Freedom of Choice as an Achievement of Modernity: A Comparative Study of Two Movies by Farhadi and Two Novels by Ishiguro

Asghar Farhadi's two Academy Awards and Kazuo Ishiguro's Nobel Prize in Literature demonstrate how successful both authors' works have been in the West despite their Asian origin. The fact that they concentrate on similar social concerns in their works adds to the relevance of this connection. Moving away from the past traditions seems inevitable for both of these authors. They have, thus, portrayed progressive characters that, despite their deep ties to the past, struggle to follow modernity in practice. There are startling similarities in these characters' mindset and actions which this article attempts to shed light on by comparing Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day (1989) and An Artist of the Floating World (1986) with Asghar Farhadi's The Fireworks Wednesday (1384) and The Salesman (1394). Using semiotic theories, characters representing tradition and modernity are first identified in each work. Then, the article explains the ways in which these characters consider the freedom of choice as both their as well as others' rights, or in Farzin Vahdat's terms, giving value to subjectivity and universality in modernity.