It is a history of intellectual emancipation from the inherited perceptions of social reality, and from political and social domination. Lights, camera, revolution reorient middle eastern. Throughout its fiftyyear history, iranian cinema has a profound as well as superficially religious essence. A history of iran, one of several recent books that aim to draw back the gloomy curtain of recent events, aims to increase the general readers awareness of the richness and uniqueness of the iranian heritage. Politics, representation and identity, edited by soass now retired head of the department of sociology and anthropology, richard tapper, is. A political history find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. After a brief period of research it became obvious that the empire. Its visual language, although non legible by hollywoods tradition, has made its poetic, theoretical and social discourses concerning the nature of human experience, knowledge, history, value, reality. Finally, the rivers of iran, racing swiftly through. He was famed for having made many christians converts to islam. Covering the period from the early nineteenth century to the present day, modern iran. Film, since its inception, has danced in the shadows of wild political change. Pdf the role of portrait in iranian cinema posters design.
This seminar explores iranian culture, art, history and politics through film in the contemporary era. The development of iranian cinema after the islamic revolution. Most significant to the history of iranian cinema was perhaps the coming to power of reza shah in 1926 and a forced modernisation programme, which lead to mass urbanisation. Certain iranian qualities have always been deeply embedded in iranian cinema. The investigation of the most frequent concepts in the.
Iranian films are usually written and spoken in the persian. Sociology of islam political islam intellectual history of. Scholars in history and cinema and media studies have explored various aspects of the relationship between hollywood and politics. Death of alternative sexualities in bollywood cinema april 7. Children in contemporary iranian cinema the new iranian. The history of iran, which was commonly known until the mid20th century as persia in the western world, is intertwined with the history of a larger region, also to an extent known as greater iran, comprising the area from anatolia, the bosphorus, and egypt in the west to the borders of ancient india and the syr darya in the east, and from the. We will examine a variety of works that represent the social, political, economic and cultural circumstances of postrevolutionary iran. Iran, a mountainous, arid, and ethnically diverse country of southwestern asia. Cultural clash tests the limits of a couple preparing for their wedding. Despite its venom and its harm in the long term, it is not receiving the attention that. The new urban dwellers needed a new form of entertainment hence a whole wave of silent films emerged in the 1930s with movie houses packed with this new generation of city.
The iranian revolution past, present and future glittering achievements, the sassanid empire was characterised by extreme oppression of the downtrodden masses. It makes use of a combination of documents that include newspapers and the periodical press, diaries, memoirs, letters, speeches, and. A critical analysis of the 2009 feature film, my tehran for sale, written and directed by the avantgarde iranian poetturnedfilmmaker, granaz moussavi, which won the independent spirit. The author traces the relationship of iranian cinema to recent socialpolitical movements in iran, namely reformism and womens movement, and shows how international acclaim has been instrumental in filmmakers engagement with matters of political importance in iran. Negotiating the politics of representation in iranian womens. But in iran, cinema virtually replaced most forms of mass entertainment for various political, economical, historical and cultural reasons. A history in documents brings together primary sources in translation that shed light on aspects of the political, social, cultural, and intellectual history of modern iran. Drawing on newspaper articles, film announcements, official documents, and poems, i show how, despite the absence of a centralized cinema institution in the 1910s and early 1920s, cosmopolitan citizens in dialogue with global trends promoted cinema as a means for the governance of selfhood and moral edification in the service of national progress.
