Marty Kaplan
The Iranian government isn't happy about the depiction of their ancient Persian ancestors in the blood-drenched American film '300.' Neither is a group of Iranian filmmakers, who have protested to UNESCO. The knock is that the Persian ruler Xerxes is depicted as a decadent, freakish, 8-foot piercing queen, and that his swarthy soldiers resemble an army of al-Qaeda terrorists. "Hollywood Declares War on Iranians," said one newspaper headline in Tehran -- cultural and psychological warfare. The film is available in Iran only on the black market, but its abundant grosses in the US, fueled by its computer-graphics gore, will likely make it an international hit.

Everyone knows that a nation's "soft power" -- its cultural identity and exports -- is no less relevant to its global