Watching the Forbidden: Reception of Banned Films in Iran

Zeydabadi-Nejad, Saeed

Abstract

This chapter traces the reception of banned films in Iran from the 1979 revolution to the latest developments in digital technology. It examines censorship in film exhibition before discussing the reception of banned foreign films and its impact on mainstream filmmaking practice. The findings are mainly based on interviews carried out in person and over the telephone with people who either currently live in Iran or did so previously. The essay argues that the viewing of banned films, whether Iranian or foreign, constitutes resistance to the Iranian regime, pushing back its strict sociocultural confines.

Citation

Zeydabadi-Nejad, S. Watching the Forbidden: Reception of Banned Films in Iran. In M. Hagener, V. Hediger, & A. Strohmaier (Eds.), The State of Post-Cinema: Tracing the Moving Image in the Age of Digital Dissemination (99-113). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52939-8_6

• Online Publication Date: Dec 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2016
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 99-113
• Book Title: The State of Post-Cinema: Tracing the Moving Image in the Age of Digital Dissemination
• ISBN: 9781137529398
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52939-8_6
• Keywords: World Trade Organization, Music Video, World Intellectual Property Organization, Street Vendor, Iranian Regime