The availability of iranian director abbas kiarostamis 1990 film, closeup, on dvd and vhs is a welcome event. These places we call home, examines issues of cultural identity and dual nationality from the vantage point of three generations of iranians living in iran, canada and germany. It is often imprecisely referred to as historical revisionism, but that term also applies to legitimate academic reinterpretations of the historical record that diverge from previously accepted views. Additionally, academic literature pertaining to music, theatre, cinema, and popular culture was consulted. Sabzi and the question of womens skilled domestic labor, or.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, irans islamic revolution shocked the world and redrew the map of global alliances. The new iranian cinema politics, representation, and. The promise of iranian cinema world socialist web site. Early cinema was brought to iran by one of the last qajar shahs and gradually came to exposure with the greater public at large. He is well known for his publications on various subjects such as football, cinema, and nonfiction based on history and social studies. By evaluating the cinematic history of iran, what is the new iranian cinema, and. This international stature both fascinates western observers and appears paradoxical in line with perceptions of iran as antimodern. Dasture zaban grammar, encyclopedia of persian language and literature. Rawnsley radio diplomacy and propaganda the bbc and voa in international politics, 195664. Political, artistic original poetic language philosophical tones.
Peterson recognition of governments legal doctrine and state practice, 18151995 gary d. The category of iranian new wave cinema share qualities with italian neorealism and french new wave cinema. A brief critical history of iranian feature film 18961975 by. Other afghan languages include hazaragi, uzbek, and turkmen.
It offers those not residing in a handful of large cities or able to attend film. Duke university press a social history of iranian cinema. The chapter also explores the history of iranian cinema, noting the most. The new public diplomacy soft power in international relations peter neville appeasing hitler the diplomacy of sir nevile henderson, 193739 m. The history of cinema and documentary in iran was started in the court of squirarchy.
Furthermore, a large pool of cinematic productions was studied for narrative analysis. The iranian diasporasome 5 to 6 million exilesis even more reflective of this change. The history of iran, which was commonly known until the mid20th century as persia in the western world, is intertwined with the history of a larger region, also to an extent known as greater iran, comprising the area from anatolia, the bosphorus, and egypt in the west to the borders of ancient india and the syr darya in the east, and from the caucasus and the eurasian steppe in the north to. Over the course of the 20th century, hollywood movies and entertainers within the industry have impacted national politics, influenced cultural constructions of american identity, and affected social change as well.
A brief history of iranian cinema, from haji agha to agha farhad. Now in its second edition, the text has been completely revised and expanded to meet the needs of todays students and film enthusiasts. The purpose of this work is to place third phase iranian film within the history of postrevolutionary iran then to construct a framework for analysis including thematic elements used by the newest generation of iranian directors. An analysis of the recent development of iranian cinema should primarily mention its origins and history, especially since iranian cinema always has been so closely linked to the. Iranian academy of persian language and literature, tehran. The history of the iranian political language is the history of the iranian experiment with intellectual, political, and aesthetic emancipation since the late nineteenth century. History of iranian cinema tavoos online irans first. Linguistics, encyclopedia of persian language and literature.
The rapid expansion of the list of books warranted devoting a separate page to it. Iranian art films have garnered international fame and now enjoy a global following. The capital and political seat of the country is tehran. Islamic law also crucially shaped the religious, ethical, political, and social beliefs and practices of muslim societies th rough the centuries. Since the early 1990s iranian films have become staple offerings at art house. Iranian films are usually written and spoken in the persian language. Nevertheless, for the iranian world the advent of islam meant not liberation but defeat and conquest by an alien people. An overview of the iranian government and political system. Latino cinema camilla fojas in this course we study contemporary latino a cinema or films made for andor about latinosas. Synopsis recent, postrevolutionary iranian cinema has of course gained the attention of international audiences who have been struck by its powerful, poetic and often explicitly political explorations. Come hear the stories and history of your community from local residents, and take part in the future of shaping north wichita.
In practice, very few foreign films could meet the the new guidelines, though the government sometimes justified restrictions under the guise of protecting the domestic film industry iranian films of the eighties, p. The decline of iranian cinema and its resurgence since the 90s is chronicled and explained within the cultural and political milieu which have both restricted expression and paradoxically given greater impetus to artistic expression, in much the same way as the soviet union forced a subtlety of politicoartistic protest from its heavily. Their increasing financial, manage rial, scholarly, and political power has allowed them to become an important agent of transformation. This body of water connects iran to kazakhstan and russia. Migration, commerce, and politics all led to a range of crossregional influences, most of which flowed from iran to india. Contemporary iranian cinema at the intersection of arts. The title of saeed zeydabadinejads book the politics of iranian cinema in fact defines the books central thesis. In addition to his prolific poetry, he wrote a wellknown work entitled short history of political parties in iran.
