Abstract
This article discusses how social class was depicted in Iranian cinema during the Reformist Era between 2001 and 2005 when the government of Mohammad Khatami advocated economic reforms and cultural liberalization. The agenda of the Khatami government was supported by the middle and upper classes who had modernist cultural attitudes and benefitted from these political and economic reforms. The articles also analyzes how reformist ideology operated through films by presenting a positive image of the modernist middle and upper classes while challenging the values of the traditional classes and portraying the lower class as victims of social problems. The findings indicate that the reformists, contrary to their slogans, sought to normalize the values of their supporter classes in Iranian cinema.
Introduction
Iranian politics is related to the dynamics of its social class. These dynamics have undergone several shifts, not least with the advent of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iran–Iraq war, and developments in the postrevolutionary state. Although Islamist ideology considered the revolution as the ‘revolution of the oppressed’ and declared itself a servant for them, it also fostered the growth of commercial capitalism in the years following the Islamic Revolution, especially following the Iran–Iraq War, when President Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989–1997) initiated a postwar reconstruction program with policies rooted in commercial capitalism. Thus, Iran’s class structure was transformed in the wake of economic liberalization. Privatization, liberalization, and the development of a service economy enlarged the capitalist and middle classes. The new middle classes strengthened its position through the economic liberalization policies of Rafsanjani’s presidency succeeded in launching a new political movement that was also supported by like-minded members of the upper classes.
Between 1997 and 2001, an increasing number of the middle and upper classes supported the reformist’s policies and played an effective role in empowering them. In its political program, the reformist government under the leadership of Mohammad Khatami (1997–2005) introduced modern political concepts such as civil society, rule of law, constitutionalism, religious tolerance, and freedom of expression. These policies were accompanied by the privatization of industry and market deregulation, continuing along the economic path set out first by the Rafsanjani government. The reformist policies further strengthened the position of the middle classes in Iranian society. They enjoyed more sociopolitical freedoms to express their values in new forms of lifestyle and profited from the economic opportunities afforded by free-market liberalization policies. Concurrently, the reformist governments’ focus on a decidedly middle-class agenda came at the cost of policies that would have addressed the plight of the lower classes (Abrahamian, 2008; Mirsepasi, 2010; Povey, 2019; Tazmini, 2009).
The period of political, economic, and cultural liberalization marked the beginning of a new era in film production in Iran. These policies were born in the first 4 years (2001–1997) and matured in the second 4 years (2001–2005), which is the period on which this article focuses. The political reforms of the Khatami era led to the establishment of a variety of film production centers as well as a centralized agency that imported foreign films. It also changed the regulations for showing films and for the organization of film festivals and established a centralized film rating system. Simultaneously, cinematic institutions became professionalized. As the domestic film industry became an important site of activity for the reformist government’s sociocultural agenda, Iranian cinema became more political. It took on the role of highlighting controversial or taboo topics such as immigration, relationships between men and women, political factions, women’s problems, and love triangles, which became themes commonly shown in films. The focus on these themes reflected preoccupations and concerns of the recently strengthened middle and upper classes (Atwood, 2016; Naficy, 2012). The relationship between the reformist political movement and the urban middle and upper classes was mutually beneficial. The modernist middle and upper classes supported and empowered the reformists since the movement served their interests. At the same time, reformist politicians worked to cultivate their middle- and upper-class support base; hence, Khatami government’s cultural policies, including its policies with regards to the film industry, fulfilled this necessity.
Under the influence of the new cultural policies, only a few empirical studies have addressed the significance of social class through films (Amiri & Aqababaee, 2019; Rezaei et al., 2014; Sheikh Mehdi & Moghaddas, 2018). 1 Those that did often focused more on the personality traits of individuals belonging to different social classes rather than the class itself. Often the focus of such analyses was on the lower-class population, which was represented as a collective of failures with no hope of freedom and no way out of their unfair world. They were shown to be naive, hard-working, and obedient people who follow tradition and are a threat to the upper classes. Middle-class people, however, were studied in the context of their morality crisis. Studies depict them as secretive, skeptical and also resisting prevailing social conditions; hence, they live uncertain, depressing lives (Amiri & Aqababaee, 2019; Rezaei et al., 2014; Sheikh Mehdi & Moghaddas, 2018).
