POLITICAL QUARTERLY

POLITICAL QUARTERLY

Representing the Relation between Love and Politics; A Reflection on the Series Shahrzad

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Peyman Zanganeh
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran.
10.22059/jpq.2026.401659.1008424
Abstract
Extended Abstract
The series Shahrzad is one of the finest dramatic works of the 1990s, which, by focusing on social and political problems, has created a form of representation centered on the connection between loving subjects and political and social issues. This drama, which deals with the events following the August 19, 1953 coup, portrays the state of Iranian society after this political‑historical event in such a way that social forces aligned with political power have no qualms about killing and slaughtering in order to achieve their goals. The prevalence of political corruption is among the most obvious issues fueling disorder across various sectors of society. On the other hand, the characters in this series largely turn to love as a means of escaping despair and enduring the difficult conditions caused by the coup and the problems of their time. Through their connection with their desired love objects, they strive to make the suffering and hardship resulting from the intense pressures of life bearable. The research question of this article is as follows: how is the relationship between love and politics represented in the series Shahrzad? The hypothesis is that in this series, love and politics are represented in the form of a contradictory and disconnected relationship, such that tragedy emerges as a result of this disconnection. Accordingly, the present article examines and explores the relationship between the two concepts of love and politics by employing an integrated theoretical approach focused on the triad of politics, love, and tragedy, and by utilizing Stuart Hall's method of structural representation.

Methodology
Representation, as a type of social construction, is one of the concepts employed by Stuart Hall. From Hall’s perspective, three approaches to representation can be distinguished. The first is the reflective approach, which considers language as a tool for expressing the reality of the world. Logical positivism and Wittgenstein’s early picture theory of language are relevant in this regard. The second is the intentional approach, which searches for meaning in the intentions of the author, speaker, or artist and is reflected in the hermeneutic tradition. The third is the constructivist approach, in which meaning is produced and created through linguistic practices. Within the framework of constructivist representation, Stuart Hall maintains that meanings do not possess a fixed truth and are instead constructed by their cultural conditions and environment.

Results and Discussion
The series Shahrzad, directed by Hassan Fathi, aired for three seasons totaling fifty nine episodes and attracted considerable audience attention. In this series, the director portrays Farhad as a student of Persian literature, using his literary background to convey the series’ critical message to the audience in the face of power centers associated with the court. She also represents Shahrzad as a medical student. Metaphorically, the director may intend the doctor to symbolize a therapeutic role; the connection between literature and medicine thus represents a sick society that must first be criticized and then treated. Two types of views on politics appear in the series Shahrzad. The first is a realistic approach in which violence, deception, conspiracy, murder, and similar elements are among its most prominent features, visible throughout the series. For instance, in episode twenty one of the first season, the police clash with rivals such as Behboudi and Shervani during the murder of Bozorg Agha. In this incident, the police pursue their own interests, and the chief of police, Colonel Soheili, asks Major Foladshekan to refrain from investigating the assassination attempt on Bozorg Agha. The second perception of politics is the idealistic view, traceable in the attitude of Mosaddegh’s supporters in the series. Some of Farhad’s dialogues indicate an idealistic view of politics. In a conversation with his father, he explains his different perspective by saying, There are so many widows, grieving mothers, and fathers in this country, door to door, asking for help, who have no voice, and they are calling out, sir.
In the series Shahrzad, in line with Alain Badiou’s discussions, love is formed on the basis of difference, while the ruling political structure seeks to reduce love to cabaret and instant pleasures through a homogenizing approach and an official reading of it. However, the love between Farhad and Shahrzad, whose social outcome manifests itself in the form of relentless rebellion and chaos, comes into direct conflict with politics, resulting in nothing but tragedy for the characters. Shahrzad is forced into a painful and unwanted separation from Farhad, and Farhad, as a result of losing his love, engages in political action against the established power. Numerous tragedies in the series Shahrzad occur as a consequence of the confrontation between the rebellious power of loving subjects and politics. Bozorg Agha, for example, is a character who lost his wife and two children in an accident, and his only daughter, Shirin, is unable to have children. Despite his wealth, power, and high political and social status, Bozorg Agha’s life is marked by tragedy. The death of Hashem Damavandi, which occurs as a result of Shahpour Behboudi’s conspiracy and the collaboration of the bureaucrat Qobad, is one of the tragic scenes in which the director portrays this sequence using appropriate visual effects and intelligent editing, such that the audience identifies with the characters with great sadness and grief.

Conclusion
In the series Shahrzad, the director represents a tragic relationship between love and politics in the modern world. In other words, by depicting scenes such as the grand mansion of the lord alongside its dimly lit periphery, the prison, the asylum, and other closed spaces, she attempts to reconstruct the tragic and painful dimension of the story. Through the observation of the physical space of the narrative, the viewer experiences a kind of pain, suffering, and sadness that is itself tragic in nature. Furthermore, the heroes and anti heroes that the director and the cast of this series have drawn represent a relentless struggle between the heroes of the world of love and the anti heroes of a world full of pain and political tragedy.
Keywords
Love
Politics
Tragedy
Violence
Coherence
Representation
Discoherence
Subjects
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POLITICAL QUARTERLY
Volume 56, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 804-781

  • Receive Date 14 September 2025
  • Revise Date 14 December 2025
  • Accept Date 13 January 2026