The Circle (film)

The Circle (Directed by Jafar Panahi)/2000


The Circle explores the lives of Iranian women struggling to live their lives in a city somewhere in Iran.  Given that the film was made more than 10 years ago, I am unsure whether the state of affairs remains the same as when the film was made: it could be worse or better.  From the film's presentation, it seems an unfortunate fate to be born a woman in Iran.  From the moment a girl has been born, we see despair from people who wanted her to be a boy, for her sake as well as for her mother’s sake; and things do not seem to improve throughout the various stages of a woman's life.

What this film represented for me was the importance of fundamental freedom as a human being against the demands of the moral values of society.  Tension is common in all interactions where the needs/desires of an individual clashes with those of the society, but the freedom to engage in this conflict is a necessary part of human life.  As human beings we have our individual will which at times must or should act against the will of the society or the universe. By our very survival instinct, we’re programmed to prioritise our will over outside wills or forces; this causes suffering but a suffering less severe than that which comes from a complete loss of freedom.

In The Circle women are under constant threat in public places; they cannot be alone in public; they cannot be with men that are not their relatives; they cannot smoke in public or travel without an ID.  In such a repressive environment, women skulk around in public places, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves from the authorities: constantly ducking and hiding.  In this setting, what I take for granted takes on the significance of a criminal offence or a mortal sin.

There is so much fear and anxiety. However, women in this film are surprisingly resilient.  They are also kind and supportive to each other.  There, what I consider to be an injustice or tragedy are accepted as part of the course.  What I have realised is that unconsciously I accept it as part of the course as well: for THEM.  In the western world media we watch every day the atrocities that goes on elsewhere in the world. What is the purpose of this?  Only a fraction of us do something about it while the rest of us are only aware, or not even.  There is something perverse about continuing to watch people suffer day in and day out as we put our feet up after a day in the office, having dinner and drinking wine.

Another question this movie raises is why do people decide to stay with a certain society without abandoning it when the social values contradict their own personal will and causes much suffering.  I saw a Vice documentary where a Japanese man lived on an island all by himself, living the life of a Robinson Crusoe, but voluntarily.  Is a human being an inherently social being and in the Japanese man’s context, is he suffering from a mental illness or is this simply an unusual life style choice?

This film addresses many issues: not only social injustice in Iran against women but also how we deal with it as "outsiders" and what this means for us as a humanity as a whole.  All of which would be beyond the scope of this blog but it certainly has kept me awake for many a night afterwards.

Ps. I say "outsiders" because I wanted to express that I am not living in the same physical realm as the women in the film but I do not want to endorse an us/them mentality.

Popular posts from this blog

I See Satan Fall Like Lightning (book)

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (book)

Aristotle's Ethics (book)