However, this article emphasizes on class as such rather than on the stereotypical character traits associated with it. This is mainly for three reasons. First, because previous researches, as noted earlier, focused on studying the middle class drawing on only a few sample cases. Thus, there is a lack of study on the structure of class in Iranian cinema grounded in a larger sample size. Second, the fault lines of Iranian politics run along class lines and most dynamics of transformation include class-based roots. For example, support for the establishment of the Islamic Republic after the revolution came from the lower classes, while the reformist movement germinated in the middle- and upper-class context (Bashiriyeh, 2002). That said, in trying to gain insight into the social relations and concomitant power dynamics that structure the Iranian social and political order, one cannot presume cinema to be a one-to-one reflection of reality, particularly in Iran, where the film industry is subject to several layers of censorship and control. Because the censorship regime places cinematic films in Iran under the control of governmental ideology, third, it is important to pay attention to the practice of ideology in the representation of class in the films. Therefore, this article attempts to answer the question of how class structure has shaped Iranian cinema of the early 2000s and the extent to which ideology has left its mark on form and content.
The article focuses on theories that highlight the role of ideology in cinematic representations drawing on the work of Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean Narboni (1990). 2 They discuss film as the product of an economic-based system of relations that then is turned into a commodity, and finally acquires exchange value in this system. However, just as every film is part of the economic system, it is also part of the ideological system. Cinema reconstructs reality, but one that is the expression of the dominant ideology. According to Comolli and Narboni (1990), cinema is saturated with ideological dominance in its pure form. In the films, ideology speaks with itself, and before asking any questions it has ready-made answers to respond. Movies are therefore tools for the ideology that produced them. Iranian cinema, therefore, have been viewed as an output of state ideology in this article, not least because ultimately it is a state ideology that creates and imposes the censorship regime that shapes the procedures of film making. Thus, ideology attends the narration of movies and offers a specific representation of social classes based on their interests.
Methodology
The article draws on a method of narrative analysis suggested by Seymour Chatman (1978). This analyzes narrative as having two components: ‘story’ and ‘discourse’. The story is the content of the narrative’s expression that consists of actions, happenings, characters, and settings, that is, everything that comprises the form and substance of a film’s content. The discourse of a film’s narrative, on the other hand, comprises the form and substance of expression that include a film’s narrative transmission structure and its cinematic manifestation. However, Chatman (1978) did not give sufficient attention to the sociopolitical context of films. Jakob Lothe (2000) believed discourse is a system of ideological values that expresses the text indirectly by combining numerous sources. In this study, the discourse has been linked to the ideology of the reformists, who were in government and hence controlled the Iranian film industry from 2001 until 2005.
The representation of class has been analyzed at the story level of a film’s narrative by assessing the material conditions of the film’s characters. Relevant here are the insights of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1977) that those owning and controlling material resources occupy a higher position in the social hierarchy than those selling their labor power. Also useful is Pierre Bourdieu’s (1979) analysis of class and consumption practices that circumscribe a particular lifestyle. Consequently, the material possessions of the portrayed characters, namely, the kind of home, its décor, car, and the kind of leisure activities pursued by them represent a film characters’ social class. Several studies of social stratification in Iran are helpful in this regard as they provide insights into how social class is manifest and categorizes these classes. Ali Moazzeni (2016), following Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts, distinguishes between five social classes of very low, low, medium, high, and very high classes. Based on official statistics, Hassan Sarayi and Mohammad Hossein Bohrani (2007) divided society into the high, traditional, new middle, and low classes. Ali Darabi (2014) provided four categories, namely, traditional bourgeoisie, the industrial bourgeoisie, the urban middle class, and the lower class. Sohrab Behdad and Farhad Nomani (2009) considered four categories of capitalists, petty bourgeois, new middle, and the low as the class structure. These investigations provide insights into how specific professions, leisure activities, and values correlate with social class in Iran and so also serve as the basis for identifying social class in the films selected for analysis. By analyzing the props and set design one learns about film characters’ place of residence (neighborhood and type of home), home appliances and décor, their cars and other material possessions as well as rituals pursued (travelling, going to restaurants, etc.). The characters’ dialogues and actions are analyzed to provide insights into their values that give sense to their actions and the events of the film (Turner, 2008). Their actions take the form of rituals and are sometimes performed in a religious and/or secular manner.
