5,000 Groups and Classes Showing Our Iran DVD

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I recently sent the entertainment director of my parents’ retirement community — a bunch of snowbirds in Desert Hot Springs — a copy of my Iran DVD. A week or so later, he emailed me a huge thanks, saying 300 of his gang packed their theater to watch the program. That caused me to think, “Wow…imagine all the groups in the USA who could share this documentary.” So, I sent out the following letter to our entire e-list, and within a week we had received $5 from over 5,000 group leaders and teachers promising to share this video during a special “humanize Iran” event. That made me one happy tour guide. Here’s the communiqué and the deal:

Calling All Communities: Get Rick’s Iran DVD for $5Pull together a group of friends to watch my Iran DVD, and you can have it for $5. Our new Rick Steves’ IranDVD (the public television special which recently aired across the USA) is selling well at $19.95. But what’s really made me happy is how many teachers, pastors, church groups, book clubs, senior centers, university groups, neighborhood potlucks, and community leaders have told us they want to show it to their groups and have a discussion.

To encourage more of this, I’ve decided to contribute as many DVDs as it takes, for a very special price.

If you belong to ANY kind of group and want to show our Iran DVD to your gang, you can have a copy for $5 including shipping. You don’t need to be a “leader,” and “group” can be defined very loosely! Simply send us a $5 check. You’ll get your DVD in the mail along with a copy of my 48-page Iran Journaland a sheet of discussion ideas to get the conversation going.

Travel is fun, eye-opening, and sometimes life-changing. It can even help change the world. Thanks for being part of that community.

The offer still stands. Nothing would make me happier than to see this thing “go viral” — so please feel free to forward this information to anyone you think might be interested! If you’d like to share this with your class or group, go to ricksteves.com/iran and see how.

Comments

32 Replies to “5,000 Groups and Classes Showing Our Iran DVD”

  1. If you want it to go viral, why not put the whole program online? If not on your website, then at least on vimeo.com or YouTube. That would generate a lot of views from people with a casual interest.

  2. Rick, this may be a silly Iran question, but since I can’t seem to find the answer… Every cityscape I see of Tehran shows a backdrop of beautiful, towering snow-capped mountains. So, do Iranians (or at least, Tehranians) ski?

  3. Thank you so much for this offer. I saw this show on our local PBS channel (KVIE in Sacramento) and enjoyed it very much. I teach English to immigrants, mostly Pakistanis, Mexicans, Laotians, and Russians. They are very interested in each others cultures and I think they will really enjoy this.

  4. Since our president extended an offer to open communications with IRan and they spit on his hand I am not as hopeful as I had been

  5. Tom: There sure is skiing in Iran. Tehran IS ringed by mountains. Shemshak is the nicest resort for accomplished skiers. There are a whole bunch of other ski resorts around Tehran. Rick, fantastic idea and very generous of you.

  6. Nancy, saw your comment just as I posted my first one. I hope you will google for Obama’s actual “offer” to Iran and see for yourself that it was quite the “political” offer. You might feel differently about who spit in whose hand, when you do. Remember to look for the actual text, not what some paper reported he said. There is a huge difference sometimes. I do love Obama, but his “offer” was clumsy at best. This is my second comment, so I guess I’ll have to bite my tongue when the hot comments roll in. To save everyone time: Yes, I’m a liberal and yes, I love Iran…just not everything about it. And I have already been to Iran many times, so don’t bother inviting me to go back there “since I love it so much”.

  7. I agree, if this thing went viral it would be totally awesome. I just think if you really want to get it out there, you have to remember the structure of Generations. Sending in the $5 would work well for the boomers, but the technology generations would probably be much more into clicking on a youtube link or a download link. Seeing as though you’re probably not making much off of the $5 anyway, and you really want this thing to spread, put it online. I missed it on TV and still haven’t seen it (heard about it on your podcast) I would be first in line if you put it on the net.

  8. The DVD’s are great, but I know the young done with college adults in my family would not be interested in a DVD, it needs to get out there in their kind of media. Because they are going to be incharge of things some day and hopefully can do a better job.

  9. Gunther makes a good point. Most of us get “the news” by reading some paper’s recap of it, which they often get from a press release from some political office, written by someone in that office who has not read the actual documents or knows about the event in question, but rather writes what a flunky tells them, and that flunky works for the people in charge. In other words, by the time the news reaches your ears it’s been through four or five gate-keepers, all with their own agendas/biases/limitations. This is how so much bad legislation gets passed. And you’ll hear “Well, people voted for it.” But they knew not for what they were voting. In this internet age, the only way to find out what’s really going on is to get your hands on the original item in question and READ IT YOURSELF. And if that is literally impossible, it’s best to bite your tongue and admit you don’t know beans, even if you have the illusion of being informed because you watch cable news.

  10. I’m thrilled to see other people feel the same way. When my husband and I first saw the Iran program on OPB, it had such an impact on us. Our eyes welled up & we said to each other, “Everyone in America needs to see this!” I ordered the DVD. I loaned it to family & friends to ensure they saw this program. I announced it to all my Facebook friends & passed it around. Just announcing it on Facebook got people watching for the next airing. I think it is absolutely critical as many people see this show as possible.

  11. Gunther I read the message and it was a good message. Iran wants too much. Russia, England, Germany and France (three of whom are our greatest critics) thought it was a great start so if they are on the same page as me maybe you are off page.

  12. Rick, thank you for making this great offer to groups. It really is a great program and should be seen by everyone. A demonization of a people is impossible when the people are no longer strangers. That does not mean we will not have disagreements, but it means that we will at first strive with all our might to communicate about our differences rather than resort to the sword. Of course, it is still acceptable to demonize PETA terrorists. :)

  13. Rick how do you feel about the cheezy gift of an IPOD that OBama gave the queen and the fact he insulted the whole of Great Britian by sending a bust of Churchill back to England after they offered to extend it on loan.

  14. Or how aboout the cheesy gift of CDs given to Gordon Brown that don’t even play in Great Britain? I have read that no one on Mr. Obama’s staff knew that there is a separate office in the State Department that deals with the problem of what gifts to give to heads of state or government. The Queen solves the problem easily–everyone gets an autographed photo of herself and Prince Philip in an expensive frame.

  15. Well done. I bought a copy of the Iran dvd and have shown the program to my geography students. They liked the show very much!

  16. You misunderstand, Proud. Mr. Obama is new at the job and he needs help in certain areas. His staff is not doing its best for him. I have been hoping that smart folks such as Rahm Emmanuel would be there to smooth some of the bumps in the road as they should and not allow him to stumble on such matters as gift-giving. Let’s not forget that the Brits were very upset over his gifts to their Prime Minister–the word insulting was used. Good staff does allow for such lapses.

  17. Really good staff do not facilitate government-sanctioned hit squads on people that don’t do the Administration’s bidding; or out a dedicated CIA operative defending the world from loose nukes, thereby putting that woman in jeopardy, because the Exec. Branch didn’t like what her spouse had to say in an op-ed piece; or act on an Administration’s order to gut, raze, then completely politicize our Justice Dept. with an apparent aim to give benign neglect to all forms of CIVIL RIGHTS; or allow an Administration to bungle the interdepartmental structure so severely, that people on the Gulf Coast could not get real help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Really good staff surely wouldn’t let a President sit idly for very close to 10 minutes after being told his country is under attack. To Toby and Louisa (and anyone else), I proffer this to illustrate the folly of wrestling over the tiniest of matters. QEII was having a ball hosting Our First Lady, and Londoners welcomed our The Obamas with open arms. Now if only the President would press ahead and prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rove and the rest of their “good staff” the way other nations desire to….

  18. Alfran, Way to leave them grinding their teeth, stomping their feet and holding their breath until they turn blue.

  19. Alfran you doing coke with Barry? You really need to examine facts not liberal talking points. You just sound like a nut otherwise.

  20. To bite from “Proud that Obama represents Me”…it that really all you have–insults? You really do not know me, Ken, and your belligerence doesn’t stand up against anything I commented on. And until you can remember the name is President Barack Obama, perhaps you should troll somewhere else. I’ve never done illegal narcotics once in my life, and it’s rather sad you resort to name calling and basic disrespect. I defy you to present a real rebuttal. Getting back to the topic; Mr. Steves, I look forward to seeing more thought-provoking work like the Iran special. However, you really need to consider what Judy proposes on expanding the media. We need to get this to as many young people as possible…..

  21. Terrific service to mankind, Rick. You bring real knowledge to us all. “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance…it is the illusion of knowledge” -Stephen Hawking – Unfortunately, too many Americans think they get real knowledge from Fox News kinds of people.

  22. I wonder how long the President of Notre Dame will be president after Obama finishes that infamous visit. I see some velvet glove Vatican intervention after the Presidents visit. Hope Jenkins enjoyed his time in office there

  23. My first time to read your blog. Once started, I couldn’t stop so I thought I should tell you how interesting and informative they are. I’ve been on three of your tours and I hope to go on at least three more. Great job. Keep up the good work of making our world accessible and understandable.

  24. Thanks so much for taking the risk to do this documentary and for helping more Americans to see that Iranians are not all wearing black chadors and shouting “death to America”. I’m American and have visited 6 times over the last 10 years…..the Iranian people are just like Americans in all the important ways…..they want their families to be safe and a better life for their children, a roof over their heads and food to eat. They love to party and are so very hospitable and generous. People are always very happy to know I’m American and never has anyone said anything unfriendly to me. They see a huge distinction between the American government and the American People. Thanks so much for showing the real Iran, with all its pluses and minuses just like us, and balancing the mass media portrayal of Iran as a country full of fanatics. We don’t need to fear them, we need to understand them and your documentary goes a long way in that regard.

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  26. Rick, Hi! I want to thank you for doing such a great special on your visit to Iran. I am mixed race Persian/Hispanic American. I was born and raised USA like any other American kid until 12 yrs old in the states. Father Persian and mom Hispanic American. My father moved us to Iran in 1973 and we fled with just a suitcase in 1978 minus my dad. I have a book I am writing on my time in Iran and what it was like as primarily as an American. I can see from your wonderful special that not much has changed and I am so grateful that you captured the main thing and that is that “Persians or Iranians love Americans”. They love America! I tell anyone I meet this and I want everyone to know this. They Love American People. They are completely fascinated with us. I speak of the people and not the government or any other political situation. They are a beautiful people and they really do not want anything from us or anyone. They have great pride of over 2000 years and are just a beautiful culture of people. Rick you did a fabulous job of conveying your message “That People are People wherever you go”. You did a fabulous job of talking with the common people too. You also captured the true beauty of the history, culture and the travels that you went on within Iran. I hope that when people see the special they will feel the warmth of the Iranian people. I have been back to the states since 1978 and I am now 49 years old and to this date I have never felt that warmth or the love of the people or the life that I experienced in Iran. Yet, as an a true American there is no other place I would rather be then the good old USA. I am grateful for my time over there but, would never exchange it for the rights and freedom that I have as an American in the USA. thank you again and what a great documentary. Ozzy

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