The mediating role of Iranian television comedy series: Mehran Modiri’s Barareh Nights and Bitter coffee

Abstract

This article explores the contemporary and historical significance of comedy and humour in Iran. It indicates how social, economic, and political issues are veiled by pleasant comedic interactions as a way of expression. It uses satire, comedy, and humour theories to analyse Mehran Modiri’s Barareh Nights and Bitter coffee as two influential and popular television series. This paper will reveal how comedy features can be linked to character representation policies to create a satiric context. It will discuss how these comedy series play a mediator role in articulating prohibited facts or critiques, as well as expressing social and political issues. It will address what comic features these television series use to define their comic world, how they employ comedy to depict socio-political matters, how they represent their characters to shape their satiric attack, and how they introduce a central mediator character to place emphasis on their vital mediating role. These comedies compel the viewers to interrogate their socio-political status and encourage them to reform their social or political behaviour. By weaving their criticism with humour, these comedies not only cross the sharp edges of censorship that is inescapable for serious criticism but also act as a mediator in socio-political communications.