Small Media, Big Revolution: Communication, Culture, and the Iranian Revolution

To most Westerners, the Iranian revolution was a shocking spectacle, a distant mass upheaval suddenly breaking into the daily news. It was, in fact, a revolution of the television era, as this book clearly demonstrates. The first account of the role of culture and communication in the Iranian revolution, this is also the first book to consider revolution as communication in the modern world. Co-authored by participants in the revolutionary upheaval, this study reflects an unusual breadth and depth of perspective. Drawing on 10 years of research, the authors show how the processes and products of modernization actually helped to undermine the very foundation of modernity in Iran. Their work reveals how deeply embedded cultural modes of communication, coupled with crucial media technologies, were able to mobilize a population within a repressive political context. Tracing the use of small media (audio and video cassettes) to disseminate the revolution, the authors challenge much of the theory that has dominated international communication studies - and in doing so, question the credibility of the established media. This book also examines the dilemmas of cultural policy-making based on Islamic principles in a media-saturated domestic and international environment.