The Impact of Stream of Consciousness on the Narration in Iranian Cinema, 1999-2009

The stream of consciousness as a narrative mode is one of the most important specifications of modern novels. As an idea, this mode of storytelling has developed most effectively under the influence of Sigmund Freud and Karl Gustave Jung’s theories at the beginning of the last century. However, in literature, the stream of consciousness is, in fact, a narrative device which deals most of all with the subjective experi ences of characters. These experiences, in turn, consist of a mixture of perceptions, memories, fantasies, and associations in all sorts. As both a narrative mode and narrative device, the stream of consciousness has another device, namely the interior monologue, at its service, and does the practice of weaving an inconsis tent narrative with just a consistent end. In the meantime, what is expected from the reader is to put together all these scattered pieces to reconstruct the story for herself. Furthermore, it must be noted that time and how it represented and perceived, is a, if not simply the, key element in the stream of consciousness narra tive as a whole. So, the unique approach of the stream of consciousness toward time in its all manifestations is a pivotal element to understand it. Beyond its successful employment in modern literature, this narrative device also has been employing in ‘art films’ in varied forms. In modern Iran, the stream of consciousness appeared, firstly, in the literature but its effects on film can be traced back to movies as early as the 1960s. Thus, the intertwined nature of new wave of Iranian film and its association with the modern literature of Iran led those early filmmakers to experience with new narrative forms.