Sunday, December 09, 2012

Argo: Introducing Iranian History to us

Argo is a thriller film directed by Ben Affleck. He starrs as a CIA operative that led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. What I liked about the film was how it introduced history in an educational and yet exciting manner to us.
I learnt that Mohammed Rezā was the Shah of Iran but he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in February 1979. As a ruler, he tried to rule the country with a monarchial constitution. However, over time, Mohammad Reza gradually lost support from the Shi'a clergy of Iran, particularly due to his strong policy of modernization, secularization, conflict with the traditional class of merchants known as bazaari, and recognition of Israel.

I also learnt that the United States has allied and supported with the Shah since World War II days.In 1953 the British and U.S. spy agencies helped Iranian royalists depose of the government of Mosaddegh in a military coup d'état, and helped restore the Shah back to power. By 1979, political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on 16 January, forced the Shah to leave Iran. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic.
I also learnt that the Islams in Iran used force to express their hatred. They seemed xenophobic, especially towards Amercians. But maybe hatred wasn't built over a night. Being built over decades of betrayal, they seemed to treat the US embassy as a place where detectives were planted there to prevent Islamic democracy.

Whilst the movie has led me to appreciate history a tad better, it has also got me thinking - that dirty politics has a hand to play in creating history. Whether it turned out fine or not, it's yet another matter,

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