Asghar Farhadi Criticizes Hollywood’s Portrayal of Iran

At the Rio Film Festival, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi expressed his dissatisfaction with Hollywood’s portrayals of Iran and other foreign countries. He labeled it a ‘lie’ to term America as a ‘democracy.’ These comments were made during the promotion of his film ‘Parallel Tales.’

Farhadi was questioned about the Oscar-winning movie ‘Argo,’ directed by Ben Affleck. This film won Best Picture in 2012, a year after Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’ received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. ‘Argo’ is inspired by Tony Mendez’s memoir and depicts the rescue of six American diplomats from Iran under a sci-fi movie pretense.

Farhadi criticized ‘Argo’ as a ‘Hollywood thing’ and described its narrative as ‘not deep,’ mentioning its focus on a ‘White guy’ saving others. He highlighted that the real Mendez was of Mexican descent. Farhadi stated, “They make these movies for money; it’s a business. And in these films, it’s always a White guy from the United States saving others.” He questioned the need for American intervention, insisting, “People understand they can save themselves. Who asked you to come and save us?”

He further accused ‘Argo’ of presenting Iran as a place akin to ‘hell,’ following the events of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Addressing the US perspective in films, Farhadi remarked, “The problem with these kinds of films in Hollywood is that some people in the United States look at the world from up to down.” He critiqued their egotistical view, asking, “Why do you feel you’re up, and we’re down?”

Farhadi challenged the notion of American democracy, suggesting it is false. He claimed the ‘real America’ is represented within Black and foreign prisoners. Farhadi stated, “You don’t have democracy. It’s a lie.”

Fox News Digital contacted representatives for Farhadi and Affleck for responses. David Bozell, President of the Media Research Center, commented on the matter, suggesting Hollywood’s focus on American heroism is purposeful. He reflected, “America was asked to save the world, and we did, not once, but twice. And we’re always preparing to do it again, if we’re asked to, at a moment’s notice. Maybe Hollywood makes movies about Americans saving the world for a reason.”