In the current era, public opinion is at odds with the left, and without knowing the true context of leftist thinking or even its different tendencies, which are sometimes vastly different, they accuse someone of being leftist based on just one comment.
According to Artmag.ir, Sofia Nasrollahi, Cinema critic, wrote in Hammihanonline.ir: “I think it is important to continue this discussion on the importance of being entertained for two reasons. The first reason is the problem of the left! That art is not for art’s sake and that art should be in the path of an idea or message or people and society has been theorized by the left from the beginning.”
Although long before the emergence of the left, philosophers from ancient Greece and later French philosophers in the 18th century believed that a work of art should remind the audience of virtues or disgust the audience with vices, this view actually became popular with the aesthetic theories of the left in the 20th century, especially in the field of cinema.
In the current era, public opinion is in conflict with the left and without knowing the real context of leftist thinking or even its different tendencies, which sometimes differ from one another to the next, they accuse someone of being leftist just by making a comment.
I have often been accused of being the first in line, but it is interesting to me that no one criticizes this part of being leftist. A part that I think has gained great importance in the free world. Look at those home-made TV series that are received. Regardless of whether they are praised or written in condemnation. A concrete example is “Tasian”.
Some cursed. Some praised. But in the end, it created a wave in society. A series that, in my opinion, did not have much to say in terms of cinema and entertainment. Whether its message was really serious and profound or not in this column is a secondary issue for me. On the other hand, my favorite series on the domestic TV network for a while has been “Cankel.”
The series Cankel, written and directed by Ramtin Lavafi, with an ensemble cast including Hanieh Tavassoli, Saber Abar, Pedram Sharifi, Mehdi Pakdel, and Setareh Pesiani, should have been met with success. But at least the critics ignored it. Why? Because “Cankel” is a highly entertaining work and can appeal to cinephiles. Those who love drama, images, dialogue, rhythm, and humor. Those for whom entertainment takes priority over message.
When I watch “Cankel,” I’m reminded of George Royhill’s films. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or “Sting.” The same chases and escapes of lovable outlaw antiheroes and the same humor without falling into the trap of saying something seemingly important or conveying a message to its audience. Which is basically if a work is not entertaining, it will fail in its mission. But the critics’ view, which is supposed to give the audience direction, inspired by the same leftist theories, seems to have failed to understand the importance of “Cankel” Whether it’s a good series is still a secondary issue.
The problem here is that “Cankel” is a new model of a home theater series. With a kind of humorous flavor of the characters, reliance on luck and fortune, and very consistent in drama and direction. In other words, it could have been on the cover and talked about more than this. This is where the left’s infiltration can be criticized, but when it comes to entertainment, it seems that public opinion is aligned with the left!
Now that I have written about the leftists, the documentary “Escape from the Palace” has come to the home theater network and I think it is worth watching. If the political current is being criticized, it is good to know more about it and read about it. “Escape from the Palace” is of course not very related to the history of the left in Iran, but it is an exciting documentary, about one of the strangest escapes from Iranian prisons that shows how much influence the leftists had increased in Iran.
Apart from the historical discussion, this one is also an entertaining documentary if you are into history and politics. Ehsan Emadi has very well reconstructed the story of this escape, which of course we do not have pictures of. He has filmed what could have been a book or article so that more audiences can get acquainted with a corner of Iranian history. It is a shame that you will not see it. This one has both a message and is entertaining, and it will be a double-edged sword for critics.