Regarding the discourse level of the film’s narrative—that is, according to Chatham (1978) the form and substance of narrative expression or the means by which the content is conveyed—the focus turns to how events are cinematically arranged to achieve a particular form of expression. Cinematic arrangements, namely, lighting and color, shot composition, music, camera movement, actor blocking, and the like contribute to producing the film’s discourse (Figure 1). It is suggested that at the level of discourse, ideology leaves its imprint on a film. Narrative events consider encoding the ideological issue as a presumption in itself. Ideology thus leads to narratives that can reinforce or merely reproduce it (Turner, 2003).
Because this study aims at producing an analysis of how class not only is represented in, but also structures Iranian films, one needed to screen a sufficiently large number of works to identify recurring patterns. Hence, 70 films produced between 2001 and 2005 were screened and analyzed, a time period during which the reformist government’s cultural policy took effect in the Iranian film industry (Zeydabadi-Nejad, 2010). During the 5-year period under study, more than 400 films were made in Iranian cinema. Films were selected by purposeful sampling (Patton, 2015) in the database and film archive (
Results and Analyses
The films’ material and the mentioned studies on social stratification in Iran led us to designate five social classes for this analysis. They are as follows: modern upper class, traditional upper class, modern middle class, traditional middle class, and the lower class. ‘Wealth display’ and ‘social values’ vertically and horizontally distinguish each class. The display of differing distributions of material possessions defined the upper, middle, and lower classes. The portrayed values further divide classes into two value areas of traditional and modern, and thus the traditional and modern classes are separated at two levels of upper and middle classes, while the lower class is portrayed as solely holding traditional values.
Modern Upper Class
Story
At the beginning of each sequence, generally, the camera shows the modern-upper class properties with luxurious villas, an outdoor pool, and a large garden around it. Houses full of baroque furniture, carpets, sculptures, and expensive paintings. In some films, the homes also featured a piano, alcoholic drinks, and bodybuilding equipment. Servants work in these houses, and sometimes there is a nurse for the child or an elderly family member. The characters own foreign cars, and sometimes there are several cars for each family member. They wear stylish and expensive clothes. They possess a private villa for summer holidays in the north of Iran or around Tehran. Their hobbies include horseback riding, boating, motorcycling, relaxing at the beach, skiing, working out, photography, and sculpting (The Smell of Rose, 2001; Smell of Heaven, 2001; Classmate, 2001; Ghazal, 2001; Iranian Girl 2002; The Winning Card, 2002; Crimson Gold, 2003; Asiri, 2001; Rokhsareh, 2001; The Last Supper, 2001; Troublemaker, 2001; A House Built on Water, 2001; The Yellow Rose, 2002; Zahr-e asal, 2002; Seasonal Salad, 2004; Ceasefire, 2005). 3 Characters are shown to work as real estate developers (Rokhsareh, 2001), entrepreneurs (The Last Supper, 2001; Seasonal Salad, 2004; Loser, 2004; The Choice, 2004), and sometimes their jobs are unknown (Zahr-e asal, 2002; Equation, 2003; Runaway Bride, 2004; Co-Wife, 2005). 4 The rituals of the people of this class include attending luxurious parties and weddings (Troublemaker, 2001; Runaway Bride, 2004; Asiri, 2001; The Smell of Rose, 2001) and going to fancy restaurants (Rokhsareh, 2001; Tapster, 2001; Seasonal Salad, 2004; Ghazal, 2001).
