Women Without Men

The screening began with a brief discussion by Guilan Siassi, a language professor at USC. She provided historical backstory for the film, mentioning specifically the 1953 coup (which I will discuss later) in Iran. Siassi also explained that the film, an adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s novel of the same name, was made in the magical realist style, which has a strong historical component and presumes that viewers have a bond with the history and culture of the characters in any given picture. Before the film began, Siassi specifically urged the audience to pay attention to the themes of patriarchy and imperialism. “The fate of the women and the fate of the Motherland [Iran] are intertwined,” she said. “Women Without Men” tells the story of four Iranian women, set against the backdrop of the Mosaddegh protests and Britain’s denouncement of the Prime Minister’s (Mohammad Mosaddegh) government. Mosaddegh, despite being politically progressive and appointed in a legitimate fashion as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, was removed from power after a coup orchestrated by the CIA and British intelligence — at the behest of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Dwight D.
In a way, Faezeh’s rape in the movie seems to symbolize the rape of Iran itself by Western powers: Faezeh represents Iran, while her two perpetrators represent Britain and the United States. In a way, all four women are symbolic of their Motherland. Zarrin, like her country, is used as a tool for the pleasure and goals of others; Fakhri, the most Western of the women, reflects the powerful influence of Western culture; Munes, after being buried alive by her brother, manages to dig her way out, with Faezeh’s help, instilling a sense of hope in viewers by stipulating that, no matter how much Iran is bullied by Western powers, it will always find a way to