Subversion and Countersubversion: Power, Control and Meaning in the New Iranian Pop Music. In: A. J. Randall (Ed.), Music, power, and politics
Subversion and Countersubversion: Power, Control and Meaning in the New
Iranian Pop Music. In: A. J. Randall (Ed.), Music, power, and politics, by Laudan Nooshin
On May 23, 1997, a few weeks after Labour’s historic election victory in
Britain, another historic election—presidential this time—took place in Iran
just as the country’s Revolution was coming of age. Standing on a platform
of greater openness internally and reestablishing Iran’s international relations,
Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Khatami was swept to power with an overwhelming
mandate that gave a real indication of the extent of public support
for change.1 Since 1997, Khatami has initiated a number of reforms in which
the most far-reaching have been in the cultural domain. One of the most
remarkable developments is that after almost twenty years in which all pop
music was officially banned in Iran, there has been a gradual relaxing of government
policy in this area, and certain types of pop music have now become
legal again…
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