Document Type : Research

Authors

• Fatemeh Horabadi Farahani
• Behzad Rahbar
• Raheleh Gandomkar

Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the linguistic-gender features of characters in Iranian contemporary cinema. In this regard, 32 films directed by 4 aspiring directors in Iranian cinema namely, Mehrju’i, Banietemad, Kimiya’i, and Milani were selected. In a qualitative analysis of 8 contemporary works of each director based on Van Leeuwen’s social actor network (2008), linguistic-gender features were observed in all the selected films. In Mehrju’i’s 8 selected movies female characters passivated female gender while male characters activated male gender. Also, objectification of female gender was observed by both male and female characters. Meanwhile, male gender was identified in relation to physical power by female characters. In Banietemad’s 8 selected films, in contrast to Mehrju’i’s selected works, objectification of male gender was observed by female characters. Also, female gender in Banietemad’s selected works was represented active in general. In observing the data collected from Kimiya’i’s films, both male and female characters passivated female gender while male gender was represented as active. In Milani’s selected movies female characters activated female gender and male characters activate male gender. The objectification of both male and female gender was noticed in Milani’s and Kimiya’i’s works. The results indicate that in female directors’ selected films female gender is activated by female characters and in the majority of male director’s films male gender is also activated by female characters.

Keywords

• sociolinguistics
• gender
• Van Leeuwen
• representation
• gender-based language