[This was posted to soc.culture.iranian and is reposted here by permission of the author. -Moderator.]
NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER
A film review by Kerdar
Copyright 1991 Kerdar
I've seen the movie, and I've read the "Reader's Digest" version of the book which truncates the book from 400 to about 250 pages.
Regarding the book: Reading through the passages of the book, one can see the author's "resentment towards Iranians" (as Reza Taheri says). But this is understandable. You keep somebody by force in a strange country, subject her to beating, imprison her in the house, and still want her to be unbiased in evaluating Iranians?
You can see this kind of resentment in many people with some degree or another. In Pakistan, for instance, the Iranian refugees dislike Pakistanis very much. The reason is because they are having a hard time away from home over there. This resentment of Betty Mahmoody goes as far as describing Iranian restrooms as "holes in the ground."
The movie, however, is more "even-handed" (though not quite). The movie starts with a beautiful scenery of a green forest by a small lake. The birds are singing and the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxed. By the lake there is a summer house.... If you have not read the book but know the movie is about Iran, you are led to believe the scene is in Iran. Then you see the title "Alpha, Michigan, 1984...." Anyway, I shouldn't spoil the movie for those who want to see it.
I found that part of the movie which was supposed to show Iran quite accurate with exception of some technical points. Right after getting out of "Mehr Abad" airport, Moody is surrounded by his Hezbollahi family, and at their arrival at the house the family sacrifices a sheep for them, a common practice in Iran. Later in some other scene a car belonging to revolutionary guards stops and four people, two men and two women jump out of the car with machine guns swearing at Betty for not covering all of her hair. This was perhaps the most realistic scene in the movie.
Some parts of the movie is exaggerated. For example, in one scene they showed an old crumbling building which was supposed to be Hosseyie Ershad. I have seen the mosque with its marble floor and beautiful Persian carpets. That old building did not at all resemble Hosseynie Ershad. The other exaggeration was the sheep on the streets of Tehran. The viewer could see them up to the end of the movie. A big portion of the movie is concentrated on Betty's escape; therefore, it shows some Iranian heroes who help her escape. One other thing about the film: the guy who was playing the husband was not Iranian, and it was sort of funny for Iranian audience to see him speak Persian.
Dave Elliott, our fellow netter, writes about the movie: "The culture is presented as simply being very different than American culture, not better or worse." What is Iranian culture? Do we have a homogeneous entity as Iranian culture? I don't think so. First we have diverse ethnic groups such as Turks, Kurds, Turkmans, Baluchies, Arabs, Lors, etc. Each group has its own culture which might be similar to others in some aspects, yet it might be different from the rest in other aspects.
Second, in any ethnic group or even cities we have (what I may call) sub_cultures. For example, in Tehran the culture of southern part of the city is far different from that of the northern residents. Yet another category might be the difference between religious and non-religious people in the same city. A marriage between a religious and a non-religious party especially after the revolution could be disastrous.
I've met some of my fellow Iranians who call Mrs. Mahmoody a liar and some other names. Then we see on the net, "I have not seen the movie and most probably will not either" and, "I am very happy that this movie, NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER, might function as a tool to increase our awareness and sensitivity toward the dirty face of subtle and yet real vilification of all Iranians along a same line as Arabs, Hispanics, and other ethnic groups. We must be aware of these movies, T.V. programs."
I'm afraid the solution is not "not seeing the movie," but this movie might function as a tool to increase our awareness of the dirty parts to *our culture(s)* (yes, they exist). Unfortunately there are thousands of Iranian women who are beaten by their husbands, and have, unlike Mrs. Mahmoody, nowhere to go. Let us have some self-criticism of our culture(s) and ourselves. Let us not get so defensive and let us admit the dark parts of our culture(s) and try to overcome and evolve them for the benefit of the next Iranian generations.
[BTW: The account "fekr nevisandeh" translates to "the thought of the writer" and is an anonymous posting facility. -Moderator]
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