Iranian TV documentary traces Zionist themes in "Meet the Parents"



Video and transcript: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1811.htm

May 28, 2008 Clip No. 1811

Iranian TV Documentary Series Traces Zionist Themes in Western Movies: "Meet the Parents"

Following are excerpts from an Iranian TV documentary on Zionist themes in Hollywood cinema. The program, which focused on "Meet the Parents," aired on IRINN TV on May 28, 2008.

Narrator: As has been mentioned before, one of the regular methods of Zionist propaganda is to use Jewish characters in films to present the idea that Zionism and the [Jewish] religion are one and the same.

[...]

Iranian film director Masoud Deh-Namaki: They are shrewd, because they do not reveal all their thoughts. As I've said before, they deal with the subconsciousness of the viewer. Later, they use these ideas in more substantial contexts, such as articles and serious films. The viewer, who is exposed to these ideas from a young age, does not need any explanation, because subconsciously, he has already absorbed these ideas.

[...]

Iranian documentary filmmaker Mohammad-Reza Khosaravi-Far: In order to highlight the oppression [of the Jews] and to make it more interesting, these people have begun to make comedy films. A striking example of such films is "Meet the Parents." In this film, they tried, using the comedy genre, to make the viewer not merely understand, but become convinced of this oppression and the holocaust, and of how much the Jews suffered hardships in the 1940s and 1950s.

[...]

Deh-Namaki: The nuclear weapons of [the Israelis] remain unused in their arsenals. Instead, they conquer the world with cameras, negatives, and frames.

[...]

Narrator: It is no coincidence that when the legitimacy of the Zionist regime is in crisis, one of the familiar Hollywood characters – the honest, clumsy Jewish citizen – is portrayed once again. The appearance of this citizen in "Meet the Parents" reflects the desire of a kind, peace-loving person to marry into a genteel American family. This symbolizes the extent to which the Zionist regime needs the Western fundamentalist regimes.

[...]

Iranian documentary filmmaker Reza Eskandar: [In such films] the character of the Jew is always praised and glorified. The Jew is always depicted as a positive and trustworthy person. Even if, by chance, he is involved is something wrong, it is only because he was pursuing a very lofty goal, and not because he was a bad man by nature.

[...]

Narrator: "Meet the Parents" is one of Hollywood's comedies produced in recent years, which includes humoristic scenes, and take bold jibes at traditional American society. At the same time, however, it cunningly tries to arouse the viewer's compassion and sympathy toward Zionist beliefs.
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As documented by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) www.memritv.org

Any Iranian attempt to close Gulf 'self-defeating': Pentagon

[AFP] The Pentagon said Tuesday that any move by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz would be "self-defeating" because its weak economy is so heavily dependent on oil revenues.

"Shutting down the Strait, closing down the Persian Gulf, would be sort of a self-defeating exercise," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary. "That doesn't say anything about whether we tolerate such a thing to happen."

Morrell's comments came in response to a warning by the new head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that Iran could easily close the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil passes.

[40% of all seaborne oil traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz]

General Mohammad Ali Jafari announced Monday that Iran has successfully tested an anti-ship missile with a range of 300 kilometers (180 miles.)

"And given the equipment our armed forces have, an indefinite blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be very easy," Jafari said on state television.

Morrell argued, however, that Iran would be the first to be hurt if it closed the Gulf.

"I don't think it is Iran's interest to shut down the Strait of Hormuz or the Persian Gulf, or attempt to do so," he told reporters.

"They have a very weak economy at this point which depends almost entirely on their oil revenue," he said.