Nina Vabab | The Politics of Memory: Media and the Construction of Pahlavi Myth
Nina Vabab | The Politics of Memory: Media and the Construction of Pahlavi Myth | Utrecht University, Department of Media and Culture Studies | Promoter: Dr. Judith Keilbach | Project dates: 31 July 2019 – 31 July 2023 | a.n.vabab[at]uu.nl
In December 2017, a series of public protests occurred in different cities in Iran and continued into 2018. Following days of demonstrations, protesters chanted slogans such as “Reza Shah, bless your soul” referring to Reza Shah, the Shah of Iran from 1925-1941 and founder of the Pahlavi dynasty who was dethroned in the 1979 revolution. This led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. Moreover, some protesters chanted in praise of the deposed shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his son, the exiled Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran. The above-mentioned events have particularly sparked my interest in the representation of the Pahlavi dynasty on Television. My research project aims to discuss how the memories of the Pahlavi have been reconstructed in the most popular television channels in order to demonstrate conflicts in state and non-state media outlets. In this respect, the research shows discourses that are employed in state, non-state and private television channels, and the way stories differ from each other. Accordingly, I will focus on questions such as: how a text constructs or represents events, what ideologies are there, and what discourses and silences make an invited or alternative reading.
