Narration of social harms in 70s Iranian cinema. (case studies; two women and Under the Skin Of the City)

The present study explores the narrative put forth by the Iranian cinema about social harms during the 70s in Iran through analyzing two films in particular "Two Women" and "Under the Skin of the City." The research method of this study is of descriptive-exploratory type, seeking to offer a thick description of the phenomenon under investigation. The study draws on discourse analysis method to analyze the data. To this aim, the films under discussion were categorized into genres or linguistic functions utilizing Ruth Wodak's discourse analysis method. Within each linguistic function, we addressed and answered seven key questions based on Paul Gee's discourse analysis method. The conclusion furnishes an account of social harms depicted in the movies "Two Women" and "Under the Skin of the City" based on the context and conditions of Iranian society throughout the 1990s.The findings of this research indicate that the films from the 70s address various social issues. These issues include the confrontation of two discourses of traditional and modern, resistance of the patriarchal discourse against the discourse of enlightened women advocating for social freedoms, the existence of a class divide between the affluent and the poor in society and more.
Keywords: Social Harms, Cinematic Film, Iranian Cinema, Social Harms of Women, Discourse Analysis
 
Introduction:
Cinema has always played a significant role in shaping and reflecting the social life of individuals. Cinematic discourse influences and guides the thoughts and ideas of society. Media, including cinema, plays a crucial role in presenting the meanings and symbols of society to the audience. Cinema is often regarded as the most potent medium in the modern world, effectively introducing audiences to the principles, foundations, assumptions, and societal norms, albeit in an indirect manner. It serves as a vehicle through which individuals, often subconsciously, become familiar with prevailing narratives of the existing social structure. In essence, cinema provides alluring portrayals of societal paradigms, which serve to shape the viewer's perspective and guide their thought processes towards the dissemination and consolidation of these accepted norms.Within this context, the phenomenon of "social harms" is considered one of the elements that cinematic discourse has engaged in producing and reproducing. Films have the capacity to influence individuals' perceptions of any concept, including " social harms ", thereby prompting changes and evolutions in the audience's understanding of various forms of social problems.
In the framework of a scientific research endeavor, and drawing upon new methods and approaches in text and discourse analysis, it is possible to discern the narratives of social harms that these films conveyed during their respective time periods.
 
Materials & Methods:
This research falls into the category of descriptive-exploratory studies, aiming to provide a "thick description" (in contrast to a thin description) of the subject of study. In this research, documentary techniques are employed, where the term "documents" refers to the Iranian films screened during the 70s that are in some way related to the theme of social harms. Therefore, the statistical population of this study encompasses all the films screened in Iranian cinemas during the 70s that addressed various forms of social harms in their content. The sample selection method from this population is qualitative and purposeful. This study focuses on an analysis of cinematic representations of social harms in the 70s, employing innovative methods and approaches in discourse analysis. Two specific films, "Two Women" directed by Tahmineh Milani (1998) and "Under the Skin of the City" directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (2000), were selected as case studies, representing films from that era that depicted a range of social harms. The chosen research methodology for data analysis in this study is discourse analysis. Within this analytical framework, both the theoretical foundations and methodological discourse concepts were utilized. The aim was to closely examine and dissect the discourse within these films, specifically how narratives of social harms were presented and constructed. To achieve this, the social harms constructed within these cinematic works were investigated. The data analysis in this research combined elements from the discourse analysis methodologies of Ruth Wodak and Paul Chilton. Incorporating the conceptual framework of "fields" in language, as emphasized by Ruth Wodak, it is acknowledged that each linguistic field is comprised of multiple functions, and each of these functions is associated with a particular linguistic "genre". Therefore, the available data is categorized into various functions, and linguistic units relevant to each function are identified by the researcher. The discourse analysis method of James Paul Gee is then utilized to identify the linguistic actions taking place within each of these linguistic units. According to James Paul Gee, within each text segment, there are seven distinct linguistic actions taking place following this categorization process.