Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Department of History and Civilization of Islamic Nations, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.(Corresponding Author)
2
Ph.D Student in Islamic History, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
3
Associate Professor, Department of The History and Civilization of Islamic Nation, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
4
Professor, Department of History, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
10.22085/javm.2025.549692.2401
Abstract
After the emergence of the cinema phenomenon in the late 19th century, historical events gradually came to the attention of filmmakers as an attractive and audience-friendly subject. Given that historical writings have always been considered one of the most important types of writings and literature of nations, periods of historical events and topics were soon depicted in the cinema. The continuous presence of important past events in the historical mentality of nations created a suitable ground for attracting the audience. With the emergence of the historical film genre in Iran, the Safavid period was one of the periods that was considered for the production of cinematic works with historical content. Presenting audience-friendly images, depicting issues, events, and especially the historical and prominent figures of the Safavid period, provided the basis for greater attention to this period of Iranian history. This article aims to examine the image of Iranian scholars and religious scholars of the Safavid era, such as Mulla Sadra, Sheikh Baha’i, Mirdamad, and Mirfundarsky, in the series Roshan-tar az Khamooshi (Lighter Than Darkness) as a “second narrative” of these individuals, relying on the method of historical comparative analysis. According to the findings of the research, in the second narrative of the series Roshan-tar az Khamooshi of religious scholars of the Safavid era, an attempt has been made to present an attractive but multi-layered and sometimes ideological narrative of them by combining historical elements and dramatic imagination. According to the principles of dramatic-cinematic narratives, some historical facts are used in the form of creating or intensifying the conflict between the main characters of the film , such as the duality of Shah-Alam/Shah Abbas-Mullasadra and the duality of the circle of scholars converging and diverging with Mulla Sadra, to familiarize the television audience with the lives of scholars of this period and their thoughts. Despite being historical in nature and following the general trajectory of written historical sources, this narrative has significant differences in detail. Therefore, the picture depicted in this television series can be considered not as a substitute for written and documented history, but precisely as a second narrative, or a cinematic historical narrative.
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