MovieChat Forums > The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) Discussion > A True Story is Not Propaganda

A True Story is Not Propaganda

posted 14 years ago by A-Karenina
22 replies | jump to latest

Honor killings happen the world over. Brave courageous women have taken to the news and shown their beaten faces. We have seen women in Afghanistan being brought to stadiums to be executed. We have seen the faces of women who have had their noses cut off and their eyes gorged out. We have seen the brutality done to women out of greed and a misplaced sense of pride.

If the timing of this film bothers anyone then that is your problem, but to turn away and gloss over this woman's death out of some sort of bizarre "correctness" is shameful.

This happens. To the lady from Iran who says it does not. I have been in Muslim countries where it does. I also have several friends from Iran that have spoken of the fear they lived in as women in their village, of being spoken about, of being talked about. No woman should live in fear.

What would happen were you to walk down your street without your head covered? Say that someone pulled the covering from your head... would people believe you? What would they do to you?

Yes, this was 20 years ago and yes things have changed, but for thousands of women across the globe they have not.

It is not easy watching what the US government does to the world, but I won't sit back and deny it. I won't deny our treatment of the poor.

These things happen. I have seen brutality committed against women. It is a crime.

[–] afrz 14 years ago

it's no more a crime because it's no more happenin' in iran i belive.islam has got lots of miss interpreted or(good to say) wrong interpreted parts & people do what they want under the name of islam so what they do is not what it is in real

[–] A-Karenina 14 years ago

What part if Iran is a woman allowed to go uncovered?? I've been uncovered and I can tell you what happened to me.

It is cultural, not necessarily Islamic. We get that. The fact is that it is still not allowed.

[–] Olivia23 14 years ago

I believe all the people posting saying that it's not true or that it's putting a bad light on their religion are islamic posters. Of course they are going to defend what is being done over there because they believe it's their right to abuse women if they are doing wrong, but it's so funny that nothing ever happen to the men if they have an affair, look at other women etc.

[–] rabbyt1 13 years ago

I believe all the people posting saying that it's not true or that it's putting a bad light on their religion are islamic posters. Of course they are going to defend what is being done over there because they believe it's their right to abuse women if they are doing wrong, but it's so funny that nothing ever happen to the men if they have an affair, look at other women etc.

I find that extremely ignorant and offensive. Yes it puts a bad light on Islam, how many CHRISTIAN men kill their wives on a daily basis? Just cuz they don't stone them to death in a public venue doesn't mean that other religions don't have murderers.

Just because some men use Islam as an excuse to murder doesn't mean that ALL Muslims believe it's their right to abuse women.

[–] Guamley 13 years ago

"I find that extremely ignorant and offensive. Yes it puts a bad light on Islam, how many CHRISTIAN men kill their wives on a daily basis? Just cuz they don't stone them to death in a public venue doesn't mean that other religions don't have murderers."

The difference being, the so called CHRISTIAN men who kill their wives are not doing it in the name of Christianity.
Islam needs to get out of the middle ages. It has become a cancer on western civilization. It has no place in decent society.
Any religion that has as it's Prophet a delusional pedophile, is a twisted philosophy.

[–] dimitrouladem 8 years ago

"Islam needs to get out of the middle ages" Thank you and well said. There are many well-educated and open-minded Muslims but let's be honest - they are not the majority. This type or similar types of fanaticism is not uncommon in the Islamic world and yes I am not denying there are crazy Christians out there as well. But we don't see them perform the atrocities that extreme Islamists do nowadays.

Skylark

[–] Flame-Trees 12 years ago

Yes it puts a bad light on Islam, how many CHRISTIAN men kill their wives on a daily basis? Just cuz they don't stone them to death in a public venue doesn't mean that other religions don't have murderers.

I have seen plenty of movies that show the bad parts of Christianity too (and a lot of them weren't even like The Stoning of Soraya M where it's based on a true story or trying to get a message across, some were just horror movies using crazy extreme Christians as the bad guys and painting them in a very negative light - like the movie From Within for example).

Every religion has its bad points and extremists and people who misinterpret their religion and twist it and use it to justify doing horrible things, people aren't denying that (just take a look at the Westboro Baptist Church or the Ku Klux Klan).

But this movie isn't about other religions - it's not even about religion really, it's not painting Islam in a bad light (the protagonists of the story were Muslim were they not? And while I'm Agnostic and don't have the same faith as they do, I thought their characters were fantastic and showed such grace and strength and the way they practiced their religion was not in any way portrayed as bad).

The movie was about human rights. About how it's wrong that some cultures still allow things like honor killings to happen - how stoning isn't completely against the law in some parts of the world. And it's about telling the story of Soraya because it deserves to be told...people can't just hide the negative parts of their culture/country/religion as if they don't exist.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that movies like this don't have some evil ulterior motive to paint Islam in a negative light (why the hell would Muslim people be involved in making it if it did?), and it doesn't - it just depends how people interpret what they watch. I didn't finish watching it thinking how awful Iran is or how horrible Islam is, that isn't the message I got from the story at all.

Just because some men use Islam as an excuse to murder doesn't mean that ALL Muslims believe it's their right to abuse women.

And anyone with half a brain would know that and if someone is going to believe that Islam is this awful thing and all Muslims are awful then they're going to think that with or without movies like this because they are ignorant and narrowminded and prejudice.

