Michelle Langford. Allegory in Iranian cinema : the aesthetics of poetry and resistance
Michelle Langford. Allegory in Iranian cinema: the aesthetics of poetry and resistance. London: Bloomsbury, 2019
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1Langford studies the long tradition of allegorical expression in Persian culture and demonstrates that Iranian filmmakers who use it are not only motivated by the constraints of censorship, contrary to what has often been argued: allegory is an integral part of their aesthetics. Through powerful readings of films by iconic directors from both the pre and post-revolution period, Langford shows that allegory is a tool for their expression, that sometimes challenges the laws of the Islamic Republic’s on cinema, sometimes go along with them, and in all cases, acts as an instrument of negotiation in a fluid context. Her argument that the aesthetics of allegory prompts viewers to look behind the literal level of the story for hidden meanings is convincingly argued. In her reading, allegory is thus both a mode of expression and of interpretation. Scholars working on Iranian cinema and Iranian post-revolutionary culture will find it an essential reading.
References
Electronic reference
Laetitia Nanquette, “Michelle Langford. Allegory in Iranian cinema : the aesthetics of poetry and resistance”, Abstracta Iranica [Online], Volume 42-43 | 2021, document 1, Online since 30 December 2020, connection on 19 July 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/abstractairanica/51907; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/abstractairanica.51907
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