2

CHAPTER - I

INTODUCTION

Today, mass media including cinema in the world is a cultural arena that attempts to reflect

people‘s culture and lifestyle. Cinema is a facet of the media which is a large socio-cultural

factor. It can be seen as one of the most effective mediums of visual communications today.

Cinema is by far the most common and cheapest means of entertainment in the world. The

maximum of the world population can watch cinema as an exposition of art. Cinema is the

dominant medium in developed countries like U.S and developing countries like India and Iran.

In this cultural arena, the majority of people who are involved and are interested in the cinema

are also influenced by it. According to Turner1, it is more or less accepted that film's function in

our culture goes beyond that of being, simply, an exhibited aesthetic object. Film is a social

practice for its makers and audience; in its narratives and meanings we can locate evidence of the

ways on which our culture makes sense of itself.

Moreover, visual media especially cinema have become an inseparable part of our sense of

reality. Images about body and beauty are shaped through television and film productions

simultaneously confirm pre-conceived notions about societal standards of what is acceptable and

not, as well as contribute to creative forms of imagination that challenge these norms. The power

of the visual media in connecting to mass audience, building and changing public imagination

has long been known to politicians and those connected to the visual industries.2

One of the most important functions of the visual media is construction and representation of

gender identity. While sex and gender are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, in

definition they are markedly different. Sex is determined by biology and anatomy. As Esplen

3

and Jolly discussed 3gender refers to array of socially constructed roles and relationships,

personality traits, attitudes, behaviors, values, relative power and influence that society ascribes

to the two sexes on a differential basis. Whereas biological sex is determined by genetic and

anatomical characteristics, gender is an acquired identity that is learned, changes over time, and

varies widely within and across cultures. This conceptualization is formed through social

interaction, external instruction, and the observation of male and female models4.

As media provide male and female character models for observation, some have speculated that

gender conceptualizations and understanding of male-female relationships may be shaped, in

part, by viewing movies in cinema and television programs5. This possibility has led to extensive

research about the gendered messages conveyed through the media.

This study is an examination of the social and political representation of women‘s identity and

focuses on a content analysis through which representation of women in Hollywood, Bollywood

and Iranian cinema is examined.

Significance of Study

One of the most important film mainstreams in the world is Hollywood. Although U.S. movies

account for only 6 or 7 percent of all films made, they occupy 50 percent of world screen time.

From the early days Hollywood understood that film is a powerful medium. The contemporary

feature film has had to respond to a great deal of competition from other media, and from other

source of entertainment. As film producers have competed for what was for some years as

shrinking market ,many changes in industry practices have accrued .first, the industry has

concentrated its resources on the ―blockbuster‖ the aggressively promoted big-budget movie

with high production values, big stars, massive simultaneous release patterns and increasingly

4

,expensive especial effects6. Thus movies are created with emotional designs on the individual

audience in order to control his/her mind. Many scholars have asserted that since the fall of the

Roman Empire, no country has enjoyed such dominance in world affairs. American domination

of feature film production and distribution in the English-speaking world has become further

entrenched despite the recent trend towards so called runaway productions(that is, productions

which have moved from an American base to cheaper production locations such as Canada and

Australia).only major companies can now afford current production and promotion costs.

America is still the biggest single market for feature films and it is one of the very few countries

where locally produced films can recoup their costs without relying on foreign sales7. Although

U.S is just one member of international community but his growing cultural influence leads to

popularity of American lifestyle in the global level. On the other hand cable TV has also become

a significant purchaser of cinema product, channels which only screen movies are important

buyers for films from both the majors and independent production companies, one such

organization, home box office, had over 38 million subscribers in the U.S in 2004, it was

available in over 50 other countries8. Therefore most of the popular films that are made by

Hollywood companies after a while it can be seen easily from movie channels around the word

which is leaded to more dominant of U.S. on visual culture and lifestyle in the world.

U.S. political and cultural preponderance in international affairs has become the natural order.

Political scientists call it hegemony. U.S. hegemony, however, is not based on political power

and military dominance alone. In addition to smart bombs and United Nation Security Council

vetoes, U.S. hegemony is seen and felt by the increasing universality of American pop culture:

Britney Spears, McDonald's, Hollywood and so on.

5

As it was mentioned, there is a kind of U.S's cultural hegemony in the world. The term

hegemony designates the systems of hierarchy maintained by the predominant social group‘s

ideology that comes to dominate other social groups9. Philosopher Rosemary Hennessey

10

explains that hegemony is not a form of power that control through overt violence; rather, it

controls subtly by determining what makes sense ; ―hegemony is the process whereby the

interests of a ruling group come to dominate by establishing the common sense, that is those

values, beliefs, and knowledge that go without saying‖11

. Another aspect of hegemony is

ideology. Cultural ideology refers to the ideas values; beliefs, perceptions, and understanding

that are known to member of the society and the guide their behaviors. For example capitalism is

not only an economic system but also a dominant ideology in western culture. This ideology

undergirds the values and behaviors that support competition, individualism, consumerism,

status, money, and power. This not means that every person in western culture embraces such

ideology, but it does explain the predominant system and culture in which all members must try

to survive. So media, as an essential element of civil society, maintain hegemonic understandings

of gender even as they create gaps fissures in representations of gender.

Some scholars believe that regarding its hegemonic position in world culture, Hollywood has

significant role in the representation of gender identity in the world. In the cinema, we have

learned to use a wide range of conventions which organize the film. Conventions have built up

around the representation of the female in films. Particularly in Hollywood film since the

adaptation of color, the female is shot in a different way to her male counterpart. Hollywood film

has turned the female form into spectacle, an exhibit to be scanned and arguably possessed by

the (male) viewer12

. In this thesis in the first part the effort will be made to investigate the place

and the picture of a woman in Hollywood. Some of the women are portrayed as a object,

6

consumer, marginal existence or traditional and stereotypical roles based on male gaze, in new

version and under cover of modernism, in such a way that this representation hasn't got to do

with the reality as well as the complexity of their life. According to them, generally, in mass

media, men are regarded as wise, powerful, efficient creatures and the source of power with high

positions whereas women are considered emotional, dependent, weak and passive. But

representing of female in the cinema is not just confined to these things that is mentioned above,

in this thesis also is tried to discovers how women are represented in cinema in real position,

beyond cinema screen not only as an entertainment object but also analyzing content of the film

as a text. Is tried to reveal that the representation of women in the cinema depends on several

elements such as culture in generally and something that are embedded in the culture like

ideology, myth, language, tradition, stereotypes that comes from this structure and they are

constructed therefore impose themselves to culture thus by any kind of media reproduce

themselves in the mind of audience consciously or unconsciously.

