Woman as a Knowing Subject (An Analysis of the Movies by Asghar Farhadi)

The main purpose of this paper is to show the way women are dealt with as a knowing subject in the latest three cinematic works by Asghar Farhadi within the framework of dominant social discourses ruling over the Iranian society. To this end، the theories of Michel Foucault on the subject and power and the theories of Laclau and Mouffle were used to offer a sociological analysis on these three films. Foucault emphasizes that discourse has been intertwined with power relations; thus، to study relations among people in society، one needs to investigate social، cultural، and political discourses that govern it، so that power relations among people are learned. Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse analysis method was used to analyze the cinematic texts of this paper. The three selected movies for this research have a pathological approach towards the daily life of Iranians from different strata of society، reflecting part of the various discourses that govern Iranian contemporary society. In addition، within the relations among the personages in the movies، dominance and control of authorities on women''s private and social lives from different social levels are illustrated. As the findings of this research، one can argue that in Farhadi''s movies، women have more colorful roles in social relations. He views women affected by the dominating discourse in the society، and their individual and social decisions and functions in both public and private arenas are affected by this discourse network. Farhadi displays the Iranian society under the domination of relations and discourse of men''s power; he also views the world of women''s decisions and functions masculine and passive، to the extent that he challenges their individuality and subjectivity under the shadow of this dominant discourse.