRELAND: Just wants Hollywood stars to stop trying to do its accent, whether it’s Orson Welles in The Lady from Shanghai or Tom Cruise in Far and Away.UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Though Hollywood is sometimes presumed by Iranian officials to be an instrument of the US government, there’s no reason, in this wacky parallel universe, why it shouldn’t sue itself. Oliver Stone’s JFK, for instance, flat-out invented a case to support the view that president John F. Kennedy was murdered by the CIA in cahoots with Cuban exile organisations.UNITED KINGDOM: Hollywood misattributed great military feats by Britain and its allies, such as the capture of the Enigma machine in U-571 and the liberation of Burma in Objective, Burma!, to American forces. In Anonymous, it said that England’s greatest playwright was an illiterate fraud and England’s greatest queen was a ditzy nymphomaniac.In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, it got everything wrong about England’s greatest folk hero. And — from a Scottish point of view as much as an English one — don’t even get me started on Braveheart.If the Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic guidance genuinely has an interest in putting forward a positive image of Iran in cinema, it could allow Iranian filmmakers freedom to make great films about their own country or cease its harassment of industry bodies. Sadly, these hopes may also belong in a wacky parallel universe.Meanwhile, Hollywood, watch out: the British are coming. And this time they’ll have lawyers.By arrangement with the Guardian Our readers are at the heart of everything we do. Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com. Budget FY26-27: How much tax will you pay? Use the Dawn Income Tax Calculator to find out Next Story](https://i.dawn.com/2013/03/argo.jpg){kind=link}
FOLLOWING the Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic guidance’s Hoax of Hollywood conference in Tehran this week, it has been reported that Iran may “sue Hollywood” over what it considers to be unrealistic portrayals of the country in several films.
The most recent offender is Ben Affleck’s Argo, based on the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981 and winner of this year’s best picture Oscar. Others named include 300, The Wrestler and Not Without My Daughter.
The representation of Iran in Argo is certainly questionable but, as when the Kazakhstan foreign ministry threatened to sue over Borat, the prospect of a lawsuit doesn’t seem entirely realistic. Do nations or governments have a right to accurate representation in fiction? In what jurisdiction could such a case be brought? Wouldn’t there be some sort of statute of limitation on suing over, for example, Not
![[polldaddy poll=6964607]Bearing in mind that “Hollywood” is not a single or coherent entity, who would actually be sued? And, if this story is true, will the organisers of the Hoax of Hollywood conference turn out to be the adorable Thermian aliens out of Galaxy Quest, who come from a planet without fiction, mistake old broadcasts of a Star Trek-like television show for “historical documents”, and end up kidnapping the show’s ageing cast to defend them in a real intergalactic war? Picture poor Ben Affleck as the film’s clapped-out Captain Kirk character, having to explain the concept of movies to the uncomprehending faces at the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance: “On our planet, we, er ... we pretend. To .. to entertain. I am so sorry. God, I am so sorry.”Furthermore, should the Canadian government get in on this? According to former US president Jimmy Carter, “90 per cent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan (in Argo) was Canadian”, not the work of the CIA as it is shown almost exclusively to be. Indeed, one of the fishiest things about this entire story is that the Hoax of Hollywood conference lasted just one day. Hollywood has made up far too much stuff to cover in a mere day. In the wacky parallel universe where this suit succeeds and sets a precedent, lots of countries could have a case for “unrealistic portrayal”: MONGOLIA: National pride offended by perhaps the worst casting decision of all time, when John Wayne played Genghis Khan in The Conqueror.NEW ZEALAND: ... has really had enough of people turning up and demanding to see hobbits.ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA: Teaming up to take down Eat Pray Love.PAKISTAN: Upset at the possible damage to its reputation, sues for appearing too stable in Charlie Wilson’s IRELAND: Just wants Hollywood stars to stop trying to do its accent, whether it’s Orson Welles in The Lady from Shanghai or Tom Cruise in Far and Away.UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Though Hollywood is sometimes presumed by Iranian officials to be an instrument of the US government, there’s no reason, in this wacky parallel universe, why it shouldn’t sue itself. Oliver Stone’s JFK, for instance, flat-out invented a case to support the view that president John F. Kennedy was murdered by the CIA in cahoots with Cuban exile organisations.UNITED KINGDOM: Hollywood misattributed great military feats by Britain and its allies, such as the capture of the Enigma machine in U-571 and the liberation of Burma in Objective, Burma!, to American forces. In Anonymous, it said that England’s greatest playwright was an illiterate fraud and England’s greatest queen was a ditzy nymphomaniac.In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, it got everything wrong about England’s greatest folk hero. And — from a Scottish point of view as much as an English one — don’t even get me started on Braveheart.If the Iranian ministry of culture and Islamic guidance genuinely has an interest in putting forward a positive image of Iran in cinema, it could allow Iranian filmmakers freedom to make great films about their own country or cease its harassment of industry bodies. Sadly, these hopes may also belong in a wacky parallel universe.Meanwhile, Hollywood, watch out: the British are coming. And this time they’ll have lawyers.By arrangement with the Guardian Our readers are at the heart of everything we do. Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com. Budget FY26-27: How much tax will you pay? Use the Dawn Income Tax Calculator to find out Next Story](https://i.dawn.com/2013/03/not-without-my-daughter1.jpg){kind=link}
