http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/05/15/review-of-jafar-panahis-offside/ Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:07:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/05/15/review-of-jafar-panahis-offside/#comment-21153 Kathy Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:42:42 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/05/15/review-of-jafar-panahis-offside/#comment-21153 Great review of Offside. I watched the movie last night, and really appreciated the chance to see what life is like in Iran. I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it, but you're right about why the filmmakers didn't show more soccer scenes. Very astute! I like your review so much that I link to it from my blog posting today. http://www.kchristieh.com/blog/?p=979 Thanks!! Great review of Offside. I watched the movie last night, and really appreciated the chance to see what life is like in Iran. I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it, but you’re right about why the filmmakers didn’t show more soccer scenes. Very astute!
I like your review so much that I link to it from my blog posting today. http://www.kchristieh.com/blog/?p=979
Thanks!!

]]> http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/05/15/review-of-jafar-panahis-offside/#comment-730 Culture of Soccer » Blog Archive » What I'm Reading: June 9, 2007 Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:49:30 +0000 http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/05/15/review-of-jafar-panahis-offside/#comment-730 [...] Club soccer is not the only place to make money. The World Cup is among the most profitable of sporting events in the world. But as Simon Kuper pointed out this week in the Financial Times, the benefits Germany has accrued from hosting last summer’s tournament were more than monetary. The most lasting effect of the 2006 World Cup may be an improving of the German “brand.” As Kuper writes, foreigners’ opinions of Germany improved as did those of Germans about their own country. The successful hosting of the World Cup, Kuper believes, helped to put to rest outdated views of Germans as “xenophobic neo-Nazis.”One country whose soccer dealings may not be improving its national image is Iran. This week, a game between the Iranian national team and a German club team was cancelled due to “technical problems.” The match would have marked the first time an Iranian women’s team had played outside the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. The details behind this game in many ways mirror the situation Iran’s government is embroiled in over its nuclear program. Just as the government employs a policy of reaching out to, then pulling back from Westerners in relation to its nuclear program, so too did the government initially agree to allow this game to go ahead before changing its mind. Those who suffer as a result are Iran’s female players (which comes as little surprise, given how reluctant the country is to allow its women to be involved with the game, even as fans). [...] [...] Club soccer is not the only place to make money. The World Cup is among the most profitable of sporting events in the world. But as Simon Kuper pointed out this week in the Financial Times, the benefits Germany has accrued from hosting last summer’s tournament were more than monetary. The most lasting effect of the 2006 World Cup may be an improving of the German “brand.” As Kuper writes, foreigners’ opinions of Germany improved as did those of Germans about their own country. The successful hosting of the World Cup, Kuper believes, helped to put to rest outdated views of Germans as “xenophobic neo-Nazis.”One country whose soccer dealings may not be improving its national image is Iran. This week, a game between the Iranian national team and a German club team was cancelled due to “technical problems.” The match would have marked the first time an Iranian women’s team had played outside the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. The details behind this game in many ways mirror the situation Iran’s government is embroiled in over its nuclear program. Just as the government employs a policy of reaching out to, then pulling back from Westerners in relation to its nuclear program, so too did the government initially agree to allow this game to go ahead before changing its mind. Those who suffer as a result are Iran’s female players (which comes as little surprise, given how reluctant the country is to allow its women to be involved with the game, even as fans). [...]

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