Tehran

Question 1

Production

Answer 1

• Transnational co production between Cineflix, Kan 11, Paper Entertainment, Paper Plane Productions
• Produces in Athens, Greece due to the similar architecture and because they weren’t allowed to film in Tehran due to political tensions

Question 2

Who wrote and created Tehran

Answer 2

Moshe Zander

Question 3

Distribution of Tehran

Answer 3

• Cineflix acquired international distribution rights
• Cineflix then struck a co production with Apple TV+ to launch Tehran
• This made Tahran the first non English series to be released on Apple TV+

Question 4

How much did Apple pay for it

Answer 4

$1 million per episode

Question 5

S1 Trailer music

Answer 5

• Composer: Mark Eliyahu
• Enigmatic score with fast paced, tension building music
• Iranian instruments (eg. kamancheh) anchor cultural context of the show

Question 6

Tehran and genre

Answer 6

• Tehran conforms to the typical codes and conventions

The narrative is based around the real context of the Iran- Israel proxy conflict
- Makes the show culturally and socially relevant for global audiences

Question 7

Casting

Answer 7

• Careful and high value casting used (Navid Nagahban and Shaun Toub)
• Female protagonist widens audience appeal, by offering a more diverse representation
• Opportunity to reflect on the dynamic and evolving nature of the genre
• Personal identity

Question 8

OPENING SEQUENCE - audio and technical codes

Answer 8

• music amplifies fear of events
• hum, tone of unease and high tension - creates enigma
• dialogue - mixture of three languages helps audiences understand character context and creates a sense of verisimilitude
• Handheld camera positions audience within the action
• FOcuses on the back of Tamar and Ashraf
• Shallow depth of field signifies Tamar as undercover

Question 9

OPENING SEQUENCE - gesture codes

Answer 9

• Extreme close up of shaking hand and body language - hermeneutic codes - sense of unease created
• “It’ll be okay don’t be afraid” - Enhances enigma and further builds anticipation
• Israeli student’s fear portrayed through body language, facial expressions and panicked dialogue

Question 10

OPENING SEQUENCE - dress codes

Answer 10

Israeli students
- wearing colourful and informal attire, adidas- Western brand
- Signifies their identity and ideological stance

Iranian students
- Niqab and formal attire - traditional, reflects the value of their nation

Creates a binary opposition between these two pairs of students

Question 11

Steve Neale genre application

Answer 11

• Tehran strikes a balance between containing enough of the traditional spy thriller genre conventions to have global appeal
• DIFFERENCE, plays on traditional tropes establishing itself as a contemporary version of this genre with its own unique spin of the genre conventions

Question 12

Differences in genre (Steve Neale)

Answer 12

• based within verisimilitude and the real life Israel - Iran proxy conflict
• Female lead protagonist - allows for more dynamic and original characters
• Middle Eastern setting
• Convention of muslim terrorists are being subverted (pessimistic view in the post 9/11 zeitgeist)

Question 13

Todorov application

Answer 13

• Todorov’s narrative structure has clear limitations when considering the long form nature of TV
• Tehran utilises a flexi-narrative, a more complex narrative structure that combines aspects of the series and the serial

Question 14

Iranian representation

Answer 14

• Violent interrogation of Israeli students portrays Iranian regime as brutal and unforgiving
• Further reinforced when the Iranian woman states that she would “rather die” than stay in Iran - reinforces stereotypes
• binary opposition between modern tech of airport and medieval execution (hanging)
• binary opposition between good and evil

Question 15

representation of gender
(historical context)

Answer 15

• hijab history
• iran’s history of protest
• iran’s cameras

Question 16

Interrogation scene
mise en scene

Answer 16

• Extreme long shot showing the paintings of Iran’s two supreme leaders
• Glass/blinds separating the students, binary opposition between values of Iran vs Israel

Question 17

Interrogation scene
Technical codes

Answer 17

• High angle over the shoulder, represents Shira’s vulnerability
• Loose framing, connotes the students isolation
• Low angle shots frame Faraz as towering over Shira - connotes his power and authority
• Cutaway after Faraz hits Shira to outside the room, emphasises how Shira is trapped - implies that violence against women in Iran is normalised

Question 18

Battling stereotypes

Answer 18

• Media producers want to ‘de other’ Iran as a nation
• “These are not good guys and bad guys”
• Counters dominant misconceptions about Iran in Israel and the West

Question 19

hooks application

Answer 19

• Her ideas are both challenged and conformed
• Tamar empowes women and subverts stereotypical norms of the genre as she is placed in the primary position and is a strong dynamic character
• However, Tehran does conform to stereotypical ideas surrounding women as victims - reflected in the interrogation and closing scene, violence towards women

Question 20

Van Zoonen application

Answer 20

• Alternative representations of women are portrayed through Tamar
• However, the series does fall into stereotypically feminine characteristics to disguise her identity (eg. nose bandage)
• Tamar uses societal expectations of what women should do/be/look to further herself