The Hollywood has been a major point of reference for global culture in the last century and will

undoubtedly persist for years to come. To an extent, Hollywood has shaped the way in which

people read global culture as well as reflecting American's events, traditions, values and

customs.

Furthermore, Iranian cinema (or Persian cinema) is a flourishing film industry with a long

history. Many popular commercial films are annually made in Iran, and Iranian art films

have won awards around the world. Following the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the

inauguration of the Islamic Republic, many predicted that new restrictions would kill off Iran's

cinema. However, Iranian cinema has survived, undergoing remarkable transformations in

parallel with the wider changes in Iranian culture and society. Today, Iranian cinema is

7

recognized as one of the most innovative and exciting in the world, and films from Iranian

directors are being screened to increasing acclaim at international festivals.

Representation of women's identity in Iranian cinema attracted attention of scholars. According

to Islamic law, women should wear scarf (Hijab) in the movies and they should perform with

some limitations. After Islamic revolution women come to the screen with scarf and they are not

allowed to use their body as a pleasure of the lust .Women shouldn‘t be shown as sexual objects.

Women in Iranian cinema have a significant position compare to other cinemas.

Representation of women in Iranian cinema is interwoven with Islamic ideology that has its own

codes and conventions on women presenting in society and representing in the cinema.

Therefore, Iranian cinema on the one hand is famous for arts and conceptual films, on the other

hand for imposing ideological codes on movies.

This thesis attempts to criticize and analyze the representation of women with regard to all aspect

of representing such as religion, tradition, myth and political ideologies.

Moreover, this thesis focuses on a content analysis through which representation of women in

Bollywood cinema is examined. Bollywood has been a major point of reference for Indian

culture in the last century and will undoubtedly persist for years to come. To an extent,

Bollywood has shaped the way in which people read Indian culture as well as reflecting India's

events, traditions, values and customs by the mere fact that it is a pervasive and inescapable force

in Indian society. Women have been and to an extent still are represented as mere wallpaper in

Bollywood films. Issues around gender, gender-based violence, femininity, women's rights and

sexuality (outside of being a sexpot) are often ignored and in most cases, subverted.

This study explores the ways in which women are represented and misrepresented in Hollywood,

Bollywood and cinema of Iran by looking at the main features such as: domination of male gaze,

8

violence, femininity, women's rights and sexuality, traditions myths, stereotypes, ideology etc.

Each of these elements is discussed by using awarded or best sellers films to illustrate the

formula that is used in Hollywood, Bollywood and Iranian cinema to undermine women.

Review of the Literature

No doubt about it, in the United States and many other parts of the world, the relation between

gender and communication is an interesting issue. Depictions of masculinity and femininity in

media have been the subject of fairly extensive research, ranging from qualitative observations to

thorough quantitative content analysis. However, the number of studies narrows considerably

when considering only comparative studies between three countries, narrows even more when

comparing western culture with nonwestern -cultures. This section presents a brief overview of

the gender-related literature regarding Hollywood, Bollywood and Iranian cinema. Gaps in the

research will be revealed, displaying the importance of the current study and its contribution to

the state of knowledge on the subject.

Lorber argues that gender is not innate, but is socially constructed; in other words it is

―constantly created and recreated out of human interaction‖13

. Gender is learned and solidified

by tradition, observation, and imitation. Boys and girls learn to act based on what their social

group (including parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other children) teaches them about their

gender 14

.

Social scientist scholars assert on the role of socialization in the construction of gender identity.

Socialization is the process through which individuals learn to adapt the behaviors and values of

a group. Traditionally, parents, schools, peers, and churches have been largely responsible for the

9

socialization process15

. However, the nature of the media and its presence in everyday life has

increasingly contributed to the socialization of citizens.

Assigning expectations of behavior to males and females is one of the primary ways people

organize their lives. As Li Vollmer and Lapointe 16

argue: ―It is through this constructed lens of

gender that we view much of the world around us‖. Traditionally, males are expected and taught

to be more active, aggressive, and dominant, while women are expected and taught to be more

passive, caring, and nurturing.17

Differentiating sex from gender has been a key principle in feminist and social equality theories.

While sex is generally classified by what sexual organs a person is born with, gender is a

culturally-prescribed manner of assigning expected roles and behaviors to men and women.18

A primary consideration in discussing the effects of media when considering what it means to be

male or female is the difference between sex and gender.

Butler 19

describes gender as not being as stable or fixed as sex. The behaviors of males and

females are often categorized as being stereotypical in nature. While some stereotypes may serve

as standardized images and conceptualizations that are not inaccurate in nature, other stereotypes

often rely on incorrect information in their portrayals.20

These negative stereotypes play on a

human's emotions rather than their intellectual knowledge. Being labeled as a boy or girl ―acts as

a selective mechanism that assimilates gender-relevant information, objects, and behaviors‖.21

A large part of creating one‘s subjective perspective of gender is through the observation of male

and female models.22

Film, television, and other media provide such models through their

characters and scripts, and there is evidence to suggest that worldviews, including gender

10

expectations, can be shaped in part by media. Shrum 23

describes ―cultivation effects,‖ or a

positive correlation between the amount of media consumed and the tendency to activate mental

constructs about the world based on the programs and films watched. In other words, viewers

who heavily watch television and movies are more likely to perceive the world as being similar

to the programs viewed than those who view TV and films sparingly. An example of cultivation

effects are found in Shrum‘s 24

reports that persons more frequently exposed to crime films report

a greater perceived likelihood of being victims of violence than those who rarely watch crime

films. These cultivation effects combine with ―accessibility effects,‖ which are the recalling of

moments, messages, dialogue, narrative, and other details in media.

Thus frequent consumers more readily recall specific details from what they watch, which are

then converted via cultivation effects into schemas for understanding the world.

Scholars such as Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli25

have also described a positive

correlation between the amount of television watched and viewer perceptions of reality as being

similar to the programs. Argues Bain26

: ―By identifying with the characters and actions occurring

onscreen, many viewers submerse themselves in the film; the boundaries between imagination

and reality are blurred‖. While other factors, such as upbringing and experience, contribute to an

individual‘s worldview, the possibility that popular media might influence expectations and

understanding about gender should not be underestimated.27

A key point in this study is that more than actual differences in communication patterns,

perceptions of women‘s and men‘s behaviors are gendered. The predominant culture‘s gendered

lens can be reflected by media frankly especially in movies. In this part so many scholars have

been debating on representation of women on cinema with regard to perceptions that they have

11

come from the culture, language or tradition with gendered approach. Many scholars try to

analyze movies and critic presence of women that are reproduced by films for audience, they

find many aspect that have leaded to women misuse and abuse of women in the cinema and each

of them suggested some points based on their research on this issues that in following are

asserted completely.

