March 26, 2007 issue - The New York Times and the government of Iran agree: the movie "300" has no redeeming social value. The movie, which depicts the brave stand of 300 Spartans against a marauding army of hundreds of thousands of Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C., "is about as violent as 'Apocalypto' and twice as stupid," according to A. O. Scott, the Times' movie critic. The Iranians, who presumably don't screen many Mel Gibson movies, were nonetheless even more offended. The movie is aimed at "humiliating" Iranians, who are descendants of the ancient Persians, said Javad Shamghardi, cultural adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "300" is "part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological warfare aimed at Iranian culture." And this was the headline in the Ayan No newspaper: HOLLYWOOD DECLARES WAR ON IRANIANS.
