ABSURDUS apoPLEXUS

That Iran is in essence a restrictive religious autocracy spruced up with a thinly glossed makeup layer of democracy is no secret, but still, it never fails to amaze how the authorities, time and time again, inadvertently or not, manage to represent the Iranian society as a dystopian farce, almost like a poorly-scripted Hollywood entertainment feature.

 

So here we go again: In an apparent effort to expose the inherent American vulgarity propagated though vile cinematic productions, such as the (God knows why) culturally prominent 1984 movie "Footloose", and simultaneously highlight an alternative interpretation of the film's moral core, Iranian police arrested a bunch of young Iranians in trendy apparel for merrily dancing without a care in the world on rooftops, accusing them of blatantly hurting "public chastity". The footloose crew (bar the evil  puppet-master: the director) was later released but only after issuing an on-camera apology about the error of their ways, their basic ignorance of the creator's deprived intentions and the inherent salaciousness of the whole endeavor. The authorities have thereby publically chastised the iconic film's ending (where dancing restrictions were lifted) and proclaimed the rightful (and righteous) alternative finale that should have been if the movie was anything other than another construct of unethical and ungodly propaganda.

 

These kind of authoritative interventions are part of a sustain effort to sent a strong message both domestically and internationally. To the wayward youth of Iran, illegally downloading Western pop culture trash, the message is plain: they are unintentionally corrupting their moral fiber and the consequences (spiritually and legally) are dire. To the decadent West the message is one of stout determination to expose the American plans to pervert the cosmic moral order, executed through popular entertainment which targets the unspoiled souls of the pious youth around the globe, enticing them to a life of mindless diversions and crass consumerism.

 

Dancing, pop music and fancy dress-up is of course just the tip of the iceberg where the Iranian moral authorities are concerned. There are numerous other debauched western mores that are shamelessly promoted through films, music videos, etc (which are rightly banned themselves), and staunchly forbidden domestically such as:

 

Jewelry for men: Any hip-hop video is as good as evidence as to the degradation of the male personhood. Such artifacts aim to subvert the divine order of male-over-female superiority through feminizing the male and equalizing the sexes. Also, it is a flagrant capitulation to the capitalistic practices of consumerism.

 

Dogs as pets: That satanic piece of Hollywood propaganda, the film "Cats & Dogs" & its sequel, depicting dogs as the heroic creatures fighting feline malevolence, is indicative of the USA's scheme of smearing cats in general and the Persian cat in particular. There is after all a long tradition of dog exultation and cat denigration in the West, evident for example in most classic TV cartoons (think Disney's Pluto vs Tom from Tom & Jerry). This long running scheme is also subliminally promoting the canine mentality of servility that is required for capitalism to flourish. 

 

Public kissing: With a strategic goal of lowering common standards of decency, promoting self-indulgence and unleashing repressed sexual urges in a master-plan to convert the indomitable Middle Eastern nations into an orgy of un-holiness, Western entertainment industry has been flooding the world with scenes of public kissing for more than 100 years. Between humans (in all the sex variations), between aliens (the Kanye West - Kim Kardasian "Bound 2" music video), humans & aliens ("Avatar"), and of course between dogs (Disney's "Lady and the tramp", another film promoting the dog superiority falacy). And let's not forget even more egregious examples of inter-species smooching in child-perverting, so-called fairytales, like the one between a royal household member and an amphibian.