TY - JOUR KW - Visual impairment KW - Suicide KW - Sufism KW - Spirituality KW - New wave cinema KW - leprosy KW - Iran KW - Film KW - Disability KW - Depression KW - Cinema KW - Blindness AU - Dell EJ AB -

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 The House is Black (1963), Taste of Cherry (1997), The Color of Paradise (1999), The Willow Tree (2005), and The Painting Pool (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.

BT - Disability & Society DO - 10.1080/09687599.2015.1070542 IS - 7 J2 - Disability & Society LA - eng N2 -

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 The House is Black (1963), Taste of Cherry (1997), The Color of Paradise (1999), The Willow Tree (2005), and The Painting Pool (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.

PY - 2015 SP - 1123 EP - 1126 T2 - Disability & Society TI - From leprosy to the willow tree: Decoding disability and Islamic spirituality in Iranian film. UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2015.1070542 VL - 30 SN - 0968-7599 ER -