[lbo-talk] Prostitution in Iran?

Michael Perelman michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Mon Oct 25 09:56:29 PDT 2004


I once asked an Iranian friend about this phenomenon. He says they are rarely shown at home, pretty much just for export.

On Mon, Oct 25, 2004 at 12:54:38PM -0400, Michael Pollak wrote:
>
> On Sun, 24 Oct 2004, Chris Doss wrote:
>
> > I caught an Iranian movie on TV last night involving a female taxi driver
> > picking up various riders and talking to them about love relationships.
> > encluding a prostitute. First, I was amazed that they would allow
> > prostitution in Iran. Second, I was amazed that such a movie could even
> > get made there. Is much of this stuff out there? I knew Iranian films are
> > supposed to be really good, but this was surreal.
>
> One of the amazing things about Iranian films has always been how much
> latitude they are allowed. Word is they spend a lot of time fighting with
> the Ministry of Culture. But national prestige is one of their best cards,
> and the guy who made this film, Abbas Kiarostami, is the most renowned of
> all Iranian film-makers. (The name of the film is "10," by the way.) Not
> only does she interview a prostitute, but she herself is divorced, which is
> also rare in Iran. But both situations are mainly foils for raising
> discussion. He's definately not endorsing either, just exploring. The film
> is basically about Women in Iran Today and the conversation with the
> prostitute seems like a contrived foil so that he can talk about sexual
> questions.
>
> BTW, if you like this, he's made others that are much better that you'll
> love. I highly recommend _Taste of Cherry_ as well as any of the Earthquake
> Trilogy: _Through the Olive Trees_, _Life and Nothing More_ and _Where is
> the Friends House_. I think they all have the touch of genius about them.
> I personally thought the best part of "10" was the first scene with her son,
> and that it progressively ran out of steam after that. But the other films
> stay kind of fascinating and refreshing and even gripping even as they move
> in a kind of extended slow motion. _Touch of Cherry_ is also made up mostly
> of car interviews, but it's in a whole other class IMHO.
>
> Michael
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-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu



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