Did the Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi Steal Ideas?

Plus: the futile race to label Paul Pelosi’s attacker; how Republicans capitalized on the pandemic backlash; and a “Hamlet” that isn’t a bummer. View in browser | Update your preferences Monday, October 31, 2022 In today’s newsletter, an Oscar winner on trial, and then: • How Republicans capitalized on the pandemic backlash • The futile race to label Paul Pelosi’s attacker • A “Hamlet” that isn’t a bummer Did the Oscar-Winning Iranian Director Asghar Farhadi Steal Ideas? At a dangerous moment in Iran, the filmmaker stands accused by one of his former students. Azadeh Masihzadeh is among those who believe that Farhadi used their work. | Photograph by Forough Alaei for The New Yorker The Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s films tell stories of “good versus good,” Rachel Aviv writes, in an astonishing piece in this week’s issue, “a framework that is both revelatory and potentially dangerous, because it removes the moral valence of causing harm.” Aviv investigates a troubling pattern across Farhadi’s career: multiple accusations of intellectual theft have been levelled against him, but “the desire to hold him accountable is complicated by the fact that he is being oppressed by a much larger force”—of mounting threats to freedom from the regime in Iran. Many of those who accuse or suspect Farhadi of stealing ideas or failing to offer credit still feel a sense of loyalty toward him. Farhadi’s most recent film, “A Hero,” which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, in 2021, has been the subject of heated legal battles, for sharing remarkable similarities with a documentary made in 2014 by one of his students, Azadeh Masihzadeh. The case has taken an enormous toll on Masihzadeh, financially and psychologically, but, she says, “I feel that he is a human being, like all other human beings, who made a mistake. I just want him to be honest.” Years earlier, when “A Separation”—which became the first Iranian movie to win an Oscar, in 2012—premièred in Iran, another former student of Farhadi’s noticed that it seemed to draw from a film he had made in class. He hadn’t been credited. “I still loved Farhadi, and I loved the film,” the student said. “It was both an honor and a betrayal.” Aviv’s piece contains all the layers and moral complexity of one of Farhadi’s films, exploring the hunger for power and control in art, and the murkiness of the notion of authorship. “According to what scales, according to what system of weights and measures, can I recognize a behavior as ethical and another as not ethical?” Farhadi himself has said. “This is the greatest question of my life.” —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » From the News Desk Our Columnists The Futile Race to Label Paul Pelosi’s Attacker After an act of violence makes the news, reporters and social-media detectives scramble to pin down the assailant’s politics. What are we really trying to figure out? By Jay Caspian Kang Annals of Education The Inherent Contradictions in the Affirmative-Action Debate The Supreme Court takes on race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. By Emma Green The Political Scene How Republicans Claimed COVID as a Winning Campaign Issue The backlash against pandemic restrictions has become a more potent talking point than the public-health crisis itself. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells Daily Comment Inflation Is Obscuring Biden’s Pro-Labor Achievements The most pro-union President since F.D.R. has struggled to explain his vision for American workers. By E. Tammy Kim Daily Comment Can the Israeli Election Solve Anything? Either side could win. But to govern, the centrist bloc may be pushed right, and the rightist bloc to the extreme right. By Bernard Avishai Editor’s Picks Photo Booth A Son and His Mothers Reimagine “Suspiria” With his series “The Mother of Sighs,” the queer photographer Robert Hickerson shows his parents that horror can be as freeing as it is obscene. By Eren Orbey The Theatre A “Hamlet” That Isn’t a Bummer In a full-tilt production at BAM, Lars Eidinger gives the sad prince a punk, chaotic edge and turns familiar tragedy into Dionysian revel. By Helen Shaw Cover Story The illustrator Adrian Tomine talks about “Fall Sweep,” the cover of this week’s issue, and where he finds inspiration. “One of the great things about drawing covers for The New Yorker is that it’s changed my notion of what constitutes an ‘idea,’ ” he says. “I used to always be looking for stories or characters or dialogue, and now I can just zero in on a moment or even a mood, and then try to figure out how to convey that on paper.” Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger Daily Shouts House of Horrors, 2022 Edition Those who dare to enter must pay the fee! And it’s super high, thanks to inflation! By Ivan Ehlers and Teresa Burns Parkhurst Crossword A Challenging Puzzle Long-distance race that includes a mandatory twenty-four-hour stop: eight letters. By Kameron Austin Collins Daily Cartoon Monday, October 31st By Lynn Hsu P.S. If Halloween isn’t spooky enough for you already, consider exploring the world of haunted dolls. In 2017, Katherine Carlson wrote about the market for these items on eBay, which prohibits the sale of “intangible items” and “listings that offer someone’s ‘soul.’ ” Nevertheless, I took a look recently, and demand appears high for these “vessels.” One listing for a red-eyed “ACTIVE EVIL ENTITY,” dressed in ruffles and pearls, received more than twenty bids. The description reads: “I am not responsible for any experiences that do happen or do not happen once this doll is within your possession.” 👻 Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.