Media Misrepresentation Predisposing Iranian Social Divide

Abstract

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought Iran to be transformed into a new revolutionary theocratic republic. This is in line with the raison d’être of the Iranian constitution, realizing the life of the nation and state based on the noble and universal values of Islam. Meanwhile, the existence of power competition and conflicting conceptions of authority have been reflected in its political constellation. Islam in the realm of this state is not only understood as a religious institution but also a concept of political spirituality. The hijab policy, for example, has become part of Iranian culture ever since and became a political symbol after the government of Shah Pahlavi in 1936 banned the use of the hijab through the Kashf e Hejab decree. An Iranian anthropologist, Sadeq Hedayat, well-known during 1910-1920, argued the “Islamic” culture in Iranian society was in an alienated position because it was considered illogical and anti-modern, while pre-Islamic culture is considered as the original culture of Iranian society in accordance with modern western culture. Such perceptions are ingrained in society, both inside and outside Iran. Especially when the media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion and even in decision making and political consensus. Thus far, biased or political news has been at the heart of the controversy among Iran and the opposing countries. This must be analyzed to find out the deeper issue of the influence of Iran’s misrepresentation in the media on the division of Iranian society through analysis of cleavage theory. From pre-to-post-revolution, divisions in Iranian society were exposed, such as class divisions, political preferences distinctions, etc. Answering this question is accomplished through literature studies, including exploration of the background context, theory, and ethnographic writings of Iran during the Islamic revolution and the post-revolutionary period to demonstrate the problem analysis. In addition, visual observations through various authentic and reliable video recordings and news reports from Iran over the past 5 years are made to examine what is misunderstood by the world about Iran and its people. Meanwhile, to see the empirical side, interviews and discussions were conducted online with Iranian citizens so that the information obtained could present a more comprehensive picture of the present social life of Iranians. Therefore, the results of the analysis should be able to explain how media distortion affects Iran’s political decisions. Because politics plays an important role in the expression of public policy. If the policies