The study of gendered representations in the cinema began in the early 1970s with Molly

Haskell's From Reverence to Rape: the Treatment of Women in the Movies .28

Haskell looks at

images of women in movies made from the 1920s to the 1970s (the 1980s are included in the

second edition), mainly but not exclusively in Hollywood. The book's scope is ambitious,

identifying major themes in American cinema such as "The flight from women and the fight

against them in their role as entrappers and civilizers".29

The study of images of women was crucial to the development of feminist film culture in the

early 1970s but was superseded in the feminist film theory that emerged in the middle of that

decade by textual approaches concerned less with the manifest content of films than with the

ideological predispositions embedded in their syntax and in the apparatus itself.

Drawing on post-structuralism, semiotics and psychoanalysis, Claire Johnston was

a feminist film theoretician. She wrote seminal essays like Feminist Politics and Film History30

,

Women's Cinema as Counter-Cinema 31

on the construction of ideology in mainstream cinema;

she developed a theory of cinematic representation based on an understanding of film narrative

as a mythic system that naturalizes conventional gender relations. Within this system, the figure

of woman functions not as a representation of female subjectivity but as the object of male

desire. Thus Johnston's remark that despite the enormous emphasis placed on woman as

12

spectacle in the cinema, woman as woman is largely absent. However, rather than calling for the

production of realistic or positive images of women, she argues that the more stylized and

unrealistic a film's iconography, the more it de-naturalizes both itself and the ideology it serves.

Unlike many feminists in the 1970s, Johnston does not reject popular cinema as a "dream

machine" but embraces its contradictory possibilities. In her comments on the films of Dorothy

Arzner (1900–1979), one of a very few female directors in the studio system, Johnston lays

claim to a reflexive and critical strain within Hollywood cinema.

Laura Mulvey started writing on feminist film theory in the 70's and since developing ideas

about the male gaze, she and husband, Peter Wollen, joined heads and directed films dealing

with the position of women in relation to patriarchy, symbolic language and male fantasy.

In 1975 Laura Mulvey wrote what is perhaps the most celebrated and contentious essay in the

history of film studies, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema."32

Mulvey's essay is also

concerned with Hollywood but concentrates on looking at relations as they are systematized by

mainstream conventions. Mulvey criticized the film industry for decades of essentially assigning

only two roles to women in movies: that of erotic object for the characters on screen and that of

erotic object for the audience members. The ―male gaze,‖ as she termed it, assured that films

would take the man‘s perspective and cater to male patrons, effectively denying woman‘s voice

and the interests of female audience members. In mainstream cinema, Mulvey contends, a

gendered division of labor allies the male hero with the movement of the narrative and the

female figure with its spectacle. The cinematic apparatus aligns the gaze of the spectator with

that of the camera, and editing conventions subsume the look of the camera into that of the

protagonist. This system of looks assumes narcissistic identification with the male protagonist of

the narrative and voyeuristic enjoyment of the female object of the gaze. This enjoyment is,

13

however, ambivalent, because of the castration anxiety engendered by the sight of the woman.

The two forms of pleasure associated with the female image are also defenses against this threat:

sadism, which acknowledges sexual difference and takes pleasure in investigating woman's guilt,

and fetishism, which disavows sexual difference and worships woman (or a particular body part

or item of clothing) as phallic substitute. Mulvey concludes her essay with a radical attack on the

pleasures of mainstream cinema and calls for a cinema of "passionate detachment" in terms that

strongly evoke the materialist avant-garde and the political counter-cinema of the 1970s. This

analysis has been revisited and modified by many theorists and historians, including, on several

occasions, Mulvey herself, and from this debate film studies has developed a complex

understanding of cinema as a social technology of gender.

Feminist studies as a larger field of study has become a 'global movement' in which femininity in

all walks of life have been scrutinized. Feminist film studies, being a microcosm of this, have

examined representation of women on screen, television and writings on gender and film. Many

theorists have addressed the topic of women in film. The impact of cinema on critical studies

over the years has been significant and has focused on the misrepresentation or lack of

representation of women in film. The reasoning behind this being, as Kaplan33

suggests, is that

"all dominant images are basically male constructs". The gendered nature of film is one that has

been documented and questioned greatly.

John Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. He wrote ‗The ways of

seeing‟. The series and book criticize traditional Western cultural aesthetics by raising questions

about hidden ideologies in visual images.

The book Ways of seeing 34

consists of seven numbered essays: four using words and images; and

three essays using only images. The book has contributed to feminist readings of popular culture,

14

through essays that focus particularly on depictions of women in advertisements and oil

paintings. Ways of seeing is considered a seminal text for current studies of visual culture and art

history. He asserted on this essay about representation of women: men act and women appear.

Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at .This determines not only most

relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of

women in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object and most

particularly an object of vision: a sight.

Annette Kuhn35

started to focus on feminism and materialism in her later studies and branched

off into film. She is a professor of film at Lancaster University and is currently the co-editor of

Screen. In her analysis of the film industry and proposal of creating a new feminist cinema, Kuhn

examines Hollywood which is a well-established form of entertainment and communication. It is

imperative to understand the established workings of dominant cinema in order to critique it.

Kuhn specifically looks at women in Hollywood cinema and their roles, not only as actresses but

as movie makers as well. Kuhn's work is overtly materialist and Marxist feminist. She also

briefly looks at psychoanalysis and extends Mulley's discussion of psychoanalysis in terms of

cinema by looking at the 'female gaze'.

In addition the position of women in Indian Cinema especially in Bollywood is discussed by

some Indian scholars Such as Butalia. Urvashi Butalia was born in India and studied literature at

The University of Delhi. She is a Masters graduate in South Asian studies from the University of

London. She is an activist in many aspects of human rights and is currently a consultant for

Oxfam India. Butalia's 1984 article Women in Indian Cinema36

still has prevalence today as it is

a general discussion of women and how they are embodied in Indian cinema. She discusses

topics such as culture, religion and traditions, which should be examined when thinking and

15

theorising about Bollywood. She affirms that although women are becoming increasingly visible

in cinema, we have to question what kind of visibility it is and who the image of the visible

woman is serving. She says that "in spite of increased visibility, Indian women are not, in

general, autonomous and self-defined in films".37

They are seen as either good or bad and not in

between and they seldom question that role or the men who control the representation of that

role. The good ones are ―More often than not (self-sacrificing) mothers, (dutiful) daughters,

(loyal) sisters or (obedient and respectful) wives… Bad women, other than being modern, are

often single, sometimes widowed...westernised (synonymous with being fast and 'loose'),

independent (a male preserve), aggressive (a male quality) and they may even smoke or drink‖.38

Butalia explained that film, since being influenced by Hollywood has begun to show seemingly

strong women who have ambitions but these ambitions are almost always dashed by the fact that

she is an Indian woman and for Indian women, that kind of thing is just not done. She also writes

about alternate Indian cinema and how these low-budget and high-conscientising films have

begun to articulate social dilemmas but how they have "little impact in the home, where it is

most important" 39

because of the lack of funding and the fact that the films do not cater to the

masses who want to see the typical Bollywood melodrama.

Sanqeeta Datta is a film historian and belongs to the film society, In Focus, which offers a forum

for South Asian cinema and diasporic Indian cinema. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at

the University of Sussex.

Datta in her article ‗Globalisation and Representations of Women in Indian Cinema‟,40

looks at

generic depictions of women in Indian cinema and Bollywood in particular. She talks about

globalisation and the impact that has had on Indian cinema's representation of women which I

will not delve into here. I focus on her discussion of the broad-spectrum representation of women

16

in Bollywood film. First she discusses "the village belle" 41

and how women are portrayed as

simple, traditional, motherly and dutiful. Women in Bollywood, according to Datta "serve to

maintain male domination. In Indian mainstream cinema we continue to see a patriarchal version

of female sexuality42

. Even strong female characters in modern films are turned into "dreamy

eyed lovelorn girl[s]"43

. As she discussed, through prayer, song and dance sequences, flimsy

characterisation and the love story being led by the male protagonist, even in modern and

seemingly progressive films, "though the narrative attempts to appear emancipated and

contemporary, it presents a conservative ideology in valorising the male and objectifying the

female...casting women as embodying and sustaining tradition".44

In Datta's view, the majority of Bollywood films represent the female protagonist as being soft,

beautiful and traditional. Datta's grouse is that this recycling of old stereotypes of the valiant

male and the conservative sari-clad female and with the recycling of these stereotypes there is

little room for women to make their mark as strong individuals.

Datta also looks at what it means to be feminine in Bollywood terms. The female characters "do

not articulate a new subjectivity but remain limited as the filmmaker's imaginary feminine... The

subjects of these stories are deprived of any agency as their voices are manipulated to fit in the

designed narratives".45

She argues that Indian female stars (and characters) are continually

objectified through the parading of the body in barely-there sari blouses, Hindu tradition

governing their lives and marriage being the point of their existence. This establishes the lack of

control of the female star over her own body, ideology and future.

The Indian woman is always seen as either a good Hindu with the purpose of marriage and child-

bearing being the crux of her existence and "the idealising of concepts like duty and tradition

limit the possibilities for any emancipatory journey for the heroine".46

This, she suggests is

17

evident in any Bollywood film that one happens to pick up off a video store shelf. Datta also puts

forward the theory of female directors in Indian cinema buying into this norm because of the

guarantee of market success. They seldom challenge the patriarchal status quo and if it is done, it

is done in a limited and flimsy manner.

She says that we "urgently need films in which female spectators can identify with the images

and situations other than these stipulated by the male hegemonic gaze‖.47

However, we cannot do

this until we fully deconstruct Bollywood cinema and examine the major aspects of it that uphold

patriarchal values.

Moreover, there are many works that discuss about women position in the cinema of Iran.

Hamid Naficy is a professor of Art and Art History/Film and Media Studies and he wrote several

books and papers about Social History of Iranian Cinema like ‗Iranian Cinema under the Islamic

Republic‟.48

In his latest study, he compared and contrasted Pahlavi Era and post-revolutionary

cinema. He discussed the purification of Iranian movies and imposition of Islamic values.

Second, he discussed the role of women behind and in front of the camera. He stated that women

cinema in Iran is exclusively an art cinema and discussed the aesthetic of veiling.

Naficy49

focused on and talked about the work of Rakhshan Bani-Etemad that she has made a

number of documentaries and films dealing with poverty, divorce and polygamy.

Hamid Dabashi, is an Iranian-American Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature

at Columbia University in New York City. In his book ‗Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past,

Present, and Future,50

Hamid Dabashi examines the growing reputation of Iranian cinema from

its origines in the films of Kimiyai and Mehrjui, through the work of established directors such

as Kiraostami, Beyzai and Bani-Etemad, to young film-makers like Samira Makhmalbaf and

Bahman Qobadi, who triumphed at the Cannes 2000 festival.

18

Dabashi in this study touches on a very significant and often ignored subject of women in Iranian

cinema. Here another maverick director, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad‘s documentary style social

realist work is introduced in more detail. In a significant analysis of her cinema, Dabashi argues

that her "subversive jolting of sexuality is something exclusive to her cinema,"51

which he sees

as pathologically absent from the work of her male counterparts. He notes that it is only after

reading this "feminine gaze" that it becomes transparent that the men wish to remodel the real.52

Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad completed his Ph.D. in Media Studies in 2006 at SOAS, University of

London. He currently teaches at the Centre for Media and Film Studies at SOAS and at the

Institute of Ismaili Studies. In his book ‗The politics of Iranian cinema: film and society in the

Islamic Republic53

, he reveals the complex behind-the-scenes negotiations between filmmakers

and the authorities which constitute a major part of the workings of film censorship. Zeydabadi-

Nejad traces the relationship of Iranian cinema to recent social/political movements in Iran,

namely reformism and women‘s movement, and shows how international acclaim has been

instrumental in filmmakers‘ engagement with matters of political importance in Iran.

Shahla Lahiji is a women's rights activist and publisher in Iran. Lahiji has written several books,

including Portraits of Women in the Work of Bahram Beizaie, Filmmaker and Scriptwriter in

Persian and The Quest for Identity: the Image of Iranian Women in Prehistory and History.54

Najmeh Khalili Mahani has several works on representation of women in Iranian cinema such as

Women of Iranian Popular Cinema: Projection of Progress55

.She discussed about presence of

women in Iranian cinema in different stages after Islamic revolution.

