A Comparative Study of the Influence of political discourses of the second half of the Seventies in Iran (1370s in the Iranian calendar) on the Film Posters of The Smell of Camphor, the Fragrance of Jasmine and The Snowman, Based on Semio- semantics Analysis
Subject Areas : sociologyUkabed Arefi 1 , Hamid Reza Shairi 2 , Parastoo Mohebi 3
1 - Ph. D. student in Art Research, Department of Art, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Professor, Department of French Language, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author).
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Art, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Political Discourse, Semio- semantics, Discursive Contagion, Film Poster, The Smell of Camphor, the Scent of Jasmine, The Snowman.,
Abstract :
Discourse, in any society, is an influential flow in shaping concepts and issues, the scope of its influence extending to various fields, including politics. Cinema, as a cultural phenomenon and a reflection of social structures, is formed under the influence of dominant political discourses. Cinematic works, in order to convey ideology, both explicit and implicit meanings, and to promote narratives, require promotional tools among which, film posters are considered as one of the most effective. These posters, through their specific visual language, reveal the discursive structure underlying the production and distribution of the work. On the other hand, Semio-semantics, as an analytical approach, provides an appropriate framework for studying the internal processes of meaning-making within discourses. Accordingly, this study, grounded in discursive Semio-semantics analysis and utilizing library and audiovisual sources (such as film posters), conducts a comparative examination of the movie posters for The Smell of Camphor, the Scent of Jasmine and The Snowman, to analyze how these works were influenced by the political discourses of the second half of the Seventies (1370s in the Iranian calendar) and to explore the mechanisms of transfer and mutual use of discursive elements. The central question of this research concerns how discursive elements are transmitted and transferred from one semantic universe to another—a process in which structural boundaries are weakened and oppositional systems are broken down, thus allowing for penetration, interaction, and mutual use between semantic systems. The findings of this study reveal that, each of these posters, while remaining loyal to their respective favored political discourse, also employs certain signs and elements from the opposing discourse in order to communicate their intended values and meanings more effectively and clearly. This process, accompanied by the weakening of discursive boundaries, indicates a kind of semiotic contagion and meaning transfer between two discursive systems, wherein former oppositional structures are replaced by interconnectedness and cross-utilization. Such an approach has led to the emergence of a shared and fluid semantic space within the realm of cinematic poster design.
1. Abbasi, Ali & Hanieh, Yarmand. (2011). From the Semantic Square to the Tensive Square: A Semio-Semantic Study of "The Little Black Fish". Comparative Language and Literature Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 3.
2. Arefi, Ukabad. (2019). Political Discourses and Cinema (The Shadow of Politics on Iranian Cinematic Production in the Late 1990s). Tehran: Negarestan Andisheh.
3. Barnicoat, John. (2012). A History of Posters. Translated by Mehdi Nouri Moghaddam. Tehran: Marlik.
4. Chu, Wei-Ta & Hung-Jui, Guo. (2017). Movie Genre Classification Based on Poster Images with Deep Neural Networks MUSA. Mountain View, CA, USA.
5. Eccleshall, Finlay; et al. (2018). Political Ideologies. Translated by Mohammad Ghaed. Tehran: Farhang Nashr-e No. (Electronic version, Fidibo App)
6. Fakouhi, Nasser. (2004). Urban Anthropology. Tehran: Ney Publishing
7. Fossali, Pierluigi Basso. (2017). La passion et la figurativité. Semiotica, De Gruyter Mouton.
8. Greimas, Algirdas Julien. (2020). The Deficiency of Meaning (Beyond Structuralist Narratology: Aesthetics of Presence). Translated and explained by Hamidreza Shaeiri. Tehran: Khamoosh Publishing.
9. Hatefi, Mohammad. (2020). Beyond Discourse. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
10. Khoshbakht, Ehsan. (2014). The Art of Cinema Posters. Mashhad: Ketabkadeh Kasra.
11. Kohnamouipour, Zhaleh; et al. (2021). Explanatory Dictionary of Discourse Analysis. Tehran: University of Tehran Press.
12. Mohmmed, Akif Almohadawi; Hisham, Ali; Hussain, Ali. (2022). Political Discourse: The Problem of Theoretical Identification. Al-Adab Journal, Issue no. 3, Vol. 142.
13. Nabieian, Pantea. (2022). Discourse Semio-Semantic Analysis (Five Persian Short Stories and the Formation of Recognition Process). Tehran: Noavaran Sina.
14. Shaeiri, Hamidreza. (2012). Visual Semio-Semantics (Theory and Artistic Discourse Analysis). Tehran: Sokhan.
15. Shaeiri, Hamidreza. (2016). Literary Semio-Semantics: Theory and Method of Literary Discourse Analysis. Tehran: Tarbiat Modares University Press.
16. Shaeiri, Hamidreza; Behrooz, Mahmoudi Bakhtiari; Mehdi, Sabzevari. (2023). Explanatory Dictionary of the World of Signs and Meaning. Tehran: Logos.
17. Shaeiri, Hamidreza & Fatemeh, Azimifard. (2024). Proceedings of the International Conference on Semiotics of Social Issues and Actions. Tehran: Naviseh Parsi Publishing.
18. Shaeiri, Hamidreza & Taraneh, Vafaee. (2009). A Path to Fluid Semio-Semantics (A Case Study of Nima’s “Phoenix”). Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publishing Company.
19. Soltani, Ali Asghar. (2005). Power, Discourse, and Language (Mechanisms of Power Flow in the Islamic Republic). Tehran: Ney Publishing.
20. Swales, John M. (1990). Genre Analysis. Cambridge University Press.
21. Toolan, Michael. (1998). The Language of Press Advertising, in Ghadessy, M. (ed.). London: Pinter Publishers.
22. Xu, Xiaozhen & Zhu, Lina. (2020). Visual Charm of Graphic Design in Graphic Posters. Western Leather, No. 42.
23. Young Joo, Jeon & Ki Jun, Um. (2023). An Analytical Study of Implicit Visual Symbols in Movie Posters: Focusing on Korean Action Movies. Korea Institute of Design Research Society, Vol. 8, No. 3.
24. Zamiran, Mohammad. (2008). Michel Foucault: Knowledge and Power. Tehran: Hermes