The actions and dialogue of upper modern class characters in the films show they have the following values and attitudes:
Individualism: Members of the modern upper class are portrayed as having pre-marital romantic relationships or at least to be accepting of them, whereas in traditional Iranian culture, romantic and sexual relationships are only legitimate in the marriage context (Ceasefire, 2005; Roya-ye khis, 2005; The Smell of Rose, 2001; Seven Songs, 2001; Crimson Gold, 2003). This acceptance of personal fulfillment over collective norms shows that modern upper class characters value individuals over sociocultural expectations. Formalities: Characters are portrayed as placing importance on common formalities. For example, in Equation (2003), when a student boy expresses his romantic feelings for a girl, her family tells him to ‘come with your parents’; that is, to present himself formally to them in the company of a guardian as social custom in Iran dictates. Status: This is another significant value of this class, which manifests itself in class relations. In Seven Songs (2001), a girl who belongs to the upper class falls in love with a boy from the lower class, but her father does not approve of the relationship because, in his view, ‘If I accept his age, I can’t ignore the other things’. The ‘other thing’ being the class status of the boy’s family. The father says to his daughter, ‘How can such an educated girl like you marry an impolite (a lowbrow) boy? ... What will people think? What about our honor?’ In Smell of Heaven (2001), the girl’s father also humiliates the young penniless groom: ‘Everyone told me not let my daughter marry a dancer’. The groom here is a singer, but because he has no family background, he is eventually obliged to get divorced. Sometimes, poverty is portrayed equivalent to not having a status, which is why in Pink Marriage (2004), the father rejects his daughter’s fiancé who is poor. Pessimism about the lower classes: In The Winning Card (2002), Arman, the upper class character, believes that the lower class have the same personality trait, ‘All of you are the same, parasites and dependent’. In Crimson Gold (2003), the young man, an upper-class character, tells the pizza delivery man, ‘It is the city of madmen.. You all are so complicated’. Although this dialogue is addressed to all Iranians, in the scene in question he addresses a man of the lower class as a madman.
Discourse
The modern upper class is represented in 25 movies. Film discourse exposes social and family events to the members of the class and resolves these in 15 films. The events include getting sick, harassment of others, divorce, romantic conflicts, extramarital affairs, and betrayal, which disrupt the normal lives of the modern upper-class characters. Afterwards, the problems are solved by the film discourse. Such resolutions include the recovery of the sick character (Left Handed, 2005), elimination of the nuisance (Troublemaker, 2001; The Yellow Rose, 2002; Zahr-e asal, 2002; Foreign Doll, 2005; Ceasefire, 2005), and resolution of marital problems and getting married (The Smell of Rose, 2001; Runaway Bride, 2004; The Choice, 2004; Japan Allspice, 2004; Pink Marriage, 2004). In ten films, the crisis remains unresolved. For example, members of the class suffer incurable illness and die (Seven Songs, 2001; and The Smell of Rose, 2001), they are killed (Asiri, 2001; and Salvation at 8:20, 2004), or they are arrested by the police (The Winning Card, 2002). Of further note is that the onset of the crisis, and then the orientation of the discourse on it, does not make much difference to the values of this class; that is, they do not change their values. Analyses indicate that in 18 films there was a positive characterization of the modern upper class. They are portrayed as honorable, honest, loyal, and only in seven films they are portrayed as cruel, implacable, or fraudulent.
Ideology
The combination of story and discourse of the film shows a class that has a modern life. The ideology of the film constructs the class and defends its values. Reformist ideology supports economic privatization. It, therefore, shows the modern upper class as the mass producer and in the private sector that they have different leisure experiences in their objective lives. The slogan ‘Iran for Iranians’ lets them to be individualistic and formalist and defend their class originality. In 60% of the films, the crisis of this class is resolved, and the film ideology does not contradict the values of this class.
