Circumstance Film

Gandolf da Grey
Final Exam

Circumstance Film

In the film Circumstance, it is apparent that Iran’s culture is greatly different than our own. This can be seen through a modernism lens point on Iran’s subculture of sex, partying, and drugs. Iranian citizens are forced into underground communities, quite literally, in order to express their true sexualities and gender. This is enforced by Iran’s morality police, often shutting down underground events and using violent acts to prosecute those who are caught. An analysis of modernism is key to understanding how sexuality is displayed and portrayed in other cultures, which reveals how young natives risk arrests and their futures by experimenting with sex, drugs, and defiance, a rebellion against authority, thought to be a product of their own parents rebellion.

Modernism is seen in Circumstance in a dual-light, as Iran’s culture is very traditional in the viewpoints of homosexuality and queer, while Iran’s subculture is almost opposite, with a forced underground community, caused from Iran’s morality police and strict government system. This subculture can be seen throughout the film with parties and raves Atafeh and Shireen attend, while participating in drugs and sex. Because Iran’s culture is traditional, the plot also revolves around how woman are treated as second-class citizens. This can bee seen in multiple scenes, with a variety of male characters. A couple examples are when the family goes to the beach and the women are unable to swim with the men because of traditional laws prohibiting women and men to undress in front of each other, as well as when Mehran says Shireen is not allowed to sing, saying “You control your daughter, I’ll control my wife”. Women are often still seen as housekeepers, as only women family members doing housely chores. This relates to modernism in the film because modernism is only seen through Iran’s subculture and not it’s societal culture. While modernism is a norm for the youth of Iran, traditional laws prohibit modernism from walking Iranian streets freely. Iran’s subculture of parties, sex, and drugs can be seen as their own popular culture. Popular culture is often related to low culture and when a community is forced to be hidden, it becomes a low culture and steadily paces away from high culture. Atafeh and Shireen’s craving for equality and liberation seem to be a theme throughout the film. This can be perceived through Mehran’s controlling nature after the marriage and the girls need to go abroad, a place where they can be free, a place where modernism doesn’t need to be hidden. Atafeh makes it clear to her father that she views it her parent’s generations fault for the way society is now and why the accepting nature of modernism is run into the ground. The film also makes it apparent that men have the option to be modern in the daily Iranian culture, while women are required to keep traditional norms. This can be seen through men’s wardrobe vs. women’s wardrobe throughout the film. Men were allowed to wear speedos on the beach, while their female counterpart were required to wear full dress, accompanied by the hijab or looser head dresses. Culture comes from characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by language, religion, food, music, art, and belief systems. Culture operates in the film by the presentation of Iran’s customs. Iran’s culture, after the Iranian Revolution, is very traditional, with beliefs that stem from Islam. Culture is seen in the film with how women are represented and viewed. Women must be modest with their clothing, complete household cleaning duties, and are controlled by their male counterparts. The film also presents this male dominance with Mehran watching the homes cameras, spying on his sister, Atafeh and her friend, Shireen. This represents how the traditional culture, as a whole, puts men above women.

Queer is the loose term for sexualities and genders that are not heterosexual or heteronormative, shying away from the gender binary. Queer is presented in the film in multiple ways, showing both men and woman not completing their gender norms, while in their underground culture or subculture. Atafeh and Shireen have a queer relationship, showing love for each other, through kissing, hand touching, and sexual intercourse. The theme of queer is also presented when Atafeh, Shireen, and their friends are dubbing films, as well as, when they attend underground nightclubs in the city. Men and women are able to lose their gender specific roles, taking on a more modern theme.

Optional I’ve found seeing sexuality in a global sense, through pop culture to the most valuable aspect of the course. Being able to see how different cultures operate sexuality through television, film, radio, fashion, and media has really been eye opening. It has been interesting to see how sexuality, gender, and race play a key role in different cultures through these different forms of media, a major one being television and film. The power of global culture with modern technologies has really begun to allow intersectionality through different pieces of media. Throughout the semester, I have been most excited to learn about how sexuality is portrayed through different television shows, as television plays a critical role in how culture forms, in today’s world. I really enjoyed watching Telenovelas and shown how sexuality and sex (the act) is viewed among other cultures.