Document Type : علمی- پژوهشی
Authors
1 phd student of Tehran Payam e noor university. Tehran. Iran
2 Department of Persian Language and Literature / Payame Noor University of Tehran.IRAN
3 Department of Persian Language and Literature /Payame Noor University of Tehran.Iran
Abstract
Babashmal is one of the leading satirical magazines of the Twentieth Century which was published by Reza Ganjei during the years 1322 to 1326 in Tehran. Babashmal magazine, which was active in the most prominent periods of Iranian contemporary history, with almost all political, social and economic events and collaborations with a group of writers and poets, each of whom later became widely known in the country's literary arena. And the culture of Iranian society has been humorously presented and delivered to the authorities by the menus and wishes of their audiences, who were generally among the masses. Much of the journal's critical and humorous content revolves around political issues. It can be said that even the most important political issues and events in the country have not escaped the sharp criticism of the writers and poets of this magazine. The most important political content of the magazine included issues such as threats to foreign countries and fear of the government, criticizing the performance of ministers and statesmen, criticizing the inefficiency of the National Assembly and MPs, buying and selling parliamentary votes, criticizing the damaging role of foreign advisers, the situation Shattered and unstable state offices and so on. This article attempts to reconfigure the discourse of this journal by emphasizing the content of Babashmal's journal, by means of a consolidated content analysis
Highlights
An Analysis of the Political Content of Babashmal Humor Magazine
Mohammad Keshavarz
PhD. in Persian Language and Literature, Payam-e Noor University, Tehran
Farhad Droudgarian
Associate Professor of Language and Literature, Payam-e Noor University of Tehran
Behnaz Alipour Gaskari
Assistant Professor of Language and Literature, Payam-e Noor University of Tehran
Abstract
Babashmal is one of the prominent satirical publications of the twentieth century, which was published in Tehran during the years 1944 to 1948 under the management of Engineer Reza Ganjeh. This publication, which was active in the inflammatory period of the contemporary history of Iran, with the cooperation of a group of writers and poets, each of whom later became very famous in the literary field of the country, covered almost all political, social, economic and other events. The culture of the Iranian society has taken a humorous look and conveys the menus and demands of its audience, which were generally from the public. The main critical and humorous content of this publication revolves around political issues. It is safe to say that even the most insignificant political issues and events in the country have not escaped the sharp razor-sharp criticism of the writers and poets of this magazine. The most important political content of the publication is issues such as threats from foreign countries and the government's fear of them, deviation from the constitution, criticism of the performance of ministers and statesmen, criticism of the inefficiency of the National Assembly and members of parliament, buying and selling votes during parliamentary elections. It consists of the destructive role of foreign advisers, the unhealthy situation of government offices, and so on. Emphasizing the contents of Babashmal magazine, this article tries to analyze the political discourse of this magazine by examining and explaining issues such as Iran's political relations with the allies, the performance of the parliament and foreign advisers.
Keywords: Babashmal, Reza Ganjahai, Press Humor, Politics
Introduction
The major political changes in the country in September 1941, which took place after the arrival of the military forces of the Allied Powers and the fall of Reza Shah, were a great opportunity for the Iranians to once again enjoy a minimum of democracy. Despite the severe economic problems and political chaos caused by the presence of foreigners in the country, the manifestation of some manifestations of democracy, such as the re-establishment of parliament, the formation of parties and the active presence of the press, were positive features of this historical period.
The political life of Iran, in view of the rapid changes that were constantly taking place in it, encouraged the country's press to be actively present in the heart of events. Therefore, the need to know the press of that era depends on familiarity with the events of the 40s, which is inextricably linked to the history of the press. The use of humor and other branches of humor in the form of pages of the country's publications, to depict the situation prevailing in society, is so tied to the socio-political life of Iran that it is one of the best and safest ways to identify political currents and events. , social, economic and cultural of our country, refer to these publications. On the other hand, the study of the historical context of humor in publications is, to a large extent, possible only by considering political and social developments.
In addition to informing and dealing with the issues in a special way, comic magazines create a kind of vitality and vitality among the audience; on the other hand, they also increase the audience's awareness and due to the use of humor-related elements is sometimes more effective in terms of effectiveness and awareness than publications that take issues seriously. On the other hand, this group of publications, as responsible publications in the social, political and moral fields, has gone through stages of literary and intellectual evolution from raw to mature and from superficial to deep social themes. In the inflamed, chaotic and sensitive political atmosphere of the country, both during the Constitutional Revolution and after it until the coup d’état of August, 18, humor, along with dealing with economic, social and cultural issues, calmness, calmness, shape and image became more political and one of the most important theological tools in the press.
