Abstract:

The Civil War in Syria, which began in 2011, has gained an international status with the inclusion of state and non-state actors. The actors on the side of the war, in addition to their armed struggles, have also participated in propaganda activities and have been in an effort to legitimate the policies they follow. In this process, Iran has also been a part of the Syrian Civil War and has been a part of the propaganda activities. Iran has been interfering in the Syrian war in the context of the foreign policy paradigm that changed after the 1979 revolution and has been criticized for reasons such as its secularism during the war, neglecting its internal affairs. Iran, which uses cinema as a propaganda tool as a soft force against these criticisms, has thus sought the ground for legitimacy in both foreign and domestic politics. At this stage, the film "About the Sham Hour" used by the Iranian government for propaganda purposes is a product of Iran's initiative, but it is an example of the state's perception of the civil war in Syria and the statement produced during the war process. The study in this context, from the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to today, takes on the use of Iran’s cinema as a propaganda tool from the film “According to the Sham Hour”, the Iran-Syria relations and the framework of the Arab Spring. Working at A. Van Dijk’s critical speech analysis method is used to analyze the film “According to Sham Hour”. The conclusion is that Iran’s view of the war in Syria has been reconstructed by visual and vocational means and that Iran’s policies are effectively used through the cinema. The study aims to contribute to literature on the perspective of the Syrian Civil War, the Arab Spring and Iran on these two issues.

Abstract:

The civil war in Syria, which started in 2011, internationalized through the involvement of states and non-state actors into the conflict. The actors of the war have been involved in armed struggle as well as propaganda activities, and made efforts to legitimize their policies. In this process, Iran has been one of the actors, who intervened in the civil war and carried out propaganda activities. Iran has been involved in the civil war in the framework of its foreign policy paradigm that had changed after the 1979 revolution. Iran has been criticized for fueling sectarianism and ignoring internal issues during the war. To counter such criticism, Iran has tried to gain legitimacy in both foreign and domestic policy through instrumentalizing cinema as a propaganda and soft power tool. The movie “Damascus Time” is an example of this initiative of Iran, which reveals the state’s perception of the civil war in Syria and its war discourse. In this context, the study explores Iran's use of cinema as a propaganda tool from the Islamic Revolution of 1979 until today within the context of Iran-Syria relations and the Arab Spring by departing from the movie “Damascus Time”. In this study, the critical discourse analysis method of Teun A. Van Dijk is applied to analyze the movie “Damascus Time”. It is concluded that Iran's perception of the war in Syria is reconstructed through visual and discursive means, and that Iran's policies are effectively used through cinema. The study aims to contribute to the literature on the Syrian civil war, the Arab Spring, and Iran's point of view in these two issues.

Keywords: