Festivals for 'Insight Enhancement' in Soft War

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, who previously declared the main priority of the country to be countering the 'soft war of the enemy,' recently introduced the film 'American Sniper' by Clint Eastwood as an example of this war, labeling it as a film that 'encourages' the harassment of Muslims by Hollywood. Although Mr. Khamenei claimed he had not seen 'American Sniper,' his statements indicating that the film 'encourages a young person, say a Christian or non-Muslim, to harass Muslims as much as they can' highlight the importance of cinema as a tool in the realm of 'soft war' for him. Following Khamenei's remarks, his statements were widely circulated by cyber activists of Hezbollah in the virtual sphere, with some criticizing 'American Sniper' and assessing it as part of 'Islamophobia.' The film recounts the missions of Christopher Scott Kyle, a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs in Iraq and his activities in that country. Some Hezbollah cyber activists have described Kyle as a wolf in sheep's clothing, claiming that Eastwood, by portraying him as a hero, has created a new model for American youth. Clerics and military officials in Iran, particularly Khamenei, view the soft war as a 'gradual and covert' battle that requires 'insight and clarity' to recognize; perhaps this is why the Supreme Leader has explicitly referred to examples of this war after the events of 2009. Moreover, his correspondence with Western youth and specific references to manifestations of the enemy's soft war can be seen as a sign of the loudness of Western propaganda and concern over its impact on domestic forces. Analyzing the reactions of Hezbollah activists on social networks shows that Khamenei's supporters have almost unanimously praised the visual aspects and technical features of 'American Sniper,' considering it impactful. The Supreme Leader previously defined soft war as 'war through cultural tools, through influence, through lies, through spreading rumors with advanced tools that did not exist 10, 15, or 30 years ago.' The concern over the so-called 'lasting' impact of soft war on the target country's people is considered significant because regime officials believe that if beliefs and values change, political structures will also change. Insight enhancement, the tax of insight, the Supreme Leader, who referred to his supportive students as 'soldiers of the soft war,' has identified the most important target of the global 'arrogance' front as the Islamic Republic and the most important 'weapon' they use as 'propaganda.' He has urged the youth to not only recognize the truth for themselves but also to enlighten their surrounding environment and clarify matters for them. Mr. Khamenei, with these remarks, did not limit his expectations of 'soft war officers' to individual efforts to reach the 'truth' but also called on them to work to publicize this 'truth.' Among the activities of the Supreme Leader's supporters to fulfill part of these expectations in the realm of 'soft war' are the holding of the 'Ammar' and 'New Horizon' film festivals, as well as the 'Wet Gunpowder' festival. The name of the 'Ammar' festival was determined after Khamenei referred to Ammar Yasir's actions in the Battle of Siffin in 'clarifying the truth' and standing against the psychological warfare of the Muawiya faction. The organizers of this festival, who have managed to meet with Khamenei, announced that they have a critical approach towards some domestic festivals due to their 'complete imitation of Western examples' and are seeking 'innovation' to move in the direction of the revolution and the goals of the regime. Among the conservative and Hezbollah cultural activists involved in five editions of this festival are Farajollah Salahshour, Nader Talebzadeh, Abolqasem Talebi, Masoud Dehnamaki, Saeed Ghasemi, Vahid Jalili, Sadegh Ahangar, and Alireza Ghazveh. Ahmad Jannati, the Secretary of the Guardian Council, also urged Hezbollah forces at the closing ceremony of the fourth edition of this festival in 2013 to make films about the events of 2009 so that no one else would 'dare' to defend those events and to make the 'youth' hate the protesters against the election results. However, the independent filmmakers' festival 'New Horizon' has had a different fate; this festival, which was supposed to be held for the second time simultaneously with the anniversary of September 11 with the presence of anti-American and 'anti-Zionist' artists and theorists in Tehran, has been postponed indefinitely. While Nader Talebzadeh, its secretary, had asked the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture to help hold this festival better, the festival's secretariat announced its postponement. Hojjatollah Ayubi, the head of the Cinema Organization, in response to a question about the fate of the 'New Horizon' festival, made a sarcastic remark saying that if we are sure that an action or festival is against 'global Zionism,' we will definitely support it. He added, 'If we feel that a program is just a show and a display, we certainly have neither the budget nor the time to hold a film festival.' Although some supporters of this festival also sent an open letter to Hassan Rouhani requesting the festival to be held again so that 'dissidents and truth-seekers of the world' could make their voices heard amid this 'media uproar,' at least no response from Rouhani to this letter was published in the media. The indifference of the Ministry of Culture, the warm reception of another active festival in the realm of insight enhancement that addresses cultural issues and global political approaches based on the regime's policies is the 'Wet Gunpowder' award, which hardline conservatives call an 'international-popular' award. The 'Wet Gunpowder' award is held in line with Khamenei's statements and aims to 'counter the soft war of enemies who have reached a deadlock in the hard front' and is awarded annually to opponents of the Islamic Republic who 'unintentionally reveal a conspiracy or sinister plan against Iran.' The first edition of this festival awarded its prize to Michelle Obama, the wife of Barack Obama, the President of the United States, in reaction to the Academy Award given to the film 'Argo.' At the 85th Academy Awards, Mrs. Obama announced the film 'Argo' directed by Ben Affleck, which tells the story of the rescue of six Americans after the 1979 attack on the U.S. embassy in Tehran. This award, which faced anger from Islamic Republic officials, was declared by some political-military figures, including Mohammad Reza Naqdi, as a sign of the 'political' nature of the Academy Awards and the activities of this academy under the supervision of the White House. The second round of this festival's award was also jointly awarded in 2013 to Taria Cronberg and Catherine Ashton due to their meeting with a group of human rights activists at the Austrian and Greek embassies in Tehran. The nominees for the third round of this award included Claudia Roth, Vice President of the German Parliament, Manuel Valls, Prime Minister of France, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, John McCain, U.S. Senator, and David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. However, the news agency Dana reported that Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, also left the letter from the festival's secretary, who had asked him to dedicate a ceremonial section as the 'Wet Gunpowder' award at the Fajr International Film Festival, unanswered. The silence of this letter from the supporters of the 'Wet Gunpowder' festival has been interpreted as the Minister of Culture's 'anger' towards 'revolutionary' youth. The activists of the 'Wet Gunpowder' award have expressed hope that Ali Jannati will surprise the officials of this festival at the '90th minute' and will be present among them and will be at the forefront like other festivals. However, the organizers are not waiting for a possible action from the Ministry of Culture and have sent a letter to Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij Organization, requesting his 'moral' support for their festival; meanwhile, since the first round of the 'Wet Gunpowder' award, Mohammad Reza Naqdi and other figures from the Basij Organization have been alongside this festival. It seems that the policies of the Ministry of Culture of the eleventh government regarding these types of festivals and the experience of shutting down the 'New Horizon' festival due to the cessation of financial support from this ministry and reluctance to cooperate in holding it are serious motivations for the correspondence of the 'Wet Gunpowder' festival organizers with Naqdi. Especially since the Basij Organization has seriously put the other demand of the Supreme Leader regarding the realization of 'resistant economy' on its agenda in line with countering sanctions for two years.