A Qualitative Study on the Role of Gender in Reception of Science-Fiction Films by Tehrani Youth

Today's media is saturated with various genres of media content. Traditionally considered a masculine realm, the science-fiction genre is dominated by scientific and technological facts and imaginations. Thus, women are deprived from this realm due to the historical definition of gender identity;, despite that, science-fiction is considered a resourceful space for the study of socio-cultural understanding of gender and definition of masculinity and femininity (James & Mandelson, 2003). This paper focuses on the gendered reception of science-fiction films by Tehrani youth. Using a qualitative methodology, we have conducted in-depth interviews with 28 Tehrani male and female participants. The findings reveal that consumption, reception and impacts of sciencefiction movies are highly influenced by Iranian concepts and values concerning gender, and members of two genders correspond to and interpret the genre (signs, latent meaning, and ideology) according to their expressed values corresponding to social definitions of, as well as expectation from, masculine and feminine roles.