Analysis of the structure of narrative in showing criminal courts in cinema; A Comparative Study of Iranian and Hollywood Cinema

The subject of the present study is "Examining the General Structure of the Narrative in Court Films that Include Criminal Proceedings". The research method is narrative analysis in the above mentioned type of films. For this purpose, theories of reflection and structuralism have been used as foundations that can explain the manner and meaning of the narrative arrangement. The model adopted for structural analysis of narrative is Victor Turner's model, which divides narrative into four stages: rule breaking, crisis, solution-thinking, and reintegration (or the result of solution-thinking). Six films have been adapted to this model in Hollywood cinema and six films in Iranian cinema. Research shows that Hollywood cinema offers a uniform structure of court narratives based on the rule of law. In other words, these narratives, with their emphasis on the period of reflection, portray the court as a competent institution for resolving the crisis. In contrast, Iranian cinema has been unable to present a coherent and law-abiding court narrative. Relying on the power of the crisis period, Iranian cinema, either like the pre-revolutionary cinema, has given little power to the court and the criminal process, or like the post-revolutionary cinema, has portrayed the court as an inappropriate institution for justice.