19

Objectives

The Main Objective

To analyze similarities and differences between Hollywood, Bollywood and Iranian

cinema in the representation of women‘s identity

Other Objectives

To explore the different theories on the representation of women in the media

To explore how women are portrayed in the Hollywood, Bollywood and Iranian cinema

politically and socially

To analyze main elements that are influential in representation of women‘s identity in

these three cinemas

Question of Research

How women politically and socially are represented in Hollywood, Bollywood and

Iranian Cinema and what are similarities and differences between them?

Hypothesis

―Since 1970s representation of women‘s identity in the cinema have been challenging by

feminist film theorists. Even now after first and second wave of feminism and three decades of

feminist film criticism, representation of women in Hollywood, Bollywood and Iranian cinema

are not well-represented as might be expected. .In Hollywood capitalism ideology and

consumerist culture are placed women as an object and ―bearer of the look not maker‖. Moreover

in Bollywood on the one hand severe traditional cods and Hinduism ideology put much burden

on women shoulder. on the other hand in way of globalization consumerism impose its rules to

20

Indian cinema industry therefor cinema imposes it to women In addition in Iranian cinema

traditions, convention and Islamic ideology have constructed some codes of representation for

women identity. However it supposed that in Iranian cinema because of Islamic codes, depiction

of women politically and socially is well-presented than Bollywood and Hollywood therefore

women in Iranian cinema not have to bear objectification and idealization codes as much as

women in Bollywood and Hollywood have to. This point makes brilliant difference between

these three cinemas.‖

Research Methodology and Source of Data

This section includes a description of mixed methodology research samples, an explanation of

the sampling techniques used, discusses the units of analysis, explains how quantitative and

qualitative methods were used, and offers definitions of each variable of interest. Leech and

Onwuegbuzie56

define mixed methodology research as ―collecting, analyzing and interpreting

qualitative and quantitative data in a single study… that investigates the same underlying

phenomenon‖. The present study uses fully mixed quantitative and qualitative data collection

methods that occurred concurrently and also included an integration of findings from both

methodological camps during the interpretation phase.

Leech and Onwuegbuzie 57

argue that using mixed methods approaches allows the study to have

more credibility than if a singular method was employed and that the use of mixed methods

allows the structure of the research design to be more flexible in nature. In order to come to

conclusions that are not constrained by the method used, both qualitative and quantitative

analysis will best provide the researcher with ―unique insights that cannot be obtained by the

other method‖.58

21

By using a mixed methodology approach, the researcher is in the best position to provide a more

complete understanding of a research problem.59

Wilson 60

advocates for the integration of

quantitative and qualitative research, saying, ―quantitative data are composites of qualitative

data; the numbers mean nothing unless the researcher puts meaning behind the numbers‖61

.

Other advantages to use a mixed methods approach include the ability to make stronger

inferences about observed phenomenon as well as the opportunity to answer questions that using

just one methodology.

Mixed researchers believe that ―the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches in combination

provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone‖.62

One

common purpose of using a mixed approach is to facilitate the richness of data and to expand the

interpretation of the findings.63

Consequently, this study uses two following methods for data collecting and analysis:

Library method

The researcher collects her information through gathering and analyzing data from books,

papers, as well as the statistics and tables available in the books, magazines and valid internet

databases on movies, feminist film theory and gender identity.

The qualitative and library method is used in chapter Two (theoretical framework) and chapter

Three, Four and Five that related to each countries. Chapter Three is a deep study on Hollywood

and all influential aspects on representation of women in the Hollywood are discussed. In this

chapter the researcher try to investigate, discover and critic these aspects. Moreover, in chapter

Four and Five the same way for analyzing and describing the main factors and aspects that

affected representation of women in Bollywood and Iranian cinema is done.

22

In these chapters the researcher strives to analyze what are the political and social aspects of

representation of women in both countries. Moreover this study attempts to find key concepts in

each society, then with regard to these aspects we can draw our factors or elements that is useful

for next stage. The next stage is content analyze and quantitative approach based on our

investigation on qualitative research.

In qualitative part we examine several concepts that they have direct or indirect impact on

political and social representation of women that depends on several aspects like, ideology,

religion, tradition, mythology, stereotypes etc.

Content analysis

The methodology used as an actual investigation of this research at the chapter Six is one of

textual or content analysis and I aim to take this further by looking at content analysis from a

gendered perspective.

Content analysis is very important when looking at visual texts. "There is no such thing as

unmediated access to reality"64

and a content analysis is the closest form of analysis to a raw

reading of a film. The methodology that is used is critical content analysis of the films. Content

analysis or textual analysis is a sort of qualitative data collection which requires a thorough

investigation of the subject matter. Content analysis is important in the examination of film

because film is a text that needs to be broken down in order to understand its inner workings.

Coding procedure

Rose 65

describes content analysis as ―counting the frequency of certain visual elements in a

clearly defined sample of images, and then analyzing those frequencies‖ For the content analysis,

a coding book was designed in order to define each variable of interest. (See table 1) The coding

23

book is designed based on theoretical framework of this research. Then, in the initial phase of the

research project, each movie was watched and occurrences of each variable of interest were

noted on a separate coding sheet for each character being analyzed.

While viewing each video, attention was also paid to new emergent themes that were uncovered;

these themes were then added to the code book, in order to adjust for character dimensions not

mentioned in the research that was reviewed.

Based on theoretical framework of this research (gaze theory, voyeurism, sexual objectification

theory, stereotype theory, patriarchy, subordination and ritualization of subordination theory), a

toolbox for coding of visual elements is designed. This analytical toolbox consisted from on 42

indicators, and it is classified within five categories. Most of them are examined by counting

scenes that carry the content of the indexes it tried to find very relevant indexes that are

numerable which indicates denotation that has social and political connotations.

In this way, each film has been watched three times: one time ―syntactically‖, film as a ―whole

comprehensive‖ therefore it classified based on some main information such as country, name,

date, decade, genre, protagonists, awards are taken and etc. Second time: ―paradigmatic‖,

focusing on details separately and considering the film as images and readable units.

Consequently, in the second time film watching they are examined by the table of indicators.

Finally, in the third time, data is rechecked precisely. Furthermore, data‘s of indicators are drawn

on Excel program; hence they are readable for analyzing and discussing.

In the table 1, indicators and categories of three countries are compared and elaborated lengthy.