Ganjaei published Babashmal in one of the strangest and most critical periods in Iran's political history. A four-year term in which nine prime ministers came to power with eleven cabinets and one hundred and one ministers. One of the reasons for the extraordinary importance of Babashmal is the presentation of realistic reports and analyses from a point of view contrary to the official view and reading and the desire for the rule of the time; thus, in addition to closing the way to distorting some historical events and presenting incorrect and biased perceptions and judgments, they themselves are an important source for reviewing and extracting less seen and sometimes forgotten angles. But it becomes important in the early years of the twentieth century and, in this respect, acquires unparalleled historical significance.
The main topic of this article is an overview of Babashmal's political approach by examining its humorous political content. Due to the importance and sensitivity of press humor, it is necessary to criticize and review important and influential publications of Persian humor. In addition, there are a few important points to note about the need for research on the subject of this article: first, the importance of recognizing press humor in Iran, especially in relation to the socio-political developments of contemporary history, as valid and first-class documents; second, the subject of this research is Babashmal, which imitated the style and satire of a successful magazine such as Mollansereddin, which was published in Azerbaijani Turkish and, during its twenty years of publication, introduced many of its readers to the politics of the day in a humorous way, is an example for other satirical publications were in Persian, which for unknown reasons have been neglected and ignored by satirical researchers and activists in the field of press, and this issue shows the need to pay attention to this publication; A publication that acted as an intermediary between the leading magazine Mollansereddin and Persian-language satirical publications and had undeniable influences on the style, artistic innovations and taste of successful satirical publications after itself, both before the Islamic Revolution (Tawfiq) and after. He left behind the victory of the revolution (Gol Agha magazine). The third point is the issue of reviving political humor in the specific sense of the word. The glorious political satire in the Iranian press, after leaving behind a period full of sluggishness and stagnation and accompanied by bias, by observing the principle of political neutrality of Babashmal in the socio-political atmosphere of the twentieth century and criticizing all groups and parties And the political currents and political figures of that time were introduced in the Iranian press by the founders and writers of Babashmal.
The main question in the present study is, according to the written content of Babashmal magazine, what were the main important political events of the country during the publication of this magazine? And what has been the main approach and policy of Babashmal magazine towards these issues and themes?
Materials and Methods
In this article, using the contents of Babashmal magazine and other sources and references, and by the method of qualitative content analysis, while reviewing and re-reading the contents of each issue of Babashmal magazine, the most important political satirical topics in the field of written humor in this publication were reviewed and studied. Content analysis is one of the classic methods of textual data analysis. This approach is often used in the analysis of a large number of texts and is not limited to a specific theoretical background. In a general classification, different methods of content analysis are usually divided into three categories: quantitative method, qualitative method and integrated method.
Qualitative content analysis is one of the research methods that is commonly used to analyze textual data, such as books, publications, documents, etc. Qualitative content analysis appears where quantitative analysis is limited. Also, one of the basic features of qualitative content analysis is theorizing instead of testing the theory. The method of qualitative content analysis is based on the assumption that by analyzing language messages, one can discover the meanings, priorities, attitudes, methods of understanding and organization of the world. In qualitative content analysis, the analyst, after selecting the document, studies, deduces and interprets the text with the tools of semiotics, logic, scientific knowledge and psychological comprehension. There are currently three traditional (Conventional), Directed and Summative approaches to the application of content analysis that the present study has been done by adopting a traditional approach to content analysis; Because, firstly, the present research is the first research on Babashmal journal and before that, no analysis or theories about the content of this journal have been presented so that it can be used as the initial code or guide of the present research; Therefore, the use of a guided approach is ruled out. Second, the study of Babashmal is fundamentally impractical and unreliable, given the comprehensive approach, which is based on keyword counting; This is because some of the topics in this journal, some of which are also of great importance, may be mentioned briefly in all 150 issues of the journal, but the same few may also be analyzed, summarized, and concluded. The final drawings are very effective.
