The Representation of Public Attitudes to the Clergy in Iranian Cinema A case study:

With regard to the effective role of the clergy and cinema in the society, it is very important to understand and explain the relationship between them in its various dimensions. In this way, the issue of the representation of public attitudes to the clergy in Iranian cinema has been studied in this article. Hence, three related movies "Under the moon light", "Marmoulak", "Gold & Copper" were analyzed with Qualitative content analysis method. The results of this study show that there are three categories for public attitudes to the clergy in the samples: positive attitude, negative attitude, and the elements of attitude change (persuasion and Cognitive dissonance). The negative attitude to the clergy is represented frequently as prejudices and stereotypes. Main Themes represented in this field are summarized in these terms: Clergymen have achieved great power and wealth after the Islamic Revolution in Iran; instrumental usage of the cleric clothing by clergymen; Keeping out from the context of society; and clergymen are traditional.