Iranian cinema has opened a window of spectatorship into the culture, society, and politics of iran. Wwi in the middle east and north africa colisted w hum 302022 tth 11am 12. Her wide range of interests include classical persian and arabic literature, literary theory, poststructural critical studies, and iranian cinema. Modern iranian culture owes itself in part to a renaissance in the 8th century. Iran will have to remove twothirds of its centrifuges. Grigoriu, anita journal of research in gender studies, vol. Hooshang kavoosi, an iranian film critic first used term filmfarsi persian. Iranian cinema after the revolution iranian cinema of the decline was 55 years and the unequal struggle between vulgarity and foreign films was doomed to failure. List of books and articles about iranian cinema online. Rutgers university center for middle eastern studies major. Although the new iranian cinema had begun to develop before the 1979 revolution, the political changes gave rise to a new wave of expression. The heart of the persian empire of antiquity, iran has long played an important role in the region as an imperial power and as a factor in superpower rivalries. Adorno might be an appropriate introduction for this work about iranian cinema after the islamic revolution of 1979. According to mehdi abedi, in reality, hippies would be picked up in the streets and taken to him.
His research interests are in the diaspora and exile cultures in cinema, iranian and third world cinemas, and ethnic television in the u. Persia in its legal documents and in official communication. We discuss the main differences between latino cinema and mainstream or dominant hollywood cinema, the rise and formation of latino cinema and its critical and political objectives. A political history international library of iranian. Iranian cinema iranian cinema a political history hamid reza sadrin association with published in by i. When we were children hamid rem sadr the history of iranian cinema in the 19803 and 19903 has been radically marked by the major social and political events that the country has experienced, such as. Her dissertation research focused on twelfth century islamic mysticism in iran. Mother in iranian cinema and the film madar anna fahr is a new yorkbased independent film producer and director. Recent, postrevolutionary iranian cinema has of course gained the attention of. The iranian revolution of 1979 was a pivotal moment in revolutionary history. A political history international library of iranian studies sadr, hamid reza on. The early development of cinema is very closely linked with irans political developments with the 1904 constitutional revolution and early attempts at social and political reform.
An analysis of the recent development of iranian cinema should primarily mention its origins and history, especially since iranian cinema always has been so closely linked to the political. Some 150 key genres, movements, theories and production terms are explained and analysed with depth and clarity. Art, society and the state, ziba mirhosseini divides postrevolutionary film. As a result most imported films came from the eastern bloc, japan, and china, where the plots tended to be didactic and. Combining theory with indepth, interdisciplinary analyses of individual films, this volume also expands the current literature on iranian cinema with insights into the social and political. The key concepts this is the essential guide for anyone interested in film. Nature serves art in most of the iranian films i know, not the other way around as in the cinema of spectacle, for the last thing one could call the runner 1984, the jar 1992, nargess 1992, or abadaniha 1993 is spectacular. Rethinking modernity and fereshteh daftaris another modernism. The event started when four men doused the building with airplane fuel before setting it alight. Hamid naficy is one of the worlds leading authorities on iranian film, and a social history of iranian cinema. This deal cuts off iran s ability to pursue a nuclear weapon through uranium enrichment. Iranian film acts a mirror of the political, social, and cultural challenges in iran as well as.
The first iranian state was the achaemenian empire. We will then move on to situate the revolution in a global context. The antisemitism of the iranian establishment is a main component of irans struggle against israel, as seen in the recent statements of irans vice president. Because of the possibilities of the information age and social media, the diaspora is now a. Tallgrass film festival spotlight on iranian cinema october 1721. Nasiri held a phd from the university of tehran, where he also taught.
