Representation of Housewives in Iranian Cinema in the Decade of Nineties

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Social Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show how housewives are represented in Iranian cinema in comparison with their real situation. The trend of increasing literacy and higher education among women and the relative stability of women's employment indicate that a significant number of housewives possess higher university degrees. Therefore, the quality of life of these women has been enhanced. The fundamental issue of this article is the discrepancy between actuality and its depiction in cinema.
Saussure’s semiotic technique and the textual analysis method were employed in this study to identify the explicit and implicit meanings of the text through paradigmatic and syntagmatic analysis techniques. The number of six films produced in the 2020s was analyzed. The primary character in these films was either a housewife or the film’s subject matter was related to household.
The first and most significant findings of the study are that the quality of life of Iranian households has been enhanced by an increase in higher education as evidenced by statistical data. Secondly, Iranian housewives are in fact facing a challenging situation due to the unjust circumstances within their families. They desire an independent financial source and the participation of men in household chores.
Despite the fact that the quality of housewives’ lives has improved as a result of their increased education, the representation of these women in the analyzed movies remains stereotypical and inferior.

Keywords

References

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