Iranian Journal of Sociology

Representation of “People” in the Cinematographic Works of the Iranian New Wave Movement (NWM)

Articles in Press

Authors

Somayeh Karami
Alireza Zakeri

Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Tarbiat Modares, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jsi.2026.2068869.1805
Abstract
Focusing on the representation of "the people" in key cinematic works of the second Pahlavi period, this article investigates how the populace was represented in Iranian New Wave cinema during the 1940s and 1950s [the 1340s and 1350s SH decades]. Grounded in the dual theoretical framework of representation/reflection and shaping within the sociology of art, and employing a qualitative content analysis of fifteen landmark films by five defining directors of the Iranian New Wave, the paper examines a wide spectrum of theoretical readings regarding Iranian people's agency through these cinematic representations. Regardless of the breadth of these representations—spanning a continuum from "self-conscious and creative people" to "alienated and passive people"—the study demonstrates that the reflection of the populace in these cinematic works has been constructed primarily around two central identities of class and religion. Most films depict the people as alienated, unawakened, and passive.

Keywords

People
Representation
New Wave Movement (NWM)
Self- consciousness
Alienation
Subjects
Iranian Journal of Sociology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 17 August 2026

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