Structural analysis of herotic cinema in Revolution period (1978-1981) case study; the narrative analysis of the"khunbaresh"

 
Received: 08/10/2017
Accepted: 17/03/2018

Extended Abstract:
Myths, are one of the great narratives that can convey the ideas, experiences, and emerging humanity problems in various social, political and cultural circumstances and add to the richness of any literature. Therefore, the use of mythology in dramatic formats, especially films, may be viewed from two aspects of form and meaning. On the other hand, the production of mythical or heroic works has increased with a great deal of audience in recent years.
This achievement has brought scriptwriters and film makers to the point that the existence of myth can integrate the textural structure of the text and help its durability, attractiveness and impact. Since then, among all kinds of myth, the heroic myth from Jung's point of view –as the most important and influential type of myth- based on this research aims to study the status of the cinematic heroes during the Iranian revolution of 1979. The paper studies the narrative structure of the movie “bloodthirsty” as a case study using the "structural analysis of narratives" method. Further, the historical-cultural criticism will be placed alongside the text analysis to show the construction of ideological themes.
 
Theoretical background
In this section, first we try to define the important definitions in the field of myth and their functions. Then, while addressing the relationship between myth and the cinema, the structural analysis of narrative from Prop's point of view (functions and areas of action) will be examined.
 
Myths:
Although it is difficult to provide a comprehensive definition that encompasses all the features of the myth, in this section the views of the thinkers in this field illustrating the purpose of this study were mentioned and the following definition for the myth was introduced: "Myth is an alive and joint unit reality affected by and affecting culture, representing collective unconscious that relates both to the past and the future, narration the form of the story. It can also appear in various shapes like hero, beauty, generosity, and so on."
The structural analysis of narration (Propp): Propp has mentioned 31 functions for stories and put them in seven "areas of action" that correspond to the major roles of story. With this proposed model, in the case of cinema, one can also argue that how many “functions” are there in a film and how these functions create narratives in the “areas of action”.
 
Research procedure:
The levels of narrative analysis in this research will be as follows:
- Preliminary studies on the film: Implicitly, preliminary studies can be considered;
- Recognition of the narrator or narrators of the film, the production conditions, financial support, audience status, political and social conditions before and after the release, and some cases.
- Reading the movie to the text: watching the movie accurately and taking notes of events, conversations and pictures is important at this stage.
-Tapping the text to narrative text: at this point, the text of the summary and its non-narrative components are deleted.
- Narrative Analysis based on the Prop Model: after selecting the related narrative propositions, narrative analysis begins based on the Prop model.
Results and discussion:
A)    Thematic and content status of the cinema during the revolution were:

The Extreme politicization;
Highlighting ethnic orientations;
Simultaneous presentation of religion and armed struggle;
Representation of peasants struggles; and
Representation of working class battles.

B)    The status of the hero's myth in the cinema during the revolutionary period;
Based on the examined films, the character of struggling against tyranny, faith, and democracy on the one hand, and audacity, sense of revenge and resistance on the other hand, have been the main attributes of the heroes emphasized by the several directors of this period.  The hero's most significant function in the films of the revolutionary period is the function of conscientiousness, confrontation with death and sacrifices. Ultimately, the heroes of this era, which are generally derived from the capital city, are the kind of volunteer hero.
Reviewing the best-selling films of this period shows that the emphasis on "past history and events" to strength the discourse of such revolutionary period as the most important forms of the emergent of the myth of the heroic myth. It also expresses the fact that how the revolutionary excitement has spread from the street to the cinema. It also reveals how the discourses of the revolution in its political and social contexts, with elements such as formation of a universal ummah of Islam, a classless society, the struggle against tyranny, unity and empathy against internal and external enemies (the spirit of public mobilization) and rebuilding political and cultural values, manage to make hero’s myth an universal form.
 
Conclusion
The summing up of the emerging heroes during the revolutionary period indicates that unlike the pre-revolutionary heroes, such as Qaisar (Kaiser), which the result of their actions was uncertain and unclear; these heroes were able to motivate the people by their protest or to be effective in reducing oppression and corruption. Due to the production of these films after the Islamic Revolution, the hero of the story could confidently see the result of his actions and wait for better days.
Finally, the philosophical deadlock of today's obscure world has made the modern world redefine its myths and the cinema which has been manipulated as a mean of authorizing for governments. In this framework Iran's cinema was no exception; and by representation of hero's myth affected by socio-economic events has played a role in their design, guidance and their role playing.