Reading Response Three

2. What were the general restrictions of the “Rule of Modesty”? How does this relate to some of the stylistic decisions we saw in A Moment of Innocence? How did this lead to problems of realism for Iranian audiences when watching domestic interior scenes?

- The rule mostly dealt with women and their behavior on screen. They had to wear appropriate clothing such as scarves, veils, and tunics. The had to act appropriately and morally and were not allowed to engage in activities that would show off the shapes of their bodies. They had to refrain from physical contact with men, as well as looking lustfully at them. In A Moment of Innocence, all the women are dressed in dark, loose fitting tunics. When the young director and the girl were talking, she would hold part of her tunic up by her face and look straight ahead. Most of their conversations took place as they walked through alleyways using long steadycam shots which make it seem more realistic for them to not have to look at each other while talking. Normally, women do not veil themselves inside when with their husbands, but in cinema, they were required to keep their veils on. This seemed odd and unrealistic for Iranian viewers.

4. What have been some of the key feminist objections to the representation of women under the rule of modesty in Iranian cinema. If these films are claiming a degree of realism, what broad tendencies in the representation of women complicate those claims?

- Feminists seem to think that the rule of modesty has led to stereotyping Iranian women. The restrictions put limitations on women and make it seem that all they can do is domestic work. As for the realism, there are so many instances where women have to act a certain way on film that is completely contradicting to the way they have to act in real life, mainly with rules regarding dress in certain situations.