Blurring Faces in FARSNews Photos

Title Has Link To Original Files (CLICK click CLICK!) (scroll down a bit and you'll see the blurred faces)

France24's "Observers" is a great idea, and having any kind of citizen journalism is an even better idea. But, I hope that people do think about the truth or at least the highest form of any truth that is presented- i.e. misinformation from an observation can lead to lots of things; some good, some bad, some more than the other but by looking at information from different angles, we MIGHT be able to avoid disasters...anyone ever had a rumor go around about them about something that happened but someone accidentally added a little note to it? :(

They quoted me as a comment on their page, regarding these pictures, after I read up on Kamangir's Post Regarding the Blurred Faces (click!).

Here's what I said...I believe it and there's some of it that I need to know more about myself haha:

Blurring the face of a famous female actress would not hide her beauty or her allure for the people. Even if you visit the homes of religious clerics, they will tell you that these actresses are beautiful, sophisticated, and a symbol of the artistic and social society in which Iranians live but they need to cover themselves up- the idea of covering up women, and hiding them away from the grip of a male-dominated society ignores the implications; men are weak and bound to take advantage of women, women are incapable of guarding and living their own lives without a male patriarch. It's just an age-old mindset, worlds apart from the one that I grew up in (the States) and that you live in.

After blurring their faces, will they have more control over the perspective that the average Iranian has towards beauty and towards their own sexual aggressions? I don't think so...they have just begun expanding their DSL internet system in Tehran- the Internet has no qualms against a gorgeous face or body.

In Iran, young boys already know about sex, flirting, and girls...even the religious children brought up within the shadow of a Mosque. There's no blurring tool built into the human psyche- instinct will gradually wear away at those young men and women and they will realize that it's just a scare tactic. They already do...now we just wonder what will happen next.

Thanks for posting about this issue, my goodness, there are many issues ignored by the world and this is one of them- it may seem trivial but it's a window to the world that Iranians live in...the Fajr Film Festival is one of the most famous in Iran, that all walks of life enjoy- so it's not just an issue that Liberal Iranians or Hardline Iranians are impacted by!

However, I went through lots of other info later on and today. I still believe what I wrote was mindful of the greater picture but at the same time I don't think that those pictures were blurred to hide their faces...it's just not enough evidence or implication since there were lots of other pictures where their faces WERE shown.

Does this mean that FARS news agency doesn't employ tactics that demean those women who don't want to follow Islamic/IRI rules (women's rights activists, etc...)? Of course not.

But in this case, I think it's an admirable post that refers to something that I don't believe is true. The post would be great if it talked about the fact that women in Iranian Cinema can't play roles that aren't permitted by the government - that's sad. But again, I could be wrong about these photos and I don't doubt that they have or will do such things but right now that's not what REALLY happened.

I also noticed a few bloggers constantly dismissing Kamangir and other writers...I smell a little jealousy, cruelty, and hate in those thoughts...Kamangir has been a good writer/citizen journalist...everyone makes mistakes and nobody should be penalized or ostracized for having had the wrong assumptions (wrong for now, but it's up in the air for that one)