Traditional Upper Class
Story
This class lives in luxurious villas and sometimes in mansions. They have several homes and employ domestic workers such as a gardener or servant. They own cars such as an old Mercedes Benz or a Peugeot, and they often own several vehicles. The décor in their homes is expensive, but not so glamorous. Their homes also often feature a portrait of one of the Shia Imams on the wall. Their entertainment includes drinking tea, eating Abgoosht,
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smoking water pipe, and watching television (Donya, 2001; Pastry Girl, 2001; Fifth Reaction, 2002; Marriage, Iranian Style, 2004; etc.). The occupations of these people include traditional merchants (Donya, 2001; the Wind Carpet, 2002; Pastry Girl, 2001; Marriage, Iranian Style, 2004; Roya-ye khis, 2005; Fifth Reaction, 2002; Crossroad, 2005) and head of state corporations (Excited Hearts, 2002). This class is portrayed as holding religious and traditional rituals: they pray regularly, go on pilgrimages (Donya, 2001), celebrate moloudis,
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have circumcision ceremonies, celebrate rituals such as baleboroon
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and hanabandan
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(Marriage, Iranian Style, 2004), arrange marriages (Excited Hearts, 2002), and splash blood on a new car
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(Crossroad, 2005). These people embody the following values:
Religious and cultural traditions: The importance of modesty for women (Donya, 2001; Fifth Reaction, 2002), the practice of temporary marriage (Donya, 2001; Equation, 2003), fencing in the house to prevent people looking in (Crossroad, 2005), opposing romantic relationships before marriage (Wet Dream, 2005), belief in destiny (Excited Hearts, 2002), and opposing music are among the practices and attitudes representing the traditional values of this class. For example, in Fever (2002), the father disagrees his son playing an instrument. In the film Excited Hearts (2002), the father says, ‘Woman playing music? It’s a disaster!’ Collectivism: When arranged marriages are forced onto a young man and woman (Donya, 2001; Excited Hearts, 2002), or a family hinders a love marriage (Pastry Girl, 2001; Fever, 2002) tradition and family interests are placed above the desires of individuals. Patriarchy: Characters show respect to their male elders (Donya, 2001; Excited Hearts, 2002; Fever, 2002; Fifth Reaction, 2004). Fathers are often shown to command their daughters to make food (Pastry Girl, 2001), indicating the father’s centrality in this class. Family honor: Family honor is an important value for this class
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(Wet Dream, 2005; Excited Hearts, 2002).
Discourse
Ten films show the traditional upper class. This class ultimately fails to achieve its goals in seven films, 11 where the discourse represents this class as having to confront events that are inconsistent with their values. In the film discourse members of this class are generally shown to have to abandon their values and insistence on them yields further painful results. In The Donya (2001), Haji, a man who belongs to this class, is deceived by a girl, changes his religious appearance, and finally becomes scandalous. In Pastry Girl (2001), Tokyo Nonstop (2002), Equation (2003), and Marriage, Iranian Style (2004), fathers retreat from their position and let their daughter marry the beloved boy. But in Excited Hearts (2002) and Wet Dream (2005), insistence on class values leads to the deaths of the children.
Ideology
In most cases, the traditional upper class is financially dependent on management jobs at public and private enterprises. They are shown to live by traditional–religious values, which are ideologically supported by conservatives in Iran. The reformist ideology shows the traditional upper-class members as frustrated in the pursuit of their goals, challenged in their values, and suggests these are incompatible with the modern world. Film ideology problematizes traditional values and normalizes them toward modernist values.
