An Analysis of the Representation of Iranian-Islamic Architecture and Urbanism in Iranian cinema Using Stewart Hall’s Theories

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 MA Student of Cinema, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and objectives: Many researches have been conducted on the relationship between cinema and architecture, often trying to understand why and how to show the history and style of buildings or urban spaces in the film. In the present research, the main goal is to reverse the trend and study the impact of architectural and urban spaces on the story and atmosphere of the film.
Methods: In the past few decades in Iran, the term ‘Iranian-Islamic’has referred to a type of architecture and urban planning that is often derived from local elements, complete with traditional signs and built in line with Islamic and local thinking. On the other hand, one of the most important elements involved in the form of films is the scene or the location, which is selected and designed according to the genre and story of the movie. The location and the scenes in which the film sequences are processed, help to create an atmosphere and mood for the film and play an important role in providing the correct sense of the story to the viewer. What is addressed here, using categorical content analysis, is the ways of representing the Islamic-Iranian architecture and urban planning in Iranian post-revolutionary films; those which have used location and scene to create meaning and concept related to their story. This is discussed in terms of the six categories of representation, extracted from Stuart Hall’s theories and quantified and scored according to expert opinion in both cinema and urban planning. In other words, the analysis is focused on which of the examples has the strongest association between the architectural-urban space and the story. The research method is basic in terms of purpose and converting qualitative data into quantitative.
Results and conclusion: According to the results, the location is one of the most important tools that helps the filmmaker in creating the desired mood and impact on the viewer. Therefore, an urban-architectural space based on the story logic and used with the right thinking and method, will create the desired feeling for the viewer, and create a better atmosphere. The analysis of the example showed that the films Hamoon, Pary andNar-o Ney in which all six aspects of the representation of the urban space are included scored higher in terms of qualities sought in this research.

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 July 2023
  • Revise Date: 07 November 2023
  • Accept Date: 26 November 2023

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