Emancitopia

12th Annual Graduate Symposium – McGill Institute of Islamic Studies: Gender, Knowledge, and Borders

Theatre of Dispossession: Utopia, Gender, and Borders in Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi’s Exilic Plays

This paper examines how Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi’s exilic plays interrogate the intersection of gender, displacement, and borders, exposing how the legacies of the Iran-Iraq War fracture identity and reinforce patriarchal structures. Through a close reading of Pardeh-dārān-e Āyineh Afrouz (The Veil-Bearers of the Illuminating Mirror) and Othello Dar Sarzamin-e Ajayeb (Othello in Wonderland), this study explores how Sa’edi critiques post-revolutionary nationalist ideologies that weaponize war and gender.

Drawing on Bloch’s concept of utopia, this study frames Sa’edi’s plays as utopian responses to dystopian realities, where the nationalist vision of an Islamic utopia is built upon systemic violence and gendered subjugation. Deleuze and Guattari’s deterritorialization reveals how war displaces male bodies through sacrifice while redefining women as agents of endurance and ideological reproduction. Rancière’s emancipated spectatorship highlights how Sa’edi’s dramaturgy disrupts passive nationalist narratives, compelling audiences to critically engage with the absurdity of hegemonic power.

In Pardeh-dārān-e Āyineh Afrouz, sons are sacrificed in the name of holy war, their destruction framed as a national duty, while women are left to bear the psychological trauma and remain confined within the family. This patriarchal war economy simultaneously deterritorializes and reterritorializes both genders—men through bodily dismemberment on the battlefield and women through enforced endurance within the home, where their suffering is repurposed to sustain nationalist ideals. The result is a dystopian social order in which war dictates gendered fates, reducing men to disposable bodies and women to custodians of grief and ideological continuity.

Yet, the regulation of women’s bodies extends beyond labor and mourning to ideological policing, as seen in Othello Dar Sarzamin-e Ajayeb, where Desdemona’s mandatory veiling epitomizes reterritorialization. By transforming a canonical Western text into an absurdist critique of gendered oppression, Sa’edi moves beyond tragedy, satirizing the dystopian mechanisms of censorship and the authoritarian control of bodies.

Keywords: Gender, War, Borders, Utopia, Exile, Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi

Abstract For Socio-Legal Studies

This paper examines the intersection of utopia, aesthetics and political theory, arguing that aesthetics of utopia function both as a critique of oppression and a catalyst for resistance. It focuses on the works of Iranian writer and dramatist Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi (1936–1985), whose literary and theatrical productions embody utopian longing, dystopian critique, and political defiance.

Drawing on Ernst Bloch’s concept of anticipatory consciousness, the paper frames utopia as a dynamic and evolving political force rather than a fixed ideal. Jacques Rancière’s politics of aesthetics reveals how artistic practices disrupt established power structures and reconfigure social perception, while Deleuze and Guattari’s schizoanalysis explores deterritorialization as a strategy of resistance. By integrating these theoretical perspectives, this study demonstrates how utopian imagination not only challenges hegemonic narratives but also fosters political agency and collective resistance.

Often dismissed as naive, utopian thought is reclaimed by Bloch and Rancière as a tool for disruption and reimagining the future. Bloch’s concept of the “Not-Yet” frames utopia as an ongoing force in political struggles, while Rancière’s idea of the “redistribution of the sensible” demonstrates how art disrupts power structures. Deleuze and Guattari’s schizoanalysis reveals utopian desire as a form of deterritorialization, which is evident in Sa’edi’s portrayal of fragmented identities and displacement. This is particularly apparent in Mourners of Bayal (Azadaran-e Bayal), where characters—rooted in an unspecified Iranian rural setting—grapple with the erosion of communal bonds and forced relocation due to disease, famine, and rigid beliefs. This study examines Mourners of Bayal, a collection of eight stories, alongside Club-Wielders of Varzil (Choub Be Dastan-e Varazil), a play, both of which critique Iran’s authoritarian modernization and systemic violence. Through dark humor and irony, Sa’edi exposes the contradictions of power and envisions new possibilities for resistance.

Extending into contemporary activism, this paper examines how utopian aesthetics sustain resistance across time and space while also addressing the risks of co-optation, drawing on Guy Debord’s Society of the Spectacle. The case of The Cow (Gav), based on Sa’edi’s screenplay, exemplifies this tension. Initially a critique of the Pahlavi regime, the film portrayed rural dispossession and social decay. However, after the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic reframed its narrative, shifting the focus from resistance to ideological conformity. The regime emphasized nostalgia for rural life, promoting themes of humility and submission. Ayatollah Khomeini even praised the film, leading to its incorporation into the Persian literature curriculum in high schools. This raises a critical question: can utopian aesthetics escape commodification, or must they remain fluid to resist appropriation?

How does this project bridge academia and action:

Utopian aesthetics function as a bridge between theory and action, critique and mobilization. By integrating philosophical inquiry with artistic and literary analysis, it demonstrates how utopian imagination fosters political agency and sustains revolutionary aspirations. Sa’edi’s work exemplifies how exilic and nomadic intellectual traditions can resist authoritarian narratives and reimagine new possibilities of belonging. In doing so, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the aesthetics of resistance, the political function of utopia, and the transformative power of artistic engagement in shaping collective futures.

Utopian Aesthetics and Political Advocacy: Resistance in the Works of Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi and Latin American Writers
This paper examines how literary and theatrical aesthetics function as advocacy tools in challenging authoritarianism and mobilizing resistance. By comparing Iranian writer Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi (1936–1985) with Latin American authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Augusto Boal, this study explores how utopian aesthetics amplify marginalized voices and critique oppression.

Drawing on Ernst Bloch’s anticipatory consciousness, Jacques Rancière’s politics of aesthetics, and Deleuze and Guattari’s schizoanalysis, this paper reframes utopia as a dynamic political force. Sa’edi’s Mourners of Bayal and Club-Wielders of Varzil critique authoritarian modernization and forced displacement through dark humor and irony, mirroring García Márquez’s magical realism, which blends myth and history to resist state narratives. Vargas Llosa’s Conversation in the Cathedral, like Sa’edi’s works, exposes how dictatorial regimes manipulate fear and alienation. Meanwhile, Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed transforms spectators into participants in resistance, paralleling Sa’edi’s subversive theatrical techniques.

Extending into contemporary activism, this paper interrogates the risks of co-optation. The Cow (Gav)—originally a critique of rural dispossession—was later repurposed by the Iranian state to promote ideological conformity, echoing how Latin American revolutionary aesthetics have at times been appropriated by state-sponsored nationalism. This raises a key question: Can utopian aesthetics sustain resistance, or do they risk absorption into dominant power structures?

By comparing Iranian and Latin American cultural resistance, this study underscores the transnational dimensions of artistic advocacy and its enduring role in reimagining alternative futures amid political fragmentation.

Keywords: Advocacy, Utopian Aesthetics, Political Resistance, Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi, Latin American Literature, Authoritarianism, Cultural Activism