24

Table 1. Categories and Indicators of the Content Analysis

I. Conventional, Traditional and Ideological Codes

1- Religious practices and performing rituals

2-Oobjection to the current order

3-Breaking the taboos

4-Respect to the conventions, customs and ethics

5- Social and political issues

6- Discontent of everyday life

7- Patriarchal elements

8- Sexual harassment

II. Ritualization of Subordination

9- Asking question or for help

10-Number of scenes of smiling

11- Gazing to opposite sex

12- Aphorism in the movies

13- Dominant and decisive position

14- Losing emotional control and crying

15- Nursing, caring and presenting services

16- Withdrawing against attack or fear

17- Screaming

18- Betraying

19- Driving

20- Babysitting and housework

25

III. Family Representation and Occupation

21- Being indoors

22-Attendance in workplace

23-Occupation with high position

24-Ordinary occupation

IV. Character Types

25-Playing in Seductive role

26-Unsophisticated role

27-Democratic and open mind character.

28-Independent and bossy manner

29-Productive character.

30-Passive manner

31-Frequently nervous

32-Smoker and drunk

33-Aggressive character

V. Objectification and Idealization

34-Gazing to opposite sex

35-Changing dress

36-Naked body and physical and sexual attractiveness.

37-Looking in the mirror

38-Close up on the face

39-Idealization of body (feminine & masculine)

40-Fair skin, straight hair

41-Make-up and jewelry

42-Dance (rain dance, hooker dance)

Sampling

Thirty movies were included in the sample (See pp.26-56). Movies included in the sample were

produced in the time period ranging from 1990 through 2012. Ten awarded or famous movies

from Hollywood, Bollywood and Iran‘s cinema are selected for content analysis. Criteria for

inclusion were that each movie should be awarded in a significant national or international Film

festival or had the box office success.

26

Hollywood

The Silence of the Lambs

Name The Silence of the Lambs

Genre Crime Drama Thriller

Story A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer

to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Director Jonathan Demme

Stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney

Release year 1991

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Picture, Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ronald M. Bozman

Best Director, Jonathan Demme

Best Actor, Anthony Hopkins

Best Actress, Jodie Foster

Golden Globe Awards record

Best Actress, Jodie Foster

British Academy Film Awards record(BAFTA)

Best Actor, Anthony Hopkins

Best Actress, Jodie Foster

27

The English Patient

Name The English Patient

Genre Drama | Romance | War

Story Beginning in the 1930's, "The English Patient" tells the story of Count

Almásy who is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical

Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several

other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a

world of love, betrayal, and politics that is later revealed in a series of

flashbacks while Almásy is on his death bed after being horribly burned in a

plane crash.

Director Anthony Minghella

Stars Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe

Release year 1996

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Picture (Saul Zaentz)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Juliette Binoche

Golden Globe

Motion Picture – Drama (Saul Zaentz)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture (Gabriel Yared)

BAFTA Awards

Best Film (Saul Zaentz)

28

Titanic

Name Titanic

Genre Drama | Romance

Story A seventeen-year-old aristocrat, expecting to be married to a rich claimant by

her mother, falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-

fated R.M.S. Titanic.

Director James Cameron

Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

Release year 1997

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Director

James Cameron

Golden Globe

Best Director - Motion Picture

James Cameron Best Motion Picture – Drama

BAFTA

Best Film James Cameron Jon Landau

29

Shakespeare in Love

Name Shakespeare in Love

Genre Comedy | Drama | Romance

Story A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman

and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays..

Director John Madden

Stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush

Release year 1998

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Picture David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Marc Norman, Harvey Weinstein

and Edward Zwick

Best Actress Gwyneth Paltrow

Best Supporting Actress Judi Dench

BAFTA Awards

BAFTA Award for Best Film

BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Judi Dench Won

30

American Beauty

Name American Beauty

Genre Drama

Story Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife,

in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping

deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he

becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends. Meanwhile, his

daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door

named Ricky, who lives with a homophobic father.

Director Sam Mendes

Stars Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

Release year 1999

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Kevin Spacey

Best Director :Sam Mendes

BAFTA Awards

Best Film: Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Kevin Spacey

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role : Annette Bening

31

Chicago

Name Chicago

Genre Comedy | Crime | Musical

Story Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and

sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her

boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find

themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them

from the gallows in 1920s Chicago

Director Rob Marshall

Stars Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere

Release year 2002

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Catherine Zeta-Jones

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: John Myhre (art director) Gordon Sim

(set decorator)

Golden Globe

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Richard Gere

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Renée Zellweger

32

Million Dollar Baby

Name Million Dollar Baby

Genre Drama | Sport

Story A determined woman works with a hardened boxing trainer to become a

professional.

Director Clint Eastwood

Stars Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman

Release year 2004

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Picture — Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg

Best Director — Clint Eastwood

Best Actress in a Leading Role — Hilary Swank

Best Actor in a Supporting Role — Morgan Freeman

Golden Globe

Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama — Hilary Swank

Best Director - Motion Picture — Clint Eastwood

33

Avatar

Name Avatar

Genre Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Story A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission

becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels

is his home.

Director James Cameron

Stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver

Release year 2009

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Art Direction Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim

Sinclair (Set Decoration)

Best Cinematography Mauro Fiore

Golden Globe

Best Director James Cameron

Best Film – Drama James Cameron and Jon Landau

34

Black Swan

Name Black Swan

Genre Drama | Sport

Story A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the

delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she

becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

Director Darren Aronofsky

Stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Release year 2010

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Actress Natalie Portman

BAFTA

Best Actress Natalie Portman

Golden Globe

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Natalie Portman

35

Artist

Name Artist

Genre Comedy | Drama | Romance

Story Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller literally bumps into

the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin. The star reacts

graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his cheek as they are surrounded by

photographers. The headlines demand: "Who's That Girl?" and Peppy is

inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy

slowly rises through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns

Valentin's world upside-down..

Director Michel Hazanavicius

Stars Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman

Release year 2011

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Thomas Langmann

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jean Dujardin

BAFTA

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Best Film: Thomas Langmann

Best Leading Actor: Jean Dujardin

36

Bollywood

Bandit Queen

Name Bandit queen

Genre Biography | Drama

Story The movie tells the story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to

prison in 1983 and got free in 1994. During five years she was prosecuted by

the Indian police and turned into a legend (like a modern Robin Hood) by the

Indian press. Although the press tended to make her the optimal hero with

blue eyes, dark hair, being tall and beautiful she was in reality an average

Indian which makes it hard for the movie to fulfill the expectations of the

audience and tell the truth at the same time. Later in her life,She entered into

the politics and was assassinated in 2001

Director Shekhar Kapur

Stars Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Aditya Srivastava

Release year 1994

Important

Awards

National Film Awards

Silver Lotus Award Best Actress: Seema Biswas

Best Feature Film in Hindi

Filmfare Award

Best Director: Shekhar Kapur

37

Bombay

Name Bombay

GGenre Drama | Musical | Romance

Story A Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move

to Mumbai, where the have two children. However, growing religious

tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.

