Cinema as an alternative media: Offside by Jafar Panahi

Abstract

This study inquires whether cinema is an alternative media or not. In our age, when the mainstream media is dominating the entire world, new types of media such as the internet can alternatively serve beyond the traditional mass media .Where does the cinema, the seventh art, stand against the existing order and status quo? To what extent is it an alternative means of showing the condition of the minorities in a society? This study addresses to the status of women, who are condemned to a secondary status in Iran and who can be categorized as a minority, through the film Offside by Jafar Panahi (Offside, 2006), emphasizing the fact that minority media reflects the status of political – social minorities. Offside by Panahi is an alternative voice of women in Iran, and considered a milestone in Iran’s minority media as women are seen as a minority in Iran. © 2015, Purdue University Calumet. All rights reserved.