Description
Book SynopsisIn the wake of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iranian society and culture underwent massive changes. Here, Khatereh Sheibani argues that cinema evolved after the national uprising in 1978/79, and ultimately replaced poetry as the dominant form of cultural expression. She presents a comparative analysis of post-revolutionary Iranian cinema as an offshoot of Iranian modernity, and explains its connections with the themes present in traditional Persian poetry and conventional visual arts. She examines the pre-revolutionary film industry - such as Iranian new wave and filmfarsi movies - its styles and themes, and its relation to the emerging cinema after 1978. Sheibani argues that Iranian art cinema, as one of the signifiers and agents of modernity, underwent a cultural revolution by employing the aesthetics of Persian literature and visual arts in a modern context. This is a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on Iranian cinema, politics and culture.
Trade Review'Here Khatereh Sheibani discusses the works of major internationally-known Iranian film directors in light of the continuum of Persian philosophical and artistic tradition in general and the poetry of Hafez and the philosophy of Sohrevardi (eshraq), in particular. In doing so, she also addresses the issues of modernity and identity, among others, as they relate to the works of filmmakers and the broader picture of Iranian society, especially sincethe Islamic Revolution and its aftermath, the Iran-Iraq War, as well as the social, political, and cultural changes brought about with the establishment of the Islamic state.' - M. R. Ghanoonparvar, Professor of Persian and Comparative Literature and Persian Language at The University of Texas at Austin; 'This book is innovative both from the point of view of the discipline of Comparative Literature and Persian literary and cinema studies, exploring continuity and change inthe development of recent Iranian cinema. Focusing on the seminal figures of new Iranian cinema such as Abbas Kiarostami and Bahram Bayzai, she traces the roots of a new form of poetic cinema that emerged in the wake of the 1979 revolution but is well anchored in the social, political and cultural movements pre-dating the revolution..' - Nasrin Rahimieh, Professor and Maseeh Chair and Director, Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Cinema as Art: A Poetic Interpretation Chapter 2: Kiarostami and the Aesthetics of Ghazal Chapter 3: Kiarostami and Modern Persian Poetry Chapter 4: Modernity and Identity in a Cinematic Perspective Chapter 5: Mirroring the Past, Envisioning the Future Chapter 6: Bayzai and the Conventions of Visual Arts Conclusion Bibliography