Director Mani Ratnam

Stars Arvind Swamy, Manisha Koirala Nassar

Release year 1995

Important

Awards

National Film Awards

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration – Mani

Ratnam

National Film Award for Best Editing – Suresh Urs

Edinburgh International Film Festival (Scotland)

Gala Award – Bombay – Mani Ratnam

Jerusalem Film Festival (Israel)

Wim Van Leer in Spirit for Freedom Award – Best Feature – Bombay –

Mani Ratnam

38

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Name Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Genre Comedy | Drama | Musical

Story A young man and woman - both of Indian descent but born and raised in

Britain - fall in love during a trip to Switzerland. However, the girl's

traditional father takes her back to India to fulfill a betrothal promise

Director Aditya Chopra

Stars Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri

Release year 1995

Important

Awards

National Film Awards

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome

Entertainment

Filmfare Award

Best Movie Award: Yash Chopra

Best Director Award: Aditya Chopra

Best Actor Award: Shahrukh Khan

Best Actress Award: Kajol

39

Fire

Name Fire

Genre Comedy | Drama | Musical

Story Ashok runs a family business that sells takeout food that also has a video

rental store at the side. Ashok's extended family includes his wife Radha, his

brother Jatin, their ailing motherBiji and their manservant Mundu, all living

under the same roof…..

It was one of the first mainstream films in India to explicitly show

homosexual relations.

Director Deepa Mehta

Stars Nandita Das , Shabana Azmi

Release year 1996

Important

Awards

Barcelona International Women's Film Festival

Audience Award Fiction Film

Chicago International Film Festival

Silver Hugo Best Actress :Shabana Azmi

Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film festival

Special Prize of the Jury Deepa Mehta

40

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Name Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Genre Comedy | Musical | Romance

Story During their college years, Anjali was in love with her best-friend Rahul, but

he had eyes only for Tina. Years later, Rahul and the now-deceased Tina's

eight-year-old daughter attempts to reunite her father and Anjali.

Director Karan Johar

Stars Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji

Release year 1998

Important

Awards

Filmfare Award

Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan

Best Actress: Kajol

Best Art Direction: Sharmishta Roy

Best Director: Karan Johar

41

Zubeidaa

Name Zubeidaa

Genre Adventure | Biography

Story Zubeida, an aspiring Muslim actress, marries a Hindu prince to become his

second wife. Her tumultuous relationship with her husband, and her inner

demons lead her to a decision which has fatal consequences for them all.

Director Shyam Benegal

Stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee

Release year 2001

Important

Awards

National Film Award

Silver Lotus Award Best Regional Film (Hindi)

Farouq Rattonsey (producer)

Shyam Benegal (director

Filmfare Award

Best Actress - Critics

Karisma Kapoor

42

Devdas

Name Devdas

Genre Musical | Romance

Story After his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in

love with, Devdas Mukherjee's life spirals further and further out of control

as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Stars Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai

Release year 2002

Important

Awards

National Film Award

Golden Lotus Award Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome

Entertainment: Bharat S. Shah (producer) ,Sanjay Leela Bhansali (director)

Filmfare Award

Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan

Best Actress: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan .Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Best Film

43

Jodhaa Akbar

Name Jodhaa Akbar

Genre Action | Adventure | Biography

Story A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to

true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess,

Jodha.

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Stars Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonu Sood

Release year 2008

Important

Awards

Awards of the International Indian Film Academy

Popular Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role : Hrithik Roshan

Best Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

São Paulo International Film Festival

Audience Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Ashutosh Gowariker

44

3 Idiots

Name 3 Idiots

Genre Comedy | Drama | Romance

Story Two friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their

college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to

think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".

Director Rajkumar Hirani

Stars Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Mona Singh, Kareena Kapur

Release year 2009

Important

Awards

Awards of the International Indian Film Academy

Popular Awardfor Best Actor in a Supporting Role:Sharman Joshi

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Kareena Kapoor

Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Filmfare Awards

Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Best Film: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Best Supporting Actor: Boman Irani

45

Kahaani

Name Kahaani

Genre Drama | Thriller

Story A pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London

to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met her husband.

Director Sujoy Ghosh

Stars Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee

Release year 2012

Important

Awards

National Film Awards

Silver Lotus Award for Best Editing: Namrata Rao

Best Screenplay: Sujoy Ghosh

Special Jury Award: Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Filmfare Awards

Best Actress: Vidya Balan

Best Director: Sujoy Ghosh

46

Iranian Cinema

Nargess

Name Nargess

Genre Drama

Story A sharp-edged look at people who live outside the constraints of Islamic law.

In her fourth feature, director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad tells the tragic story of

a love triangle. Afagh, an aging thief who has lost her beauty, is on the verge

of losing her young lover, Adel. When Adel meets the beautiful Nargess, he

decides to go straight, but honest work does not come easily, and he decides

to go back to the old life for one last job. "Bani-Etemad pushes the Iranian

censorship code to the limit, managing to make her outsider characters

believable and moving

Director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

Stars Farimah Farjami, Abolfazl Poorarab, Atefeh Razavi

Release year 1992

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Director: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

47

Two Women

Name Two Women (Do Zan)

Genre Drama

Story A sensation when released in 1999 in Iran, Two Women charts the lives of

two promising architecture students over the course of the first turbulent

years of the Islamic Republic. Tahimine Milani creates this scathing portrait

of those traditions - aided by official indifference - which conspire to trap

women and stop them from realizing their full potential; the inclusion of

frank depictions of domestic violence was hailed by many as a breakthrough

in dealing with a long taboo subject.

Director Tahmineh Milani,

Stars Mohammad Reza Forutan, Niki Karimi, Reza Khandan

Release year 1999

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Best Actress Niki Karimi

48

Born Under Libra

Name Born Under Libra

Genre Drama | War

Story Mahtab Peyman attends a distinguished university in Tehran where her

authoritarian father is a prominent administrator. When he learns that she has

a boyfriend, her father is so angry that he pushes through a regulation that

men and women should attend different classes on the same campus.

Students, in turn, protest the sudden sex segregation, which they learn is due

to an unsubstantiated rumor that at least one male student has been

fraternizing with one female student. Soon, the students organize a protest,

with Mahtab eloquent in defying the authorities.

