TEHRAN -- Iran Cinema Organization Director Javad Shamaqdari has said that the general ethics of humanity have been enslaved by Hollywood.
He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the Third International Conference of Hollywoodism at Tehran’s Azadi Hotel on Sunday.
“Film theorists and cultural experts have come together here to discuss the hegemony of Hollywood,” Shamaqdari said.
“Hollywood has been able to institutionalize an ideology secretly, but very efficiently, in the minds of many,” he added.
“The secret management of the world has undertaken the task of producing and distributing the messages, and the medium of cinema is the main tool of this job,” he stated.
Hollywood has distorted the meaning of many terms such as freedom, human rights, democracy, happiness, justice and honesty, Shamaqdari said, and called on experts to give their own correct definitions of the terms.
The International Conference of Hollywoodism, which will run until February 6, is being held on the sidelines of the 31st Fajr International Film Festival, which is Iran’s most important event in the film industry.
“Hollywood is a small part of Zionism. However, we are witnessing a new current in the West, which is under the influence of the Islamic Revolution. Today, we should be proud of ourselves over the influence,” conference secretary Gholamreza Montazami has previously said.
“Some films openly advocating Islamophobia and Iranophobia are scheduled to be screened as part of the programs arranged for the conference,” he added said.
Among the films are “Unthinkable”, an American suspense thriller film directed by Gregor Jordan in 2010, and “Jerusalem Countdown”, another American thriller film directed by Harold Cronk in 2011.
Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist and political activist, and actor Sean Ali Stone, the son of U.S. filmmaker Oliver Stone, have been invited to the conference.
MMS/YAW
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