Social Characteristics of Iranian playwrights and Their Vicissitudes

In this article, two pieces of similar studies on Iranian playwrights which were conducted in 20 years interval are compared. The aim of this comparison is first, to see what are the characteristics of Iranian playwrights and second, to see if any change is discernible during the period of study which is 20 years. This article should be considered in the field of sociology of cinema as a branch of sociology of art. Theoretical framework of the study is based on Janet Wolff’s idea in which it is emphasized on the necessity of studying social factors and their impact on individuals becoming artists. In both pieces of research the method has been survey using the technique of questionnaire which was filled through interview. The findings show that some of playwrights’ characteristics have been stable during the period of 20 years. These include birthplace, economic status, level of income, socio-economic strata, discipline of study and fathers’ occupation. Some of playwrights’ characteristics have been changed during the period of study. These include increase in the ratio of women writers, increase in academic degrees of writers, decrease in the ratio of married writers, decrease in those living in rental houses, increase in age medium, mean and other characteristics which are discussed in the article.