Representation of gender differences in Iranian cinema, a case study of four blockbuster movies

Academic thesis for receiving a master's degree in women's studies with focus on women and family

Abstract:

The aim of this thesis is to know how gender differences are represented in Iranian cinema from the 1980s onwards. In order to achieve this goal, first, a conceptual overview of the main concepts such as representation, semiotics and gender difference has been discussed, and then a theoretical overview of the theories related to representation, semiotics and cinema has been examined. Based on the model of Selby and Cowdery, the technical codes and references and implications in the film text have been determined. By focusing on these patterns, an attempt has been made to analyze and represent gender differences in cinema in four films: "Simply", "About Ellie", "Migraine" and "Sadat Abad", which were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Concepts such as: "traditional woman", "modern woman", "domestic work", "loneliness", "motherhood" and "not being seen" are among the main themes raised in these films. Representation of women in cinema is associated with gender construction and cinema reproduces gender stereotypes. The characters of the film are all involved in patriarchal culture and society and do nothing to change their situation. Also, the image of a successful woman is less depicted.

Key Words: representation, cinema, semiotics, ideology, gender difference

Introduction

Nowadays, cinema is one of the most important cultural tools that is successful in attracting the audience, especially the general audience, by creating visual appeal. Cinema science, technology and modern equipment, the use of beautiful and attractive faces and the new use of make-up and make-up every day bring more audiences to the cinema, and also the cinema with the mass production of cultural issues and cultural consumption, to some matters It gives legitimacy, therefore, the study of cinema and its concepts can be pondered and investigated. By reproducing and reconstructing social realities, cinema can have a repressive or critical view. The women's social movement at the beginning of the 20th century brought many cultural issues under the spotlight. Currently, many branches of sociology have focused on issues related to women's rights as one of their important priorities. (Garrett, 1379) From this point of view, gender is distinguished from "gender" which refers to the biological differences between women and men. In fact, gender is related to "cultural correlations established around gender". (Goffman 210:1997)

The mass media, by representing the normative patterns governing social life in the form of performance, actually plays the role of creating and reproducing these norms in Today's social life is responsible. They can play an important role in institutionalizing the conceptual framework of that particular image by presenting a special image of the relationship between the two sexes. Among the known mass media, cinema is shown to us as a superior art compared to other arts and also because of its special facilities for showing gender relations, as an ideal example for research on gender inequalities and differences (Strinati 1380:121). Cinema can be seen as a powerful tool for showing and constructing gender culture. Cinema, as a public media, can have an important impact on gender culture, that is why the role of its content production is very important, because with mass and attractive production, it can both produce traditional gender stereotypes for the benefit of a specific group, and it can also create awareness for the mass of society by criticizing the gender division of labor.

Media representations are important in the sense that they shape public knowledge and belief. Although the relationship between representation and the life and experience of people in the social world is complex, representations for people have The consequences are real. Richard Dyer emphasizes that "how social groups are treated in cultural representation is part of how they are treated in real life." (Giles & Middleton, 1999:59)

Cinematic study with gender approach and representation of different roles of men and women, seeks to identify cultural productions and its reflection in society.Since the modern lifestyle produces its own coordinates and is so diverse that it displays different ways of life, with the representation of gender in the movies "About Ellie", "This Simple", "Migraine" and "Sadatabad", we try to explore the concept of gender in these four best-selling and successful films. Considering the destructive aspects of the traditional) is incredible. Film is plural and can be produced infinitely. Film changes the way we perceive the world and to some extent how we play a role in it. (Hashmi, 22:1378)

Cinema, which is also called the seventh art, has a great communication function as it can be effective in zooming in and out of important issues. The study of cinema has so far been mostly in its artistic dimension and has been less challenged as a social media, but it seems that its social study has a wider dimension because the media can produce content by reflecting society's culture and social relations. Cinema spreads its message through social construction. slow and convinces the mind of the general audience. Nowadays, people are defeated by mass media because they spend most of their time with the media. Cinema fills people's free time and people willingly and pay for it expose themselves to this magical curtain, establish a relationship with it and in some places identify with the characters of the movies and even sympathize. It has paid more attention to the details of women's lives. In the cinema before the revolution, looking at women was either a secondary issue or it was shown more from a sexual perspective. After that, there was no specific look at women's problems, but the cinema of the 80s onwards raises the problems of women and the way and lifestyle of women and shows different strata of this sex to the audience. In the best-selling films, the personality and social dimension of women's lives are brought up, and its representation can help clarify this part of Women's lives should help.

Since there are different perceptions of gender and also its representation in the cinema scene, this phenomenon can be proposed and investigated as a problem. There is also a research gap in this field. In this regard, in order to investigate the gender differences in cinema, among the most famous and popular films of the 80s, the films "About Eli" (made by Asghar Farhadi), "Just as simple" (made by Reza Mir Karimi), "Migraine" (made by Manli Shujaei Far) and "Sadat Abad" (made by "Maziar Miri") have been selected. In addition to the best-selling and popular popularity of the film in its time, the director of these films, who are among the directors of Iran's meaningful cinema, is one of the reasons for choosing these films.

The way gender is produced and reproduced in traditional culture and the confrontation of traditional culture with the modern world is one of the important concepts of representation and semiotics of gender. They have been injured and adjusted. In fact, considering the changes made in the society and its reflection in the cinema, the main issue of the current research is how the gender relations are in the four mentioned films and how the concepts of gender are constructed according to the constructivist approach. In order to answer the above questions, qualitative methodology and semiotic method will be used.

1-3: Research objectives

Given that in the qualitative method, the general and partial objectives cannot be definitively determined in advance due to the fluidity of the phenomena and subject, and there is a possibility of changing the objectives during the research. However; This research aims to achieve a general goal and several partial goals as follows. 1-3-1 General goal of the project Representation of gender relations and differences in Iranian cinema (four best-selling films) 1-3-2 Partial goal Examining gender-oriented concepts and structures in best-selling Iranian cinema Discovering gender approaches in Iranian cinema (four films) bestseller)

1-4 The necessity of doing research

Cinema with high communication power and different attractive tools, shapes basic social concepts as it wants. This construction can be beneficial or destructive.