One of the things that surprised me in Iran was that even the people who were very critical of the government, also hated the movie 300. Many Iranians are very proud of their ancient Persian heritage, which they see as a highpoint in their culture – especially compared to what they have now. I haven’t seen the movie, but from what I hear it would be quite reasonable to be a little offended by the harsh portrayal of Xerxes and the Persian empire.
As a very amusing alternative and counterpoint, different Iranian artists have now launched Project 300 to “show the forgotten face of ancient Persia and modern day Iran”. Rock music, videos, grafitti, comics and much more. Most of the posts seem to be by artist Legofish. What a great way to use web 2.0!