Modern Middle Class
Story
Generally, characters from the modern middle-class members live in a stylish apartment with an open kitchen. Their cars include brands namely Samand, Peugeot 405, Peugeot 206, Opel, and Patrol. Leisure activities include reading newspapers, eating pizza, and going to garden restaurants. They go to writing classes, travel abroad, play the piano, and often shown with a pet, especially a cat or dog (The Last Supper, 2001; Unruled Paper, 2001; The Longest Night, 2001; A Candle in the Wind, 2003; Crossroad, 2005). Among the typical modern middle-class professions are publisher and bookseller (The Last Supper, 2001), university professor (White Nights, 2002), engineer (Unruled Paper, 2001; The Longest Night, 2001; Portrait of a Lady Far Away, 2003), translator (A Candle in the Wind, 2003), lawyer (Spaghetti in Eight Minutes, 2004), office employee (Fireworks Wednesday, 2005; Crossroad, 2005), and real estate agent (Pink Marriage, 2004). They are not associated with any particular rituals. Their values are as follows:
Individualism: The characters are shown to be considerate of other characters’ individuality; for example, by letting their daughter live by herself (Negin, 2001); congratulating a character on their birthday (Negin, 2001) permitting a child’s marriage to an unconventional partner (The Last Supper, 2001); by dividing the housework between man and woman (The Last Supper, 2001); or by having a man give flowers to a woman (Unruled Paper, 2001). Depicting a mother’s re-marriage (A Candle in the Wind, 2003; Crossroad, 2005) or a father buying a gift for his daughter (Crossroad, 2005) also shows this class to be considerate of people’s individuality. Education: Education or concerns over education and upbringing of children is an important recurring theme. In Spaghetti in Eight Minutes (2004), the children are taken to kindergarten, parks, and amusement parks by the parents of this class who are sensitive to their children’s educational affairs, a concern that turns into a dispute between a father and daughter in Crossroad (2005). The opposite is seen in Fireworks Wednesday (2005) in which parents are shown fighting in front of their child, and the mother finally slaps her child. Critical attitude to the status quo: In several films, members of this class explicitly and implicitly criticize the government. In Unruled Paper (2001), the mother protests against the fact that wearing colorful clothing is forbidden at school. In The Longest Night (2001), a man who belongs to this class says, ‘On one hand, a loyal supporter is generously paid extra; on the other hand, a professional flight engineer has to be a homemaker’. That means if you commit to fundamentalism in Iran you will succeed. In Fireworks Wednesday (2005), the boy dreamed about hell. His mother complains about why religious matters are addressed at school at such an early age to cause the child to have nightmares. In Pink Marriage (2004), one of the characters remarks, ‘There are no jobs. The engineers are unemployed, and the numbers are increasing’, referring to Iran’s depressed labor market.
Discourse
The modern middle class is represented in 11 films. Film discourse confronts members of this class with events such as family crises, addiction, and class distinction. In eight films the crisis is resolved, and the status of class life does not change. In three films this class does not experience a favorable fate. Mother’s return and daughters’ rescue (Crossroads, 2005), quitting an addiction, and a boy’s negative AIDS (A Candle in the Wind, 2003), marriage of man and woman (Spaghetti in Eight Minutes, 2004; Pink Marriage, 2004; Negin, 2001) show the happy end of such films. The end of films such as Unruled Paper (2001), Portrait of a Lady Far Away (2003), and White Nights (2002) represents the normal state of affairs. In contrast, in three films the murder of the son (The Last Supper, 2001), a woman’s betrayal of a man (The Longest Night, 2001), marital crisis, and despair (Fireworks Wednesday, 2005) speak of the impasses of this class.
Ideology
The widely sympathetic portrayals of characters from this class and their values can be seen in the context of the film industry being linked to reformist politics and ideology. These films also cater to the modern middle class by providing an outlet for criticism of the Islamist status quo of the Islamic Republic from the perspective of a reformist ideology. Film commentaries on issues such as the dress code in schools that force children to wear only dark colors or critical portrayals of religious education in schools and the exclusion of a modern educated middle class from a job market heavily controlled by the state or semi-statal companies are examples of this.
Traditional Middle Class
Story
This class lives in old apartments in residential units or small houses with a yard. They drive a Samand, Peugeot 206, or Peugeot Pars. They are depicted as spending their leisure time eating ice cream, going to restaurants, fishing, and walking (Unique, 2001; Classmate, 2001; Little Lady, 2001; Zamane, 2001; Iranian Girl, 2002; etc.). They maintain rituals such as regular prayer, (Chocolate, 2003), cooking pottage, and religious ceremonies (Unique, 2001), and arranging marriages (Iranian Girl, 2002). They work in markets (Classmate, 2001; Little Lady, 2001; Wind Carpet, 2002; I’m Taraneh, 15, 2001; Iranian Girl, 2002) or are public sector employees (Unique, 2001; Zamane, 2001; Aida, I Saw Your Dad Last Night, 2004). They adhere to these values:
Religious values: The significance of modesty such as use of Hijab (headscarf) by women (Unique, 2001; Zamane, 2001; Wind Carpet, 2002) and fatalism (Iranian Girl, 2002) are among the religious values of this class. Customary values:. These include the importance of honor, rejecting singing (Classmates, 2001; Iranian girl, 2002), commitment to status (Little Lady, 2001), respect for the elderly (Excited Hearts, 2002), motherly advice (Aida, I Saw Your Dad Last Night, 2004), early marriage (Troublemaker, 2001), and emphasis on consanguineous marriage (Frenzied, 2004).