Naficy, h 2012 a social history of iranian cinema, volume 4. Oct 18, 2019 afghanistans official languages are dari and pashto, both of which are indoeuropean languages in the iranian subfamily. The attack was responsible for triggering the 1979 iranian revolution which saw the overthrow of the iranian monarchy. The strategic culture of the islamic republic of iran willis stanley strategic culture defined iranian history is, at first glance, fertile ground for a discussion of strategic culture. Cambridge university press, 2017 o mehdi faraji coauthor.
The cinema rex, located in abadan, iran, was set ablaze on 19 august 1978, killing at least 420 civilians. Contemporary iranian cinema at the intersection of arts and politics. Hist 392021 the politics of film in israeli history mw 3. Rutgers university center for middle eastern studies. Some years ago the writer became interested in the origin and history of the iranian medes.
Yet mainstream, prerevolutionary iranian cinema, with a history stretching back to the. Iran will ship out all spent fuel for present and future power and research nuclear reactors for 15 years and has committed to rely on light water for future nuclear reactors. Michael axworthy, a former british foreign service officer and a lecturer in arabic and islamic studies at the university of exeter. Request pdf on apr 1, 2009, paul losensky published iranian cinema. Aside from the opening of cinema to the public in iran in tabriz in 1900 and tehran in 1904the first available document about documentary film coincides with the first camera purchased by the qajar king, five years after the invention of the cinematograph. The new iranian cinema politics, representation and identity edieed by richard tapper i. Feminism in postrevolutionary iranian cinema by serban, silviu. He began his political life as an active member of the constitutional movement and died as the president of the protudeh peace partisans.
To best understand the roots of iranian cinema, one must perhaps travel back to the early 20 th century, when the qajar monarch mozaffareddin shah was shown cinematographic footage during a visit to france. The death of iranian cinema is the turning point of the beginning of the end of an era. This outcome contrasts sharply with other modern revolutionary movements, which have been fought in the name of nationalism or socialism and which have concluded. A multiclass opposition overthrew an autocratic ruler, leading to the establishment of a theocratic state. Historical negationism, also called denialism, is a distortion of the historical record. About the author saeed zeydabadinejad completed his phd in media studies in 2006 at soas, university of london. Iran, may 2008 3 in november 1979, students affiliated with the latter group occupied the u. This will enable us to examine iranian history since 1979 in. It was the largest terrorist attack in history until the 1990 massacre of.
In its 57 years, only 12 films were screened in the first 6 months. An introduction to iranian cinema the culture counter. Granaz moussavis aesthetic and political vision in my tehran for sale. Iranian cinema and the islamic revolution mcfarland. Iran is a mountainous country about 90 per cent of which is situated within the bounds of the iranian plateau. Iranian cinema is today widely recognized not merely as a distinctive national cinema, but as one of the most innovative in the world. Brown bag lectures spring 2009 center for south asian and.
Written dari and pashto both use a modified arabic script. January 28 norma claire moruzzi, associate professor of political science, gender and womens studies, and history and director of the international studies program, university of illinois at chicago food as a social relation. When cinema came to iran it was a diversion for the welltodo for about ten years. But because i myself find immersing into a new culture something that can be very daunting, i thought. Plus, come share your story and join in the collection of north wichita history. The cinematograph, invented in 1892, was the successor to the kinetoscope that granted viewers the ability to watch quality. History film and media studies and chair of the department of art history at rice university.
The book also looks at the ideological controls on iranian cinema, how these are resisted and the wider political and social significance of cinema in iran. Inside iran the structure of power in iran terror and. Films media group world cinema the collection shines a light on the history of cinema while also providing a glimpse into the cultures and issues of countries around the world, making it useful beyond film studies departments by bringing value to programs in area studies, political science, history, world languages, and more. N o unwr van children in contemporary iranian cinema. From them also, thrust up in the wake of the volcanic activity of late pliocene times, came diorite and obsidian, both highly prized in antiquity. Hollywood and politics cinema and media studies oxford. Radhika govinda, university of cambridge in the name of capturing political power. This is a shame, because iranian cinema has a rich past and up to this day interesting and provocative films are made.
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