12:48 pm - 02/28/2013
At Sunday night's Oscars, Michelle Obama presented the award for Best Picture. But a photo that an Iranian news agency released of the first lady's appearance seemed to be aiming for an award all its own: best visual effects.
In the image, Obama's dress was photoshopped in an apparent attempt to render it more modest and acceptable to local audiences.
Obama originally wore a stunning sleeveless pewter gown by Naeem Khan when she presented the night's top award in a surprise televised appearance from the White House.
But in the sartorial switcheroo, Iran's Fars News added sleeves and raised the dress' low neckline, changes that seemingly hewed more closely to local broadcast guidelines, which reportedly require women to cover their arms, legs and hair when appearing on Iranian state television.
The switch-up didn't surprise U.S. officials, who pointed out that it's not uncommon for Iranian media to alter images to suit their sensibilities.
"We've persistently seen Iranian news agencies, whether they're partially or fully state-run, use fabrication and use other means to distort images," deputy State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told ABC News.
Oscar twitpics and Instagrams: Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, more
Earlier, Fars News had taken issue with the first's lady's appearance on the show, saying in a statement, "In a rare occasion in Oscar history, the first lady announced the winner for Best Picture for the anti-Iran film, Argo, which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros."
It wasn't the only Iranian news outlet to blast the awards: Local website Asriran News had a bone to pick with Argo's win, writing, "Argo is a movie against Iran and it seems that [the deputy for cinema in Iran's Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance] Javad Shamghadri was not able to use his lobby to prevent an anti-Iran movie from winning."
SOURCE
Michelle Obama's Oscar Dress Photoshopped by Iranian Media
At Sunday night's Oscars, Michelle Obama presented the award for Best Picture. But a photo that an Iranian news agency released of the first lady's appearance seemed to be aiming for an award all its own: best visual effects.
In the image, Obama's dress was photoshopped in an apparent attempt to render it more modest and acceptable to local audiences.
Obama originally wore a stunning sleeveless pewter gown by Naeem Khan when she presented the night's top award in a surprise televised appearance from the White House.
But in the sartorial switcheroo, Iran's Fars News added sleeves and raised the dress' low neckline, changes that seemingly hewed more closely to local broadcast guidelines, which reportedly require women to cover their arms, legs and hair when appearing on Iranian state television.
The switch-up didn't surprise U.S. officials, who pointed out that it's not uncommon for Iranian media to alter images to suit their sensibilities.
"We've persistently seen Iranian news agencies, whether they're partially or fully state-run, use fabrication and use other means to distort images," deputy State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told ABC News.
Oscar twitpics and Instagrams: Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, more
Earlier, Fars News had taken issue with the first's lady's appearance on the show, saying in a statement, "In a rare occasion in Oscar history, the first lady announced the winner for Best Picture for the anti-Iran film, Argo, which is produced by the Zionist company Warner Bros."
It wasn't the only Iranian news outlet to blast the awards: Local website Asriran News had a bone to pick with Argo's win, writing, "Argo is a movie against Iran and it seems that [the deputy for cinema in Iran's Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance] Javad Shamghadri was not able to use his lobby to prevent an anti-Iran movie from winning."
SOURCE
Edited at 2013-02-28 06:13 pm (UTC)
The reason for that is very simple: I don't need to, because hundreds of other posters will take more than sufficient care of it. Whereas when it comes to Islam (or, more precisely, Islamism) related misogyny, we get crappy little apologist comments like your.
Regarding the second question: do you honestly believe that there are no Muslim women who see how misogynist the modesty rules enforced by Iran are? Of course there are also apologists, but why should I place a higher value on their judgement than on that of Muslim women like, say, Irshad Manji?
Edited at 2013-02-28 06:23 pm (UTC)
And whose culture is it exactly? The ayatollahs' culture, the revolutionary guards' culture. Why do they get to define what Iran's culture is? It's certainly not the culture of secular, modern young Iranian women. But we know that modesty rules are enforced on them, against their will and under threat of violence.
Edited at 2013-02-28 06:40 pm (UTC)
ty
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I don't get that everything in the world is fair game on this list, except Islam. To quote The Q Society:
Islam is not an ethnicity and Muslims are not members of 'the Islamic race'. Muslims come from all races and ethnicities. Identifying as Muslim in Australia and other free countries is a personal, arbitrary choice. Opposing Islam is no more racist, bigoted and xenophobic than it would be racist, bigoted and xenophobic to oppose radical Communism, violent Fascism, or the medieval state church burning unbelievers on stakes.
As to women's dress:
One often hears Muslim women are wearing the full face covering because they so wish, or out of religious respect and that women are in an equal, if not better position under Islam. We respectfully decline to give this argument much credibility. Only when the same modesty is prescribed for Islamic men as is required for Islamic women; and when Muslim women are free to choose their partners and their husbands in the same manner as Muslim men; and when the witness of a Muslim woman is equal to that of a Muslim man before Sharia law; and when young Muslim women and teenagers are free to do as they wish without the wrath and threats of their family; and when any other discriminatory practises have been purged from core Islamic teachings; then we will believe that women in Islam have indeed the same free choices as other Australians.