Bourdieusian analysis of the representation of culture and urban spaces in Farhadi’s cinema (Case study: A Hero movie)

Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, revolutionized the study of cultural sociology by introducing the theory of social fields and concepts such as distinction, habitus and doxa, whose influences on related theories remain to this day. Although he did not directly express his views on urban spaces and architecture, this is one of the most important areas in which Bourdieu's concepts can be analyzed. The relation between society and culture with urban spaces and architecture is an important issue that can be well reflected and analyzed in the context of cinema. City and urban architecture have had a close, continuous and notable relationship with cinema since the advent of this art. The following study, by selecting Asghar Farhadi's latest film "A Hero", as the case study, examines how architecture and urban spaces are influencing the film and also reflected by it, and uses Pierre Bourdieu's views for analysis. During the analysis of this article, the effects of the city of Shiraz, the urban landscape, the houses and the culture arising from them, and finally the social fields have been discussed. Then, the reflection of sociological concepts in these cases have been identified. This study shows how the city of Shiraz and its urban spaces and architecture have adapted to the key concepts of Bourdieu and by presenting various fields such as prison, charities, bazaars has advanced its narrative.