Journal of Iranian Cultural Research
Year:2011 | Volume:3 | Issue:4 (12)|Papers Count:7

TV commercials as multifarious media texts use various contrivances of which narrative and fundamental elements of short stories can be mentioned. These texts also make use of cultural codes in order to alter audiences' opinion and to function as influential apparatus of persuasion. So, in order to read and interpret such texts one would need to call theories and insights from diverse disciplines such as Narratology, advertising, TV and Communication studies. Based on theoretical dissimilarities, this research started with differentiating two sorts of TV commercials: those based on narrative structures and others without being developed on a narrative base. In doing so I conducted a survey among aired TV commercials during a season (Winter 2008) and due to the results I selected TV commercials developed on a narrative base to study. In terms of narrative structure there can be distinguished four main categories. Also, I divided these ads into four categories based on the ways in which these ads represented their main actors.The basic criterion in this classification was the relationship the ads established between main actors, goods, and type of preferred consumption.Using semiotics and critical discourse analysis methodology, I studied the chosen samples in dept. As the findings of my research show and you can see in this article polarization in story persons/ personalities is based on their "consumption" or "their knowledge about the advertised good or service". The ads due to their textual nature are open to different interpretations.

This article reviews the three perspectives for the TV audience, program content and production system, and emphasized the production system of religious TV programs, has been trying to transparent and opaque rules of religious programs as part of the production system be explained. Context or theoretical framework of this theory of political economy-related concepts such as ownership of the media, political economic and hegemony in the production and control systems through effective regulations knows. The Methodology draws on qualitative approaches of Focused Interviews with producers of religious programs. Additionally, a literature survey of Iran National Broadcasting documents will be undertaken. It is hoped that a clear picture will emerge. The overall discourse indicates that the “do not” principles are the sole guides to the programs. At the outset these prohibiting directives, which include religious and ethical issues is later extended to self made prohibiting rules, leading to consolidation of the hegemonic status.

Change in social relations may challenge superiority of men over women; so men will need an ideology that reestablishes their superiority whenever such “crisis tendencies” happen. This ideology recommends an “Ideal Masculinity” and reestablishes “normal” pattern of manhood. Rawean Connell dubs it as “Hegemonic masculinity” (HM) and believes that because of endless pressure of illegitimating factors, “HM” will be in change forever. By application of the Connell's theories and Weberian qualitative approach, first of all a “basic ideal type of masculinity” was constructed from encouraged religious-revolutionary values in the movies and propaganda of the first years after revolution; then masculine values which were celebrated and admired in the best seller movie of every year during 1979_2007, were compared by this “basic ideal type”. Comparison of the 32 concluded “ideal types” indicated that serious interruption took place in three years (1989, 1997, and 2002). Then ideal type of each era was constructed and was compared with each other. Results of this comparison approve Connell's theory about changeability of the HM in accordance with the social changes.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explain the subjective meaning system of consumers of the popular music. Participants in this study include 21 students (male and female) living in dormitories of Shiraz University. Researches use qualitative approach of grounded theory.Technique of data collection has been in-depth interviews. Data have been analyzed with qualitative software called NVIVO. Analyze the data and paradigmatic model shows that the grounded condition for participants, including “spatial texture” of accommodation based on a subset of locality plus time coordination, participant’s age necessitation, collective identity. Meanwhile, global market trends and fashionism influence as interfering conditions.Participants placed in these conditions, take developed and alternative musical factor and increased mental absenteeism quotient. As a result of taking this strategy, the consequences of idio-sensuation (image of the other) [alter image] self-reincarnation and psychology projection will be introduced.Idio-sensuation naturally implies that the participant initiate music consumption in such a manner as to bring in their own personal mental images as contrasted with other’s which in itself possess multifarious dimensions having been in a state of fluctuation in between two diverse pole of psychological projection and self-reincarnation.

These days war has become one of the most important identical factors of the Middle East in western media. As war is representing the Middle East ugly and horrible to the public opinion, is being repeated normally in the lives of the Middle Eastern residents. On the other hand, the anti-war movements blame politicians and the terrorist groups. This article will consider such subject by emphasizing war as an everyday life issue in the Middle East (as multidimensional and culture phenomenon) and antiwar especially in America. The hypothesis is that war as a totality has covered all aspects of the Middle East residents (such as Iran) as has turned to part of their everyday life. On the contrary, anti-war in the western countries (America) has the same situation as above. In this paper, as a theoretical base, Zimmle, Marx, Weber, Lukach, Do serto, Foucault, Hall and Fisk will be used. The data has been collected in 1387 [2008] via qualitative methods (dialogue, observation and news analysis).

This paper explains the effects of TV on culture by an emphasis on ethnical and national identities. The provided results which have been obtained from a part of a scientific research in IRIB research center show that on one hand, messages on some issues have been repeatedly broadcasted from IRI TV in three sections namely satiric programs, news and serials and watchers have been exposed to these messages, and on the other hand, watching TV has no influence on ethnical identity of the individuals. For national identity, the results of multivariable regression proves that level of watching TV has been entered into the equation and has been known as the third influential element after variables including communication network domain and level of individuals’ self-confidence.On the whole, despite the fact that IRI TV produces and broadcasts messages regarding any of the identity issues under investigation, yet such messages are beside other influential elements and TV has been an effective element on the view of addressees regarding identity after social system variables. Moreover, the investigation showed that despite Gerbner’s Cultivation theory, TV in Iran has no Cultivation influence on the minds of addressees and people are more under the influence of other social system variables.

Identity is one of the most complicated concepts in humanities and social sciences. It is a multi-aspected phenomenon which expresses different meanings from different viewpoints. Generally we can say that Identity is a result of dialect between conceptual system and socio-cultural structures. In this approach, Identity is addressed in relation with; and so, emphasis on “self” and “others” unit of analysis. But when we focus on “cultural identity”, the relationship between identity and complicated concepts, e.g.culture and nationality, will turn into a mess which then, identity concept can be interpreted by different theoretical approaches. This meaning specially is important in Iran, because Iranian, Islamic and western identity sources affected Iranian people identity in different ages and finally born into contemporary Iranian cultural identity. We can name two different identity approaches here: descriptive approach which describe now and then, and prescriptive or policy approach which regards identity policies. In prescriptive approach, identity elements are general and abstract concepts, because identity change is regarded as an incremental movement.in regard with this basis in identity policy, we can analyze main Iranian cultural identity elements in five domains: religion, language, cultural geography, history and cultural memory, and social system.