When I walked into Hamid Naficy’s compelling collection of Iranian movie posters at the Block Museum, my reaction to the first poster I saw, The Golden Heel, was, “That’s an Iranian film?” The exhibit features many posters from the “filmfarsi” movement, an era that produced many melodramas and action films with sharp dialogue, fast moving plots, and dazzling musical numbers.[1] The flamboyant, colorful posters from this movement of the 1950’s and 60’s displays an entirely different Iran than the one that has existed since the theocratic republic was founded in 1979.

Hollywood has received criticism for imposing Western ideals and norms onto other cultures since it became an international phenomenon in the 1920’s, especially from Muslim states in the Middle East. After the release of the Titanic, droves of Afghani men got their hair cut to mimic Leonardo DiCaprio’s look in the film, much to the chagrin of the Taliban. Filmfarsi posters very evidently exhibit the effect of Hollywood on Iranian film and the impact of Western cultural imperialism during the Shah’s time in power. Naficy’s collection of movie posters is not only a fascinating journey through Iranian film history, but also lends valuable insight into Iranian society’s evolving cultural identity in the latter part of the 20^th century.

When contrasting filmfarsi and post-Revolution film posters, the actors and actresses are featured in a far different fashion. The poster for the pre-Revolution movie Salome has all the essential aspects of a typical filmfarsi movie poster. The two individuals most prominently featured are a scantily clad woman, portrayed by a famous Iranian popstar Marjan, and a male lead, played by movie star Saeed Rad.

The first thing that that jumped out to me was the magnificent usage of color in this poster. Marjan is featured, as most women are in filmfarsi posters, as a sex object that must be saved by the courageous protagonist. The striking color in the poster accentuates her beauty through her clothing. She wears a tethered rainbow top and a dress that resembles a hula dancer’s. Obviously, it is a bit shocking that this type of dress was permitted in a country that now requires women to wear a hijab at all times.

Additionally, in the context of this poster, Marjan is appealing to the audience in two ways. One, the film is selling Marjan’s beauty and star appeal as a famous pop star. Second, Marjan’s vibrant outfit and the jungle setting present in the bottom left of the poster seem to depict the lead actress and Iran as exotic. I see this film poster as an example of local cinema succumbing to stereotype in order to attract a more international audience. Marjan’s garb even features three of the four colors on the Iranian flag: green, red, and yellow. This portrait of an Iranian actress paints Iran in Western Orientalist stereotypes: a helpless, beautiful woman desperately in need of a masculine hand.

This masculine hand in Salome is Rad. The poster features a plethora of tropes that are common in a masculine Hollywood protagonist. The two that immediately jumped out at me are the images of Rad, shirtless, carrying Marjan in her undergarments, and the image of him engaging in the fistfight in the bottom right hand corner. Rad’s character seems to be a James Bond clone, a “gentleman” that will protect the female lead with violence. These characters were a dime a dozen in Hollywood during the 70’s. Many films followed the example of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, featuring tough, combative male leads. Films that centered around a strong, independent male sold tickets in Hollywood and clearly resonated in Iran during the 70’s as well. In sum, Salome’s poster and other filmfarsi posters exhibit pretty blatantly mimicry of Hollywood characters and tropes. It is extremely evident where the popular push against Western cultural intervention and the establishment of a new Iranian identity came from by looking at these posters.

The posters of films made during and after the Iranian Revolution are drastically different in how they frame their protagonists. The bland color scheme and overall simplicity is immediately evident when you glance at this part of the exhibit. The poster for the film Reqiuem contains only four dreary colors: grey, purple, black, and white. Nasrollah, the protagonist of the film and the only person featured on the poster, has a visible expression of sadness and confusion.

His expression is in stark contrast to Rad’s powerful, confident pose. While Rad’s face is bright with vivid detail, Nasrollah’s grey skin elicits a feeling of despair and hopelessness. Reqiuem is representative of the other posters in the gallery after the Revolution in its depiction of emotional realism. The themes of sex and violence clearly would not continue once theocracy was established in Iran. But, Iranian cinema’s pivot from representations of machismo to more vulnerable characters is much more fascinating. The exaltation of the individual appealed much more to a Western audience than a deeply pious theocratic society. The Iranian government wanted to form a society that valued humility and collectivism, themes that were decidedly absent from any filmfarsi poster.

The filmfarsi emphasis on fun, flamboyant films simply did not relate to an audience that had seen thousands die in the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. The themes and content of these films were undoubtedly influenced by the authoritarian theocratic regime. But the death of the bright colors, vibrancy, and sense of adventure evident in the filmfarsi posters has as much to do with what the audience wants out of their film experience. Films like Requiemi struck a chord for audiences on a deeper level during extraordinarily trying times.

[1] Wall Text, Salaam Cinema! 50 Years of Iranian Movie Posters, Block Museum, Evanston, IL.