Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Graduate of Women Studies, Department of Sociology, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD in Communication Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran
3 استادیار گروه جامعه شناسی، دانشکده علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی، تهران، ایران
Abstract
Abstract
This study aims at investigating the construction of the subject of female-headed households in post-revolutionary cinema in order to answer the question of how it has been represented and constructed in these works. For so doing, it employs Foucault and Althusser's interpretation of the subject. The research has been done via a semiotic method, using Fisk and Barthes model, combining it with Selby and Cowdory approach. By purposeful sampling, three films (The Blue-Veiled , Border Café (Cafe Transit), and The Corridor (Dehliz) from the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s have been selected for analysis. Results show that the power in these movies addresses family sanctity along with the need for woman management in it, also reproducing the discourse of housekeeping. But on the other hand, we see the construction of a faithful woman in return for a commitment to her husband or family and responsible for male roles. Here the desirable femininity portrayed in the films include: a) construction of a loyal housewife who supports the husband, b) the female-headed household who is committed to the family and is employed, and finally, c) the female-headed household who is chaste and a lover. The cultural meanings of the films are the lower social class of female-headed households, exposure of young female-headed households to judgment, their livelihood and economic problems, people's constructed look at them, the multiple roles they play, their strong sense of motherhood, cultural and value differences of varied ethnic groups, self-sacrifice and devotion, and drawing the old traditions of female widowhood. Also, all female-headed households try to change and start again, yet in the face of society, traditions, gender stereotypes, and the idea that men are superior, they are deprived of the opportunity to empower themselves.
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