Discourse
This class is shown in 12 films. In general, the film discourse confronts the members of this class with family crises, which are resolved in six films. Resolution of the crisis occurs when traditional values are given up. For example, fathers are often shown opposing their daughter’s love marriage, but the conflict is resolved when the father’s authority is eroded, and the children can marry (Little Lady, 2001; Zamane, 2001; Classmate, 2001). For example, in I’m Taraneh, 15 (2001) and Iranian Girl (2002), members of the traditional middle class are forced to abandon their collectivist values. In six films the crisis is unsolved, or these people fail by, for example, losing the beloved daughter and facing charges of murder (Frenzied, 2004); failing to reach the beloved boy (Iranian girl, 2002); and a father’s betrayal (Aida, I Saw Your Dad Last Night, 2004) are examples of such films.
Ideology
Reformist ideology has criticized traditional middle class in two ways. First, the values of this class do not give self-confidence to its members; therefore, it challenges the ineffectiveness of traditional values. Second, fundamentalists consider ‘authority of the father’ as a metaphor for the power of political leaders. The weakening of this authority will be a kind of political action against the hegemonic power.
Lower Class
Story
This class usually lives on the outskirts of the city, or in South Tehran, or near the railroad or cemetery. Their homes are small, dilapidated, and rented. The neighborhood has dusty alleys where the noise of people and children can be heard. The characters are portrayed as wearing old clothes. They drive Citroën Dyane, Peykan, Peykan Van, an old Fiat, motorcycles, or they are shown to ride public transportation (My Dear I Am Not in the Mood, 2001; Crimson Gold, 2003; Fireworks Wednesday, 2005; Beautiful City, 2003; Japan Allspice, 2003; The Winning Card, 2002). People belonging to this class live with problematic parents. Their fathers are in prison (I’m Taraneh, 15, 2001; Maiden, 2001); suffer from addiction (A House Built on Water, 2001; The Winning Card, 2002; Butterfly in the Wind, 2003; Japan Allspice, 2004; Unique, 2001); or illness or are disabled (Salvation at 8:30, 2004; Seasonal Salad, 2004; Deep Breath, 2001; Stars 1, 2005); and have low paying jobs. The mothers are often shown in desperate situations. The father may also be dead or have left the family. Occupations of these people include workers (Singles, 2004; Crime, 2003; Fireworks Wednesday, 2005; Beautiful City, 2003; Gradually; 2005; Poet of the Wastes, 2005; Boutique, 2003); apprentices (The Yellow Rose, 2002; Cafe Setareh, 2005; We Are All Fine, 2004; Chocolate, 2003; Crimson Gold, 2003; A House Built on Water, 2001); retired (Butterfly in the Wind, 2003); driver (I’m Taraneh, 15, 2001; and Cinderella, 2001); or unemployed (The Unwanted Woman, 2004; Tapster, 2001; Unique, 2001; Troublemaker, 2001; Seasonal Salad, 2004; Coma, 2003; The Winning Card, 2002). They follow religious rituals such as praying and fasting during Ramadan (Dancing in the Dust, 2002; Gradually, 2005). Their values include:
Honor: These people care about how people judge them (Cinderella, 2001; Dancing in the Dust, 2002; Maiden, 2002; Gradually, 2005; Runaway, 2002; We Are All Fine, 2004). Patriarchy: There is prejudice against women and a desire to control them (Crimson Gold, 2003; Stars 1, 2005; Cafe Setareh, 2005). Religious values: Caring about religious practices such as istekhareh (the religious interpretation of dreams) (Fireworks Wednesday, 2005). Fatalism: They complain about their financial situation but do not take action to resolve it. For example, in Seven Songs (2001), the boy is dissatisfied with his class status: ‘This house makes me sick. When I look at it I want to throw up’, and in a song, he considers his class status as living in a dead-end and knows there is no way out of it:
Who am I? A homeless, lost in the neighborhoods, the left behind, the sound of silent city. From where? South of the city, that is the dead-end of breath, where the dream is imprisoned in a cage, I am in the middle of a cross, homeless and tired. At an intersection that is dead-end at the 4 sides. Who am I? A loser. Full of questions with no answer. Hundreds of roads on the wall. I painted in my sleep. The wall hid beyond the color curtains. I have been happy with this beautiful lie for a life... I made it myself. The walls are my job. I wipe the paint to see how I scream. I built my prison walls. I threw myself into this prison (Seven Songs, 2001).
