عکاسی و سیاست در ایران پیشاانقلابی: نبرد بر سر تصویر ایران

رابطه تنگاتنگ عکاسی با واقعیت به عنوان واقع گراترین شکل بازنمایی، به آن قدرت اقناعی منحصربه فردی می بخشد. همین امرباعث می شود که عکس به ابزاری بی رقیب در انتقال پیام های سیاسی و ترویج باورهای ایدئولوژیک بدل شود. هرچند از عکاسی می توان در راستای پیشبرد منافع طبقات حاکم بهره گرفت، عکاسی در دست منتقدان و مخالفان وضع موجود نیز می تواند به ابزاری برای مبارزه سیاسی بدل شود. این مقاله می کوشد با تمرکز بر گفتمان های سیاسی پیش از انقلاب اسلامی، نشان دهد که چگونه عکاسی می تواند فراتر از فعالیتی هنری، به کنشی سیاسی بدل شود. یافته های پژوهش نشان می دهد که دو جریان واقع گرایی آرمان گرایانه و واقع گرایی انتقادی در عکاسی در این دوران، در واقع انعکاسی از تقابل میان دو گفتمان پهلویسم و جریان چپگرادر سال های منتهی به انقلاب بوده است که در آن هر جریان سیاسی تلاش می کرد از طریق عکس و عکاسی مشروعیت گفتمانی خود را به اثبات برساند. در پژوهش حاضر از روش تحقیق توصیفی- تحلیلی استفاده شده و از منابع کتابخانه ای و اسنادی به منظورجمع آوری داده ها بهره گرفته شده است. در این تحقیق تلاش شده است با اشاره به گفتمان های سیاسی رقیب در دوران پهلوی،بستری برای تبیین سیر تحول معنای عکاسی و تحلیل تصاویر عکاسی در ایران فراهم آید.

Photography and Politics in Pre-Revolutionary Iran: The Battle over Iran’s Image

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and thecontribution of photography in sociopolitical events in thedecades leading up to the revolution of 1979. Photographyhas always been used by political actors in their pursuit forpower since it is an ideal tool of mass communication. Theclose relationship between photography and reality, givesit a unique persuasive power as the most realistic form ofrepresentation. This makes photograph an inimitable tool forconveying political messages or promoting specific ideas inthe society. Although the programmed use of photographycan promote the ideology of the ruling party, the criticsand opponents of the status quo can also use it as a tool forpolitical resistance. In other words, the study attempts todemonstrate how the political struggle for power resonatedin disputes about the changing meaning of photography inIran during the Pahlavi era. By focusing on prerevolutionpolitical discourses in Iran, the paper tries to indicate howphotography can become a political action beyond artisticactivity. The fall of the Qajar dynasty, as well as globalchanges such as Marxist revolutions and antiimperialistmovements in thirdworld nations, prepared the door fornew political discourses in Iran. Reza Shah’s ascension topower as the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty spurred theemergence of political discourses, particularly Pahlavism.Pahlavism was indeed a mixture of nationalism, archaismblended with westernoriented policies. With the growingdemand for change, however, Iran’s political scene wassplit into two main rival groups: revolutionaries, mostly theleftminded Marxistinspired forces, and proPahlavists,also known as regime loyalists. Meanwhile, the rise ofthe middle class, along with the need for a modern state todeploy mass media for propaganda, thrust photography intothe spotlight. The social necessity of photography graduallygave way to an expressive form of a representation. Thus,the competing, rival political forces began to develop theirown version of photography in representing the socialrealities. Trying to depict Iran as a progressive, moderncountry, the Pahlavist agenda utilized photography topromote western ideals as well as preIslamic icons. ThePahlavistinspired photography, which painted an idealizedIran, portrayed Shah as a great leader and displayed growingtowns, modernlooking Iranians, with no trace of poverty orinequality. The approach could be named as Idealist realismrepresented by, photographs published in newspapers andmagazines, as well as the works by photographers suchas Bruno Barbey and Roloff Beny. On the other hand,revolutionary groups, notably Marxistinspired lefties, usedphotography to illustrate social disparities and miseriesin order to both question the picture portrayed by the andagitate the masses. The social documentary proved to bethe best method for them. I this regard, one could referto works by photographers such as Kaveh Golestan,Hengameh Golestan and Nasrollah Kasraian. Parallel to thepolitical struggle for power, therefore, there was a struggleover Iran’s image. The study uses the descriptiveanalyticmethod to build up a sociopolitical context in which theconcept of photography in Iran was changed.