University Of Tehran Press Journal of Fine Arts: Visual Arts 2228-6039 27 2 2022 07 23 Photography and Politics in Pre-Revolutionary Iran: The Battle over Iran’s Image Photography and Politics in Pre-Revolutionary Iran: The Battle over Iran’s Image 115 123 87818 10.22059/jfava.2022.338311.666864 FA Hadi Azari Azqandi  Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Communications and Photography, School of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts, University 0000-0001-9017-6912 Journal Article 2021 06 25  The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and thecontribution of photography in socio-political 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 pre-revolutionpolitical 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 anti-imperialistmovements in third-world 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 western-oriented policies. With the growingdemand for change, however, Iran's political scene wassplit into two main rival groups: revolutionaries, mostly theleft-minded Marxist-inspired forces, and pro-Pahlavists,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 pre-Islamic icons. ThePahlavist-inspired photography, which painted an idealizedIran, portrayed Shah as a great leader and displayed growingtowns, modern-looking 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 Marxist-inspired 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 descriptive-analyticmethod to build up a socio-political context in which theconcept of photography in Iran was changed.   The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and thecontribution of photography in socio-political 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 pre-revolutionpolitical 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 anti-imperialistmovements in third-world 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 western-oriented policies. With the growingdemand for change, however, Iran's political scene wassplit into two main rival groups: revolutionaries, mostly theleft-minded Marxist-inspired forces, and pro-Pahlavists,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 pre-Islamic icons. ThePahlavist-inspired photography, which painted an idealizedIran, portrayed Shah as a great leader and displayed growingtowns, modern-looking 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 Marxist-inspired 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 descriptive-analyticmethod to build up a socio-political context in which theconcept of photography in Iran was changed.  https://jfava.ut.ac.ir/article_87818_b4ac69b9da11fb23cb544a150fc2e231.pdf