Abdul Rafid
Michael Druffel
FIQWS- Political Science
November 19th, 2019
Transculturalism, Cultural hybridity, and Globalization in Iranian Films
Globalization, especially in the west, has allowed for transcultural exchanges and more interconnection between civilizations. I define transcultural and cultural hybridization as the exchange of ideas, customs, art and other intellectual achievements between civilizations. Not all societies, however, 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 “Leila” (1997) and “A Separation” (2011).
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. The Pahlavi kings, Reza Shah and later his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, used economic growth and various policies, that restricted certain freedoms and expanded others, to make Iran a more western state. Eventually, the extreme-religious group in the nation along with certain other factions decided to revolt against the monarchy due to economic issues and cultural shifts. This resulted in the establishment of a new Islamic democratic state, after a brutal civil war. 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 “Leila,” directed by Dariush Mehrjui, 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 traditional Islamic ideals have on the lives of everyday people. The film is about a young married Iranian couple, Reza and Leila, who are content with their recent marriage. However, Leila later finds out that she is unable to conceive a child. This creates the central conflict within the film, which is that Reza’s mother insists that Reza, as her only child, have a second wife so that he can finally have children. Reza insists that he does not want children and is happy with simply being with Leila. Leila gets caught up between Reza and his mother’s argument, which ultimately ends with Reza giving in and getting married to a second wife. Throughout the film, Leila refuses to advocate for herself to Reza’s mother and reluctantly watches as Reza marries someone else because Leila is pressured into allowing Reza to remarry by her mother-in-law and she feels constrained by her societal norms to be able to speak up for herself. This shows the influence of traditional values in Iranian society as aspects of traditional Islamic beliefs, such as female subordination, persists in relatively modern environments. This idea is best illustrated in a scene in the movie, in which Reza, right before his wedding, ask Leila if she is against Reza remarrying another woman and that he is willing to cancel the wedding if she responds yes. Although Leila does not want Reza to marry someone else, she feels restricted from doing anything to stop it. Leila’s compliancy and the degree of control Reza’s mother has over Reza’s life contrasts with many western, or other foreign, beliefs thus the film “Leila” shows the traditional Islamic views that dominant Iranian culture and a lack of cultural hybridity in Iran.
Another film that can show the influence of transculturalism in Iran is “A Separation,” directed by Asghar Farhadi. The film is also about a married couple, Nader and Simin, who are trying to get a divorce over a disagreement. Simin wants to emigrate to another to raise her daughter there while Nader wants to remain in Iran and take care of his sickly father, who suffers from Alzheimer. This initial conflict subtly highlights an aspect of Iranian culture through Simin’s perspective within the argument, which is that Simin believes Iran is not a particularly good environment for her to raise her daughter in. The film depicts Simin as a well-educated, affluent woman who is restricted from sharing the same degree of freedom as her husband, or other men, due to her being a woman. Simin motivation to leave Iran stems from the fact that she no longer wants to live and raise her daughter in a country where women’s rights are oppressed, instead wanting to raise her daughter somewhere where she would have more freedom. This becomes very apparent in one of the first scenes in the movie where Simin and Nader are in a courthouse and the Judge, who throughout the trail ignores and disregards Simin’s problems and only listens to what Nader has to say, asks Simin if she thinks her daughter will not have a good future in Iran. Simin responds by saying she rather not have her daughter “grow up in these circumstances” to which the judge responds, “what circumstances?” Simin does not answer the question, however, the scene clearly shows how Simin believes raising her daughter in a repressive country would be harmful for her. This film shows the lack of transcultural hybridity in Iran as Iranian society remains very oppressive towards women’s rights and maintains the conservative views implemented by the Islamic State.
Although some may argue that analyzing Iranian cinema will not reveal that much information about the presences of transcultural influences in Iran because the Islamic State restricts and heavily monitors what is shown in films, I believe that films can still reveal lots of details about Iranian culture, politics, and gender relations, and it allows us to infer and make educated guesses about things that have been restricted. Through the analysis of film, we can find subtle aspects of Iranian society that can help lead us to find effects of cultural hybridity and globalization or lack thereof. Iranian cinema being restricted does not prevent us from analyzing Iranian culture, instead it allows us to see how globalization impacts a culturally isolated society.
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
- Farhadi, Asghar, dir. A Separation. Iran: Asghar Farhadi Production, 2011. Online, 123 min.
- Mehrjui, Dariush, dir. Leila. Iran: Farabi Cinema Foundation, 1997. Online, 102 min.
