Predicting Revolutions

This engaging and thought-provoking book suggests that entertainment could become an effective tool for monitoring and predicting strategic shifts in polities and societies. Applying a pioneering methodology, it tells the story of Iranian feature films over the years 1953-78 as an indicator of changes in society as it drifted towards the Islamic Revolution, a mega-event that shocked the experts community. The two sections of the book appeal to both hemispheres of the reader's brain as it convincingly demonstrate that cinematic themes anticipated and reflected the twists-and-turns leading to the Revolution. It also shows the concerns and worries of some leading directors from the imminent upheaval. Reading this book, one cannot but reflect on the unsettling and overwhelming power of intuition and insight displayed by a generation of Iranian filmmakers. One also learns to appreciate a period that served as foundation for the emergence of the New Iranian Cinema of the 1990s.