Director Ahmad Reza Darvish

Stars Mohammad Reza Forutan, Mitra Hajjar, Mahmud Azizi

Release year 2001

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress: Mitra Hajjar

Diploma of Honor for Best Actress: Mitra Hajjar

49

Killing Mad Dogs

Name Killing Mad Dogs (Original title: Sagkoshi)

Genre Thriller

Story Golrokh an Iranian lady who is a talented author struggles to settle her

presumably disloyal but amorous husband's debts that his business partner

has caused and left him to bear the consequences. To revive his hiding

husband, she puts herself through such a terrifying ordeal that shatters her

dignity and honor only to figure out a sad fact about her husband.

Director Bahram Beizai

Stars Mozhdeh Shamsai, Majid Mozaffari, Reza Kianian

Release year 2001

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Dariush Arjmand

Best Cinematography: Asghar Rafijam

Best Screenplay: Bahram Beizai

International Competition - Best Actress: Mozhdeh Shamsai

50

Baran

Name Baran

Genre Drama | Romance

Story In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Turkish worker

is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of

Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.

Director Majid Majidi

Stars Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji

Release year 2003

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Leading Role: Hossein Abedini

Best Director: Majid Majidi

Best Film: Majid Majidi

Oslo Films from the South Festival

Films from the South Award for Majid Majidi

Montréal World Film Festival

Grand Prix des Amériques: Majid Majidi

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention :Majid Majidi

51

Mum's Guest

Name Mum's Guest (Mehman e Maman)

Genre Drama | Romance

Story A mother of a poor family, has guests coming over, yet doesnt know how to

get the dinner party altogether with limited resources. The various characters

in the family as well as neighbours all work together so the mother is able to

save face in front of her guest. A real family film, where you won't cry or feel

depressed. You'll get that feeling of family coming together and having

dinner, telling jokes, etc

Director Dariush Mehrjui

Stars Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji

Release year 2004

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

Crystal Simorgh for Best Film: Dariush Mehrjui

52

Cease Fire

Name Cease Fire (Arash Bas)

Genre Comedy

Story The domestic problems of a wealthy young couple goes through the scrutiny

of an adroit psychologist to be solved.

Director Tahmineh Milani

Stars Mahnaz Afshar, Mohammad Reza Golzar, Atila Pesian

Release year 2006

Important

Awards

_

53

As Simple as That

Name As Simple as That (Be Hamin sadegi)

Genre Drama

Story Tomorrow is an important day for Amir. He had participated in an

international architecture competition to win the competition with foreign

companies. His wife ,Tahereh (Hengameh Ghaziani), followed him to make

their home in a quiet environment, but ...

Director Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi

Stars Safa Aghajani, Parvaneh Ahmadi, Ahmad Akeshteh

Release year 2008

Important

Awards

Fajr Film Festival

National Competition - Best Actress: Hengameh Ghaziani

National Competition - Best Film: Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi

Moscow International Film Festival

Golden St. George Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi

Russian Film Critics Award Main Competition: Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi

54

A Separation

Name A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin)

Genre Drama

Story A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of

their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a

deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.

Director Asghar Farhadi

Stars Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat,Shahab Hosseini

Release year 2011

Important

Awards

Academy Awards

Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Asghar Farhadi

Berlin International Film Festival

Golden Berlin Bear: Asghar Farhadi

Golden Globes

Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film

International Film Festival of India

Silver Peacock Best Director: Asghar Farhadi

55

The Private Life

Name The Private Life (Zendegi ye Khosousi)

Genre Drama

Story Zendegi-ye Khosoosi charts the life of a man who at the outset of the 1979

Revolution is a zealous revolutionary, but who over the decades evolves into

a reformist. Ebrahim Kiani (Aslani) is the editor of Mardom-e Emrouz

(Today's People) and he meets a woman journalist…

Director Mohammad Hossein Farahbakhsh

Stars Farhad Aslani, Haniyeh Tavasoli, Laya Zanganeh

Release year 2012

Important

Awards

-

56

Chapterization

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION: It includes introduction, significance of study, and review of

literature, hypothesis and research methodology. This section includes a description of mixed

methodology research samples of our study, an explanation of the sampling techniques used,

discusses the units of analysis, explains how quantitative and qualitative methods were used, and

offers definitions of each variable of interest.

Chapter II: TEORITICAL FRAMEWORK: It includes theoretical foundation of this study.

This chapter encompasses feminist film theory from which the critical information about the

representation of women in the cinema is. It goes on to a description of various theories in

academia which are applicable to this study. Patriarchy, representation, male gaze, sexual

objectification and stereotyping are theories which have formed the basis for significant literary

study in the media, and are theories which are pertinent to this study.

Chapter III: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY IN HOLLYWOOD: It

discusses Hollywood cinema and investigates about modern Hollywood cinema and everything

that makes Hollywood cinema more significant. It focuses on that how Hollywood shapes the

mind of audience around the word in case of representation of women. This study also examines

Hollywood cinema with regard to feminist film theory.

Chapter IV: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY IN BOLLYWOOD: This

chapter investigates the popular film industry in India mainly Bollywood. The importance of

patriarchy on the family system, its hold on religious aspects of life, the rule of men over women

in the sphere of cinema will be discussed. In this chapter, this research attempts to draw all of

these concepts together to form an understanding about how the media works to serve the

57

ideology of patriarchy, and to understand how this functions as a tool in Bollywood. Moreover,

the impact of globalization on the Indian film industry and cultural liberalization is analyzed.

Chapter V: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY IN IRANIAN CINEMA: It

includes the Iranian cinema, investigations about Iranian cinema after the revolution and

everything that makes Iranian cinema more significant. By focusing on that this question will be

that how it to shape the mind of the audience by ideological approach. In this chapter, the

researcher investigates on political ideology behind Iranian cinema, and finds many elements

that come from within the social system such as myths and traditions and languages.

Chapter VI: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITY OF WOMEN IN CINEAMA- A

COMPARATIVE STUDY: This is the actual investigation of the research, through comparing

the findings of several viewings of the films. Based on theoretical framework of this research, a

toolbox for coding of visual elements is designed. This analytical toolbox consisted from on 42

indicators, and it is classified in to 5 categories. Movies included in the sample were produced in

the time period ranging from 1990 through 2012. This chapter provides a comparative study of

the findings of the content analysis.

Chapter VII: CONCLUSION: This chapter provides a discussion about the finding of the

research thesis. This chapter offers a summary of the research findings on similarities and

differences of theses cinemas in the representation of women‘s identity and addresses the

theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

58

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