Representation of National Identity Components and Iranian Culture in Dariush Mehrjui’s Mehman-e Maman
Keywords:
Representation, Semiotic Analysis, Iranian Culture, Mehman-e Maman, National IdentityAbstract
This study aims to analyze how Iranian national identity and cultural components, particularly hospitality, are represented in Mehman-e Maman through a semiotic approach. Adopting a qualitative design, the study employs semiotic analysis and the concept of media representation; selected key sequences were purposively analyzed using social, technical, and ideological codes to interpret cultural meanings embedded in the film. The findings indicate that the film constructs Iranian hospitality through a complex system of signs and practices that foreground values such as dignity, collective solidarity, neighborly cooperation, while simultaneously exposing the economic pressures and tensions underlying these traditions. Mehman-e Maman represents Iranian national identity as a dynamic and socially constructed phenomenon, revealing the coexistence of moral ideals and structural constraints within contemporary Iranian everyday life.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Nastaran Karkuki Osguie (Author); Nazanin Malekian; Davood Nemati Anaraki, Robabeh Pourjabali (Author)
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