Abdul Rafid
Michael Druffel
FIQWS- Political Science
October 15th, 2019
Transculturalism, Cultural hybridity, and Globalization in Iranian Films
Globalization, especially in the west, has allowed for transcultural exchanges and more interconnection between civilizations. However, not all societies are accepting to the idea of cultural hybridization. This presents a question to an often-overlooked problem: How does cultural hybridity affect people in a society that is hostile to certain foreign influences or is very isolationist? One such society is that of Iran. Iran has been isolated from global influences, specifically western influence, in its politics and culture ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. I believe that by studying the film from Iran after 1979, we can examine how mass globalization and cultural hybridization have affected Iranian people, if at all. By analyzing the characters, setting and certain cultural references in a film, we can examine how much transculturalism has affected the culture and identity of Iran. I believe the films that can help illustrate this the best are “Bashu, the Little Stranger” (1989) and “Nargess” (1992).
Before the Revolution of 1979, Iran was under the control of Pahlavi dynasty, the reigning monarchy of Iran, who wanted to modernize and western Iran, similar to the Meiji Restoration period in Japan. The Pahlavi kings, Reza Shah and later his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, attempted to improve the economy of Iran through the exportation of oil. The massive wealth accumulated from the oil industry, however, mostly benefited the upper class and the royal family, who used the oil money for their personal needs. The result of all of this eventually led to widespread rebellion and the overthrowing of the monarchy. Many factions arose during the rebellion but the faction that gained the most support was the extremely conservative Islamic faction how established a new Islamic democratic state. The new governments emphasis on traditional Islamic values and staunch opposition against western ideal, which they saw as contradicting their religious beliefs, led to Iran’s semi-isolation from foreign influences. The heightened globalization in the 21st century puts Iran in a peculiar situation as while the vast majority of the world has been becoming increasingly interconnected, due to Iran’s politics, Iran has been more separated. The examination of how transculturalism affects a society that is politically isolated from foreign influences is important because it can show us how societies change and evolve overtime through cultural hybridization. It can show us if and how globalization can reach people’s lives, even in an environment where it is being limited.
The film “Bashu, the Little Stranger,” directed by Bahram Beyzai, can be used to analyze the presence of globalization in Iran as the film shows subtle aspects of Iranian life and culture that can reveal details about the degree of influence of the government on its citizens, especially in rural areas. The film shows a young boy named Bashu is forced to leave his home in southern Iran when Iraqi forces invade his village during the Iraq-Iran war. Bashu eventually escapes to a village in northern Iran where he found and sheltered by a woman named Nai’i. A central conflict in the film has to do with race and language as despite Bashu and the villagers being from the same country, Bashu’s inability to speak Gilaki, a dialect of Persian unique to that region, and darker skin tone alienates him from the rest of community. Certain aspects shown in the film such as the fact that Bashu is treated as a foreigner in the community despite being Iranian and the lack of understanding between Bashu and the rest of the community linguistically shows not only the lack of globalization in rural areas of Iran but also a lack of strong influence from the central government of Iran. The villager’s reaction to Bashu suggests that they have very little interaction with the outside world or even places outside their village. Although the setting and aspects of the plot might show little cultural hybridity or globalization, one aspect of the film that can be seen as more western or at least less Islamically conservative is the portrayal of women in the film, specifically Nai’i. Throughout the film, Nai’i is harassed and shunned by the villagers and some of her relatives for taking in Bashu without consulting her husband or one of her older relatives first. Despite the village alienating Nai’i along with Bashu, Nai’i continues to take care of Bashu and defies the villager. Her actively fight the patriarchy to support Bashu is a character trait that isn’t explored much in Iranian film and points to the idea of it potentially being inspired by feminism and globalization.
Another film that can show the influence of transculturalism in Iran is “Nargess,” directed by Rakshān Banietemad. The film is about a theft name Adel who falls in love with a younger woman named Nargess and has to convince her parents to let him marry her. Since Adel is already married to an older woman named Afagh, who is his partner in crime, and he makes his living as a theft, Adel’s mother refuses to get him remarried and practically disowns him. Adel ultimately decides to convince Afagh to stage as his fake mother to get him married with Nargess and start a new life. Despite Adel being the protagonist of the film, his actions throughout the film make him seem less morally just. Throughout the film Adel manipulates the women in his life and acts very selfishly as he always puts his own interests above that of his loved ones. The film concludes with everything working out for Adel, but I believe the results of Adels action and his depiction in the film perpetuates an idea of male superiority. This depicts a lack of globalization as this heightened form of male dominance is more aligned with extreme conservatism than any ideas of feminism that is more globalized today.
In closing, I believe studying Iranian films can allow us to find aspects of globalization or the lack of tranculturalism in a country like Iran where foreign influence is heavily decreased. By analyzing films and examining details we can better understand the cultural evolution of Iran and how it continues to evolve as the rest of the world becomes more globalized.
Bibliography:
- “Cfp: Call for Papers.” Cfp | Call for Papers, https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2019/09/09/transculturalism-cultural-hybridity-and-globalization
- Beyzai, Bahram. Bushu, the Little Stranger. Online. Directed by: Bahram Beyzai. Iran: 1989. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v2Z33tW1fU
- Banietemad, Rakshān. Nargess. Online. Directed by: Rakshān Banietemad. Iran: 1992.
