We have to at least give HBO some credit for covering a story that desperately needs to be told. Here is the story that the new documentary presents us: One year ago, the airwaves were abuzz with by-the-minute updates concerning the mounting political unrest in the Islamic “Republic” of Iran, then the arena in which hundreds of thousands of protesters had taken to the streets of Tehran and other major cities across the country. Having been made infamous in the West for its vertically-challenged anti-Semitic political leader President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s constant verbal barrage against Israel and her allies (in other words, America alone), Iran and her governing body of dictatorial Sharia has long stood against the forces of democracy, and routinely gives the cold shoulder to international non-governmental organizations seeking redress for the state’s countless human rights violations.
All this considered, the Western world in general reacted with bewilderment at the sight of hundreds of thousands of Iranian citizens standing up in protest, not against Israel, America, or other democracies, but against the regime of Ayatollah Khameini (the true, unelected ruler of Iran). At the source of this explosion of discontent was the blatantly rigged reelection of Ahmadinejad, in spite of the majority of support having been shown for presidential candidate and ex-Prime Minister Mousavi, whose supporters became outraged when the government announced Ahmadinejad’s reelection before the ballots had even been counted.
As the government became increasingly intolerant of the protests, military police were dispatched to quell the resistance, using deadly force if necessary. As the chaos spread, one of the victims, 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan was shot, bleeding to death on the street as her friends tried in vain to save her. Caught on camera, her death became a rallying point for the anti-Khameini movement, her story finally becoming so central to the resistance that the government initiated a wave of propaganda accusing her of being a CIA operative, an actress, and countless other allegations which have fallen flat except among the most fervent of Khameini-supporters. Her family was prohibited from mourning, and the government saw to it that they would be unable to bury her according to their religious tradition. Soon her face became a symbol of what many saw as a coming revolution- and still do, as the documentary’s conclusion makes clear.
The filmmakers devote considerable time to fleshing out Neda as an individual, an ordinary young woman, rather than as the symbol she has become for the so-called Green Movement for democratic Iranians. Her family is interviewed extensively, and each of her family members is granted time in turn to reflect upon their lost daughter and sister. What emerges is the image of a free-thinking, assertive young lady whose conscience led her to the rejection, not only of the corruption in the government, but in her educators' views of almighty God. Having possessed a deep faith in the divine, she had at first taken interest in courses covering Islamic religious law at her university, but quickly dropped out of the program. Some interviewees remember her explaining that the God she had come to know was "compassionate" and "merciful", not wrathful and prone to fits of rage against humanity like she was being taught in class. The film devotes precious little time to the examination of Neda’s personal religious identity, and viewers are left wondering from what source her convictions originated. From there, a portrait is painted of a girl who loved to dance, to be with her family, to speak her mind, and dreamed of travelling the world.
As the film concludes, the experts gathered by the filmmakers make final remarks about what they see as the coming revolution in Iran. As one woman asserts, “It’s over. It will take time but it’s over.” … Ok. In other words, she has no idea what is going to happen. Her statement alone is demonstrative of the odd naiveté on display from the “experts” in general, who all seem to come to the unlikely conclusion that the negative attention generated by Neda’s murder in the world media will somehow lead to the gradual demise of the Islamic “Republic.” Painful as it is to admit, the would-be revolutionaries of last summer’s protests are now deep in hiding, fearful of the latest brutal crackdown on political dissention (read about it here: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/inside-iran-underground-opposition-year-deadly-protest/story?id=10953946).
Furthermore, knowing full well the political slant HBO has given their films in the past, it would not be much of a stretch to suppose that this gushing optimism over the prospects for democratic victory in Iran is nothing but an attempt to distract viewers from a fact that, one year ago, was painfully obvious: When the military police were unleashed on the protesters, the United States government under President Obama did nothing. Sure, you might argue, he made a political statement- when pressured. But a general statement of dissatisfaction from Barack Obama’s mouth means nothing to the Iranian leaders who know full well that his is not an ideology that would permit action that would actually threaten them, leaving them free to oppress their people at their leisure. True, a clear plan of action at the time was nonexistent. But it is nonetheless true that someone in the West- land of democracies, birthplace of liberty- ought to have taken a stand.
But more painful, and even more obvious in hindsight, is that our president probably WOULD have been pressured into taking a stand- until the death of Michael Jackson. As a pro-democracy movement was beaten back by a dictatorial regime in a manner reflective of the repression in Eastern Europe decades ago, America was too busy mourning a dead pop star to care. Had HBO seen fit to observe these obvious facts, ‘For Neda’ would have had firmer ground to stand on.
Neda's story and those like it will remain of the utmost importance to free men and women everywhere. Hers was not an unusual fate in the eyes of history, but the norm. Tyranny thrives today as in ages past, and as has been the case for millennia, those who yearn for liberty face an uphill battle.
Appeal to Heaven.
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