Conclusion
It can be strongly claimed that Babashmal magazine, during its press activity, somehow observed all the important political, social and economic events of the country and recounted them in various forms; From the high price of bread to the constant change of cabinets and the quarrels of members of parliament and the turbulent economic and security situation in the country. In general, the themes of Babashmal satire can be considered in order of importance and frequency, under the four titles of political, social, economic and cultural themes; Undoubtedly, political criticism is a significant part of the magazine's content. Meanwhile, the share of criticism from parliamentarians, prime ministers and cabinet ministers is much higher than from other political figures. Babashmal points to the inefficiency, irresponsibility, and opportunism of members of parliament on several occasions, and in his discussion of parliamentary elections, he exposes corruption, including vote-buying. Despite the high volume of criticism of ministers, cabinet members and members of parliament, the king and the court have rarely been criticized or have been the subject of satire. At the other end of the spectrum is the character of Arthur Millspoe, who can be boldly said that until his presence in Iran and his activity at the head of the country's financial planning system, almost no issue of Babashmal could be found, which somehow, has not criticized the unfortunate performance and critical decisions of Millspoe and other American advisers under his supervision. In general, it can be said that due to Babashmal's neutral position in dealing with the various political spectrums of the country, this publication was not afraid of any group or profession in criticizing the shortcomings and corruption of the government, and all personalities and factions. It criticized well-known figures in the field of politics, from infamous and well-known personalities such as Mohsen Sadr al-Ashraf and Seyyed Zia-ud-Din Tabatabai to popular and well-known figures, all were exposed to subtle and explicit criticism of Ganjaei and his like-minded people in the magazine.
References
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- Bab Al-Hawaiji, Fahima, (1997). "Content Analysis", National Studies in Library and Information Organization, No. 32, pp. 108-98.
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- Aqeli, Baqer (2001). Biography of contemporary Iranian political and military figures, Volume 3, Tehran: Goftar Publishing.
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Keywords
Main Subjects
References
- Iman, Mohammad Taghi, (2009). Paradigmatic Foundations of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods in Humanities, Qom, Research Institute and University.
- Bab Al-Hawaiji, Fahima, (1997). "Content Analysis", National Studies in Library and Information Organization, No. 32, pp. 108-98.
- Bastani Parizi, Mohammad Ibrahim (1982). Nay Haftband, Tehran: Atai Press Institute, Fourth Edition.
- Barzin, Massoud, (1965). A Look at the Iranian Press, Tehran, No Pub.
- Jami (1982). The past, the beacon of the future, Tehran: Ghoghnoos Publishin.
- Javadi, Hassan (2005). History of humor in Persian literature, Tehran: Caravan Publishing.
- Halat, Abolghasem, (1972). "Babashmal Letter", Talash, No. 34, Tehran, pp. 29-28.
- Khodaverdi, Hassan (2009). Iran-US Relations from the Victory of the Islamic Revolution. to the Conquest of the Spy Nest, Tehran: Islamic Revolution Documentation Center.
- Rezazadeh Malek, Rahim (1971). History of Iran-US Relations, Tehran: Tahoori Library.
- Safari, Mohammad Ali, (1992). Pen and Politics: From September 1320 to August 1332, Tehran, Namak.
- Shahedi, Mozaffar, (2008). "Elections and Meetings of the 1320s from the Perspective of Poetic Political Literature", Historical Studies, No. 23, pp. 101-76.
- Sadr, Roya (2002). Twenty years with humor, Tehran: Hermes Publications.
- Salahi, Imran (2016). Humor in Straw Paper, Tehran: Morvarid Publications.
- Tale, Houshang (2005). Excerpt from Babashmal Weekly, Tehran: Samarghand Publications.
- Aqeli, Baqer (2001). Biography of contemporary Iranian political and military figures, Volume 3, Tehran: Goftar Publishing.
- Azimi, Fakhreddin, (2008). The Crisis of Democracy in Iran, translated by Abdolreza Houshang Mahdavi and Bijan Nozari, third edition, Tehran, Asim.
- Ghazizadegan, Ali Akbar, (2000). The Lost Journalist, Tehran, Iranian Society.
- Pahlavi era press according to SAVAK documents, (2000). Tehran, Ministry of Information Document Review Center.
- Millspaugh, Arthur (1987). The American Mission in Iran, translated by Hossein Abutorabian, Tehran, Payam Azadi.
- Najafzadeh Barforosh, Mohammad Baqer and Morteza Farjian (1991). Iranian Comedians and Comedians from the Constitution to the Revolution, Volume 3, Tehran: Bonyad Publishing.
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