Farrokhzad's The House Is Black is (in my opinion, I went back to
watch it again) a really fascinating film and in a way is a mesh of
both poetry and visual elements. After reading Farrokhzad's writings it becomes very apparent that her
narration style within The
House is Black as well as the writing style of her poetry is very
similar. The repetition, breaks and calm manner when discussing
shocking situations can be found in both her film and her writings. One example
of this would be comparing Farrokhzad's poem The
Sin with The House is Black.
In the poem The
Sin Farrokhzad discusses
having a "sinful" sexual encounter with a man. Within the poem
she is very open about her (and her partner's) lustful nature. Writings at that
time, for the location she was from Iran, were still rather radical. This
decision to focus on radical subject matter can also be found in The House is Black. The radical
subject being described within the film is the daily activities of those who
live within a leper colony. The cuts from scene to scene from lepers missing
their fingers, their noses is shocking. The contents of Farrokhzad's
writings and film bring up subjects that our society would rather keep
hush-hush. These are situations we know about but refuse to discuss. Farrokhzad
is willing to bring such matters to light, she rebelled against the standards
of the time, willing to take on the judgments of her society. While Farrokhzad’s voice was melodic and
soothing, it was able to bring to the masses knowledge of untouchable information.
Farrokhzad users her writings as a way to shock and inform others. The use of shocking content is very useful to open the eyes and the mind of the viewer. Many people are unaware of the plight of others simply due to ignorance, others refuse to see what is truly going on. For those who are willing to watch the shocking visuals or read the shocking text, it brings about new knowledge. Farrokhzad's writings were revolutionary for the time due to the restrictive nature found in the area of the world she was from, and the film she made makes people face things they wish not to. Lepers are kept away from the rest of society, one reason being to contain the diseased, but also to remove what society doesn't wish to see. Similarities can be found in the societies of the United States, every time we look away from a homeless person's suffering, we refuse to see the shocking truths that Farrokhzad charged towards.
Farrokhzad users her writings as a way to shock and inform others. The use of shocking content is very useful to open the eyes and the mind of the viewer. Many people are unaware of the plight of others simply due to ignorance, others refuse to see what is truly going on. For those who are willing to watch the shocking visuals or read the shocking text, it brings about new knowledge. Farrokhzad's writings were revolutionary for the time due to the restrictive nature found in the area of the world she was from, and the film she made makes people face things they wish not to. Lepers are kept away from the rest of society, one reason being to contain the diseased, but also to remove what society doesn't wish to see. Similarities can be found in the societies of the United States, every time we look away from a homeless person's suffering, we refuse to see the shocking truths that Farrokhzad charged towards.
Your last statement about refusing to see that shocking truths, I found interesting. When it is happening in our own country, we try to run away but we should not be doing this. We too should be running towards these issues, full force.
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