Simply Contradicting

Contradicting is the word that comes to mind when I think of Forugh Farrokhzad. Both in her literature and film, there was a sense of confusion between hopefulness and misery.

The House of Black depicted a colony of people with Leprosy, but in various lights. Many adults were alone and slowly lurking the faded colony, while others were speaking of praise and thankfulness. As one man with a crutch slowly walks into the darkness – another man sings songs of worship. There were children playing games and carrying on with laughter, while others were counting down the days to their death. Intertwined with the maze of emotions were shots of still water, lifeless and deserted and then a few seconds later a swarm of birds soar through the sky. Taking a closer look at the individuals, even their facial expressions followed this pattern. As the woman had blocks placed on her hands, she felt nothing; her face was solemn and emotionless. Close-ups of distorted faces appeared as if they were mug shots, portraying the colony as “outsiders” or people who don’t belong with the rest of society. On the other hand, Farrokhzad shows a little boy combing a girls hair as they both smile to the melody of a happy man.

When looking at her poetry, this contradicting style continues throughout her collection Sin. A poem that stuck out to me was On Loving. In this poem she wrote:

                “I’m so filled with you

                I want to run through meadows,

                Bash my head against mountain rocks,

                Give myself to ocean waves.”

The comparison of running through a meadow and bashing her head against mountain rocks does not line up – one is clearly relating to happiness while the other relates to a suicidal state. In reading her biography, Farrokhzad points out that there are two distinct parts of her when she said, “…the desperate struggle between two stages of my life, the last gasps and my future.” Juggling between whether life is worth holding onto or letting go is a key message in both her poetry and film productions. The idea that when times are rough and you are dealt a unfair hand, you have two contradicting choices: be thankful for what you do have or do not accept reality and look for a new way of life.