Farhadi Isn't Coming to the Oscars. Go See "The Salesman" in Solidarity
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 8:00AM As we've previously noted briefly, the leading actress of The Salesman was not coming to the Oscars in protest of T****'s unconstitutional and immoral ban on Muslims entering the US. Now the great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) will not be attending the Oscars either. The ban has created chaos around the world and the awards show plans of filmmakers is, of course, low on the totem pole of injustices. But still, this sucks. When I spoke with Farhadi about The Salesman in December, he spoke fondly of the Oscar experience and how international it felt, sharing the experience with the other nominees.
Farhadi released a beautifully articulate damning statement which reads in part:
Hardliners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way. In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an “us and them” mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of “them” and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.
This is not just limited to the United States; in my country hardliners are the same. For years on both sides of the ocean, groups of hardliners have tried to present to their people unrealistic and fearful images of various nations and cultures in order to turn their differences into disagreements, their disagreements into enmities and their enmities into fears. Instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow-minded individuals.
Speaking truth to power. Every word of that is exactly right.
Reader Comments (10)
I bought my brother A SEPARATION for Christmas in the hope of transforming him into as pretentious a film-lover as his sister is. XD Was delighted to see it was your no. 1 that year. Looking forward to watching it later this week, Farhadi sounds extremely astute and dignified.
Have tickets for Saturday!
When it comes out near me, there is no doubt I will go see it.
So delighted it's finally coming here this week. So outraged by all this political (and emotional) garbage.
I truly believe we are living in the final hours of xenophobia disguised as security. The global society is here and borders are disappearing. My only hope is that they don't destroy everything before it happens.
Strong amazing words from Farhadi. On the day of the EO, which affects me personally as an immigrant from Sudan, I found a bit of solace in watching Farhadi accept his Oscar. His words then were also very powerful.
✊️✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾 Muslims are united against that orange turd! Hands up a la Wino at SAG!
"The Salesman' is amazing. Farhadi is a master of these tense domestic dramas.
What's the worst he could do in the USA,v silly to ban him.
I showed my parents A Separation a few years ago and they loved it. They were surprised at how accessible it was. I hope The Salesman is playing in a theater nearby so I can see it and show my support for Farhadi. The man is a great filmmaker who shouldn't be banned because of some asshole.