Discourse
The lower class is shown in 34 films. In numerous films these classes are portrayed as facing social disadvantage or financial problems. Among the social problems faced are addiction (Beautiful City, 2003; Japan Allspice, 2004; Unique, 2001); early marriage and divorce (I’m Taraneh, 15, 2001); extramarital affairs and abortion (A House on Water, 2001); robbery and murder (Crimson Gold, 2003; Seasonal Salad, 2004); begging and extortion (The Winning Card, 2002); running away from home (Boutique, 2003); robbery (My Dear I Am Not In The Mood, 2001; Coma, 2003; Ghazal, 2001); prostitution (Crime, 2003); and delinquency (Deep Breath, 2001). Financial problems include the inability to pay a dowry (Tapster, 2001); living in a small home or dormitory (Deep Breath, 2001); inability to buy medicine (We Are All Fine, 2004); being unable to marry and wishing to buy a car (Cafe Setareh, 2004); and the inability to pay rent (Up Town, Down Town, 2001). In 31 films, the film discourse shows people’s failure to solve their problems and leaves them hopeless in limbo. In only three films is there any hope that the class status will change.
Ideology
The lower classes are shown in many films so there is an active discourse on their situation. They are shown exclusively as victims, and the portrayals are often stereotypical representations of this class’s destitute life. There is no representation of government social welfare or anti-poverty measures; it is as if these do not exist. The continued existence of poverty in Iran thus demands film representation, but it is superficial and limited to stereotypes common among the upper and middle classes. Rather than real interest in the situation of the poor in its complexity and humanity, stereotypes of continued poverty are used to paint a dark and critical picture of the economic and political status quo in Iran. At the same time, the ideology of the films offers no solutions, which mirrors the lack of attention to alleviating economic inequality during the reformist governments.
Conclusion
The ‘cultural turn’ has led to the neglect of social class in the study of Iranian cinema. Contrary to this trend, this article has taken a closer look at the representation of the class in Iranian films and found that the class structure of Iran as portrayed in films made between 2001 and 2005 comprisd five categories: modern upper class, traditional upper class, modern middle class, traditional middle class and the lower class. Each of these social classes has been described in terms of material properties such as type of home, car, home décor, leisure activities, and rituals, as well as values. ‘Wealth display’ and ‘class values’ respectively represent vertically and horizontally the films’ class structure.
In confirmation of Comolli and Narboni (1990), movies are expressive of the ruling ideology. This ideology in Iranian cinema at the beginning of the twenty-first century was affected by the policies of the reformist government. As reflected in Table 1, using film discourse, reformist ideology is manifested because the modernist classes were effective in empowering the reformist government. Therefore, the ideology of the films attempts to present a relatively positive image of these classes. Often, solving the narration acts in line with respecting the values of this class (positive representation in 24 movies). In contrast, the film ideology challenges the values of traditionalist classes, suggesting they are inappropriate in today’s world (negative representation in 13 movies). Moreover, the representation of social problems has mostly involved the lower classes contrary to the claims of reformers who seek to portray ‘real people’s issues and problems’ in cinema in their policymaking. These classes are known as victims of social conditions and remain in limbo, just as they are neglected in the real world.
The Positive and Negative Representation of Social Classes in Movies.
List of Films Studied in this Article
