Transformational Identities of Children within Iranian and South African Fiction Films
Ayneh (The Mirror) and Life, Above All
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22169490 |
|---|---|
| Authors | YUNZI HAN (0000-0003-3034-0850, University of London), Christine Singer (0000-0003-0630-9351, Royal Holloway University of London) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2021-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Open Screens (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2516-2888 • E-ISSN: 2516-2888 |
| Publisher | Open Library of the Humanities (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.16995/os.40 |
| OpenAlex | W3171752489 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
A remarkable number of films that form part of the “arthouse“ cinemas of post-apartheid South Africa and post-revolutionary Iran put the spotlight on children and childhood. This cinematic focus on the figure of the child developed at a point in time when both countries witnessed significant political and social changes. In Iran, the Islamic Revolution of 1979 overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy and this led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic. In South Africa, in turn, the transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994 ended decades of legalised racial segregation under apartheid. This article compares and contrasts representations of children – girls in particular – within two fiction films from post-Revolutionary Iran and postapartheid South Africa – Ayneh/The Mirror (1997) and Life, Above All (2010). The analysis investigates representations of children, the relationships between children and adults, and the spaces, places, and roles ascribed to children. Particular attention is given to the ways in which representations of childhood and gender intersect. The article argues that the selected films represent girls as both situated within liminal spaces and as agents who subvert established social hierarchies and taboo subjects. The films thus construct girls as transformational agents in the context of two societies that have recently experienced periods of transitions and change
Art · Autocracy · Democracy · Igbo · Islam · Liminality · Literature · Monarchy · Movie theater · Political science · Politics · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Anthropology · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Gender Studies · History · Law
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The Contingent-Generated Documentary
The Sound of the Sound
Telling the Girl’s Side of the Story
Intimate foreigners or violent neighbours? Thinking masculinity and post-apartheid xenophobic violence through film
Organising against Gender Violence in South Africa
The Averted Gaze in Iranian Postrevolutionary Cinema
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |