"::::Given that a fair number of Hollywood studios are owned either by large US conglomerates or Japanese firms, no, it's not easy to guess who made the movie. It's also hard for many other cultures to understand that there is very little control over things called ""art"". Now, I personally do not believe the government should be in the business of subsidizing the arts, but that isn't meant as a means of censorship. Some years ago, there was anger that a particular artist, partially supported by National Endowment for the Arts funding, created something he called ""Piss Christ"", a crucifix in a jar of his urine. Yes, there were protests, but, in a country that is largely Christian, no particular violence. Routinely, there are movies, books, etc., that are offensive to one group or another, and I believe it a strength of our society that, overall, there is plenty of opportunity to protest peacefully, and, when it is a commercial effort such as a movie, send an economic message. The government, however, cannot and should not ban a movie because it offends some group; that attitude reflects a widely held national appreciation for freedom of expression  and freedom to protest against other peoples' expression. The movie may have been a large issue in Iran, but both cultures, to live together, have to recognize that they do have different values that fit their societies, and they are not going to make fundamental changes in each other. 

 ::::With all due respect, there are Americans that know and respect your culture going back to antiquity. There are Americans that are aware of things such as the overthrow of Mossadegh, consider it a terrible idea, but also understand the US context that led to it happening. One of the reasons Bush is so unpopular is that he is regularly doing things that other Administrations considered, to different extents, unwise. At the same time, Iranians need to understand that there are things that caused very deep popular resentment to Iran. Whether Iranians felt justified or not by the US admitting the Shah for medical treatment, rather than returning him for trial, the Embassy seizure remains a source of anger. I recognize that all of Iran didn't decide to do that, nor did the average Iranian take part in mining the Gulf. Nevertheless, I hear a certain sensitivity on some Iranians' part that the fault for bad relations is totally on the US side, and that doesn't contribute to solving the problems. 

 ::::Iran, I believe, has done some positive things for Afghanistan, which are subtle enough that they were not recognized by nonspecialists. That's unfortunate.    

 "