[–] tigerbos 14 years ago

Are you kidding me? Of course it's still happening. Apparently they just don't want to admit this to the western world...and why not? Aren't they proud that they are following the 'law of God'? These people who say it's no longer happening are no more than a pack of liars. They are constantly denying they do these things. Get your head out of the sand!

I think she's the saddest girl ever to hold a martini.

[–] afrz 14 years ago

my head is out of the sand!!they r happy about followin' the law of god but they even don't know what is the law of god!!!i'm a lawyer & i know whats the low prosidure & what efforts have been taken to stop this from happenin' & i repeat again what's done is different from what it is...by the way thank u for callin' me a liar...

[–] tigerbos 14 years ago

You're welcome.

I think she's the saddest girl ever to hold a martini.

[–] fasionistas 14 years ago

I couldn't agree with you any more AK. ;)

[–] anthropo 14 years ago

To the lady from Iran who says it does not.

It's called DENIAL.

Last seen:
The Stoning of Soraya M. - 8/10
Everybody's Fine - 9/10

[–] afrz 14 years ago

i'm not tryin' 2 defend iran &people who do this &i'm not tryin' to do whatever u called denial i'm tryin' to say s.th else hope u got it that unfortunetly u did'nt...

[–] skavron 13 years ago

It is true that the film is based on facts. But, think a little bit.

*Isn't it strange that the film was made 17 years after the book was released?

*Isn't it questionable that the film was financed with 100% Jewish capital, 15 years after the lapidations in Iran officially stopped?

*Would that be coincidence that 2007 is the year that Israel started a fierce international boycott against the Palestinian territories in order to fight Hamas regime?

If you pay close attention, you'll see that a lot of movies are being filmed in Rio de Janeiro these years (Fast and Furious 5, Rio, Rio Eu Te Amo, the Twilight secuele, etc.) Well, they are trying to get people's attention prior to the Brazil World Cup and Rio Olympics. Movie industry does serve that purpose. So, yes. For me it was propaganda. Though, I still condemn several Muslim behaviors.

ra+

[–] Mozza_17 13 years ago

Why would it be strange that the film was made 17 years after the book? All it takes is one person adapting it into a script well and wanting to make it. Maybe something happened to Nowrasteh, or he came across a case that made him want to research it.

Why are you boiling it down to religion? Would you feel differently if it had been made with backing from Hindus, Sikhs, or Christians? Stoning has not officially stopped at all in iran. It remains on the statute, with sentences being caried out as recently as a few years ago, and around 13 people remain under the sentence in Iran today.

Again, you're talking conspiracy style nonsense. You're equating the backing of some people who happen to be Jewish, with government sanctioned propaganda. Believe it or not, every rich Jewish person around the world does not also have a controlling interest in the Israeli government, nor to they have an interest in slamming Iran.

Ermmm Rio is a cheap and exotic location to film and I hardly think 5 or 6 films over the course of the year spells a pattern... More just lazy film makers subsituting plot and script for visual locations.

[–] skavron 13 years ago

I must say you are sooo naive... hope real life does not kick you in the butt:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118019219?refCatId=4024

You're welcome, my skeptical friend.

ra+

[–] Mozza_17 11 years ago

What exactly is your point about Brazil anyway?

And please respond to my other points my conspiracy nut job friend.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 8 years ago

@ skavron

Assuming you are correct about timing - and in fact I'm sort of onside with the insidious silent terror perpetrated by the Israeli state - how does this undermine the truth of the story and an example of how women are treated under Sharia law? I never, ever want to live under Sharia law. I consider any institution administered by men in which women are totally subservient a nightmare. This film could be a sci-fi dystopia but the fact this is happening now in various parts of the Islamic world whether Arabic or Persian.

I'm scared of the middle place between light and nowhere

[–] uberfox 10 years ago

Are you somehow implying women are more special than men and you only seem to care if a woman gets hurt?

What about all the men who are getting hurt the world over? You think only women get kidnapped and used as sex slaves? Happens to men too you know.

[–] Synergetic11 9 years ago

One religion NONE of you will ever see criticized anywhere in ANY film is Judaism, the most racist and supremacist religion of all (against other Jews of Sephardic and Mizrahi origin, as well as everybody else; google and read Jack Bernstein's "The Life of an American Jew in Racist, Marxist Israel"). This is also the reason you will NEVER see a Pro-Palestinian Liberation film because even if it is made independently with someone's own money it will never get distribution in Hollywood owned outlets. And the funny thing is you ALL know the reason why and are afraid to talk about it. Yet a movie about how chauvinistic a religion Islam is, regardless of the truth or falsehood of the events depicted, gets wide distribution and plenty of opinions from the peons and slaves, since that is considered acceptable and serves the interests of those in power.

And the most hilarious part of all is all the Christians trying to pretend Islam is a "pedophile religion" when, up until the 1920's the age of consent for women to marry in most American states was 10 years old and in Delaware, are you ready you clowns? 7 years old! That's right, the same people who were marrying 7 year olds in Delaware just a hundred years ago are now holier-than-thou and calling the rest of non-European world "pedophiles" for marrying a girl at puberty or as soon as menstruation starts. No one is saying it's right to get married at that age but you people are total hypocrites and know little about your own history.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/24

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." -- Voltaire

[–] uberfox 9 years ago

You are one seriously *beep* up individual if you compare pretty much any religon much less Judaism to that abomination of islam which preeches death and hatred of non-believers.

I dont remember the last time I saw a *radical judaism* group blowing themselves up killing scores of innocent people just for chance to get their cock in 72 virgins.

[–] 8 years ago

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