01715nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001653002200042653001200064653001100076653001700087653002000104653001200124653000900136653000900145653001500154653001500169653001100184653001400195100001200209245009900221856007000320300001400390490000700404520101200411022001401423       2015                            d10aVisual impairment10aSuicide10aSufism10aSpirituality10aNew wave cinema10aleprosy10aIran10aFilm10aDisability10aDepression10aCinema10aBlindness1 aDell EJ00aFrom leprosy to the willow tree: Decoding disability and Islamic spirituality in Iranian film.  uhttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2015.1070542  a1123-11260 v303 a<p>The lack of attention in academic discourse to representations of disability in films from the Middle East has led to an incomplete picture of representations of disability in global cinema. For instance, the diverse meanings of disability in Iranian cinema and the influence of disability on the emergence of Iranian New Wave cinema have been almost completely ignored by scholars. A number of award-winning films from Iran have featured disability as central to their narratives – such as <em>The House is Black</em> (1963), <em>Taste of Cherry</em> (1997), <em>The Color of Paradise</em> (1999), <em>The Willow Tree</em> (2005), and <em>The Painting Pool</em> (2013). Disability in these films serves alternatively as a symbol of spiritual possibility, a mark of marginalization, and a covert social critique. These films examine the emotional, physical, and social implications of disability, while celebrating the cultural power of film to challenge social, religious, and artistic barriers.</p>
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