Brother Tarantino in the mosque: An analysis of the cultural and political instrumentality of satire in "The Lizard" (2004)

Abstract

Against the backdrop of a possible US military attack on Iran, this report examines a film that advances the case for independent political reform from within Iran’s borders. The case study analyzes the cultural and political instrumentality of satire in Kamal Tabrizi’s film, The Lizard (2004). By determining the socio-political restrictions that inform Iran’s society and film industry, it demonstrates that The Lizard uses satire to transgress the value-system that the Iranian theocracy is upheld by. The study draws on narrative analysis to explore the film’s satiric devices of parody and masquerade and discusses their significance in creating new images of clergy that combine to build an alternative reality to the one portrayed in mainstream Iranian media. The report argues that this utopian space undermines the established order by redefining or rejecting the terms and dichotomies communicated through its official channels.