아프리카ㆍ중동

This paper explores the cultural meaning of media in Iran by examining the process in which media becomes a field of political ideology. Before the revolution, small media - radio, cassette tape, cartoons - had produced the symbols and recognitions which enabled a successful Islamic Revolution. Now the New Media such as internet blogs and satellite media lead discourses which threaten the Islamic authority. Broadcasting in Iran, despite the fact that it is the only authorized ‘national' channel, has failed to reflect religious, cultural, regional and political diversity. Iranian authorities systematically suppress freedom of opinion and expression by closing newspapers and imprisoning journalists and editors. Therefore, broadcasting remains most rigid, repressive institution in Iran, being in the middle of conflicts between conservatives and reformists. In spite of the limits imposed on freedom of expression, Iranians participate in making transnational discourses concerning human rights or democratization in private spheres - through internet and satellite media. People in Iran gain access to information from America, Europe and other arab countries through illegal satellite dishes. In particular, the satellite broadcasting made by the Iranian Diaspora is a medium that produces new types of mass culture and sends out controversial political messages. On-line activities of bloggers generates a field where they can express their own self-identity without wearing masks, contributing to the dynamic relationship between Iran and the Diaspora. In this respect, blogging and watching satellite TV can be viewed as small revolution and resistance. Considering the tension between conservative and moderate tendencies within the Iranian polity, a new media is the most important channel in that it attempts gradual but significant social changes. In this context, this paper aims to examine how recent trends of globalization and transnationalism tend to communicate, or conflict, with the specific socio-political context of Iran as an Islamic nation.