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2 Documenting the Uprising, the Revolution, and the Emerging Opposition

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A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 3
This chapter is in the book A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 3
2documenting the uprising, the revolution, and the emerging opposition In the initial phase of revolution, when Pahlavi-era film culture was under attack, a movement to document the anti-Shah uprising emerged. Freed from censorship and fired by revolutionary ardor, a “spring thaw” (“spring of freedom,” in Persian) came about. Imagination became a fact of life. While filmmakers were united in their opposition to the Pahlavi regime, they dif-fered in their ideologies, modus operandi, and political affiliations, resulting in a wide variety of films. This chapter focuses on the documentaries that were made during the uprising and the full-blown revolution as well as in the immediate aftermath of these social upheavals, as opposition to the Islamici-zation of the revolution grew. Several major issues and genres of documenta-ries that emerged in this period are identified and examined.International journalists and domestic filmmakers blanketed the incipient revolution with media—the latter using equipment and raw stock “liberated” primarily from nirt’s networks and its film subsidiary, Telfilm, and from mca—to record strikes and demonstrations. The official logos of these state institutions on the equipment gave the filmmakers cover and opened doors to them. There was a great deal of excitement in the air and much danger in cov-ering this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Cinematographers used any and all raw film stock they could get their hands on and any gauge of film and video from any source. The lower-gauge formats dominated. Scores of films were
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

2documenting the uprising, the revolution, and the emerging opposition In the initial phase of revolution, when Pahlavi-era film culture was under attack, a movement to document the anti-Shah uprising emerged. Freed from censorship and fired by revolutionary ardor, a “spring thaw” (“spring of freedom,” in Persian) came about. Imagination became a fact of life. While filmmakers were united in their opposition to the Pahlavi regime, they dif-fered in their ideologies, modus operandi, and political affiliations, resulting in a wide variety of films. This chapter focuses on the documentaries that were made during the uprising and the full-blown revolution as well as in the immediate aftermath of these social upheavals, as opposition to the Islamici-zation of the revolution grew. Several major issues and genres of documenta-ries that emerged in this period are identified and examined.International journalists and domestic filmmakers blanketed the incipient revolution with media—the latter using equipment and raw stock “liberated” primarily from nirt’s networks and its film subsidiary, Telfilm, and from mca—to record strikes and demonstrations. The official logos of these state institutions on the equipment gave the filmmakers cover and opened doors to them. There was a great deal of excitement in the air and much danger in cov-ering this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Cinematographers used any and all raw film stock they could get their hands on and any gauge of film and video from any source. The lower-gauge formats dominated. Scores of films were
© 2020 Duke University Press, Durham, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents ix
  3. Illustrations xi
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Organization of the volumes xxi
  6. A word about illustrations xxvii
  7. Abbreviations xxix
  8. 1 Transition from “Cinema of Idolatry” to an “Islamicate Cinema” 1
  9. 2 Documenting the Uprising, the Revolution, and the Emerging Opposition 47
  10. 3 Consolidating a New “Islamicate” Cinema and Film Culture 115
  11. Appendix 189
  12. Notes 195
  13. Bibliography 217
  14. Index 235
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393535-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents ix
  3. Illustrations xi
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Organization of the volumes xxi
  6. A word about illustrations xxvii
  7. Abbreviations xxix
  8. 1 Transition from “Cinema of Idolatry” to an “Islamicate Cinema” 1
  9. 2 Documenting the Uprising, the Revolution, and the Emerging Opposition 47
  10. 3 Consolidating a New “Islamicate” Cinema and Film Culture 115
  11. Appendix 189
  12. Notes 195
  13. Bibliography 217
  14. Index 235
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