'Soraya M.': Shaping Hollywood with Our Wallets

Last week, I finally saw “The Stoning of Soraya M.” at a special screening. The film tells the haunting and disturbing tale of an innocent Iranian woman murdered in cold blood in a tyrannical society. It has been reviewed numerous times here at Big Hollywood, and I will spare you another, other than to say it is a deeply moving and effective drama.

While the story itself is quite unnerving and will sit with you for days, what is most upsetting about the film is that it did not hit the mainstream in the way that it deserved. This is unfortunate because the story of Soraya should be heard all over the world.

So often we hear of the injustices that occur in our world today, shake our heads and move on to our daily tasks not wholly understanding what we have just talked about. This film doesn’t allow us to do that. Instead, the film places a vivd and graphic picture of the suffering and torture that is occurring in our world at this very moment. This film is not about promoting political ideologies, or pushing religious dogma, but rather is about bringing awareness to a topic that is almost altogether ignored by our society, and does so with the highest of artistic integrity.

As we seek to change the worldview of films that are made in Hollywood, it is incumbent upon us to support films like “The Stoning of Soraya M”, which simply tell a story, raise awareness, but do not preach. If we, as viewers, want Hollywood to continue making films like this we must show the industry that these films are financially viable. Therefore, I urge you to purchase a copy of “The Stoning of Soraya M.,” when was released yesterday on DVD. If we are to help Hollywood to ever get back to a stage where it tells stories that are worth hearing, we can start by showing the way with a little cash. In this town, that speaks louder than words.