Television and National Identity: Representation of Historical and Political Features of National Identity in The  A grade Historical Serials on Television during Three Decades after the Islamic Revelation of Iran

The main objective of the present article is to study the frequency and ways of representing features of national identity in A grade historical serials on television during the three decades after the Islamic Revolution (1359-1388). 15 ‘A’ grade historical serials, out of 50, produced and broadcasted through channels One and Two during the last three decades (5 serials per decade) were analised. The findings of the study shows that under the influence of media and culture policies, the representation of features of national identity has got an ideological status. Linguistic and imagery construction of TV in representing historical and political dimensions is based on creating a negative picture of Iranian historical and political heritage, neglecting national symbols such as national flag and anthem, and taking positive attitude towards historical figures of religious status.