Zinat

I saw the film as an articulation of the Iranian struggle as the country moved to westernize/modernize. It is easy to forget that revolutions, be they white or red, do not simply sweep trough a country and “voila” everyone is instantly part of the new era. Instead changes affect everyone in slightly different manners. Zinat embraced the modernizing changes whole-heartedly; she took to heart that the training she had received would change her life forever. She viewed the clinic as much more than just a job; her work had become part of who she was, of how she defined herself and her relationships with those around her.
Her parents embraced society’s changes only so far as it would not affect the long-term real-life goals they had for their daughter, i.e. that she would marry. She was still a women and traditional roles still applied, her role in the clinic was only something to tide her over until she got married, it was not something that should in any way define who she was or what she should expect from her life. Even when the official tells her father that they will have to repay the government for her training, he is willing to do so. The training and its ensuing cost is for him some kind of abstraction, not as real as a daughter who is not married; a daughter who has not yet fulfilled the role traditional society expects from her.
Hamed sees, at least in the beginning, Zinat as only a woman, for him the role of medic is inconsequential; he places absolutely no importance on it. For him her work is not a threat, because it simply does not exist.
Ashraf is the society in transition. At the beginning of the film, Ashraf sees Zinat as a woman defying society’s traditional role by not marrying and having children. Zinat’s role as a medic is worthless to Ashraf other than as a means of getting money by selling the formula. As the film progresses it is Ashraf’s struggle to accept Zinat in her role as a medic that is the catalyst for the film’s turning point.

Ending:
Zinat remains fairly unchanged throughout the movie. It is the other people’s reaction to her that changes. The mother in law remains unchanged in her views. She sees Zinat only as a woman who has transcended the bonds of society (and the physical bonds she has set for her i.e. closed doors and windows, sleeping in her mother in laws bedroom etc). She refuses or is unable to see Zinat in a modern role and sees her only as failing her role as daughter in law.

Husband:
When Hamed shows up at Ashraf’s house to help Zinat, it is clear that he is beginning to truly understand that Zinat has an important role to play outside of wife and daughter-in-law. By the end of the evening, Zinat’s role as a medic has transcended her role as a woman. Hamed is able to look at the result of what she is doing and understand/appreciate its importance without looking at Zinat as a woman. Zinat and the modernization she represents have the ability to save (literally and figuratively) their village, their society. Hamed understands this as he jumps on the back of the truck, leaving his village, his past allegiances behind him.


Role of Ashraf
Ashraf is the embodiment of the way in which revolutions happens within a specific society. For her to embrace the changes in society she must be able to look at Zinat and see a trained medic who can save her child’s life. By the end of the film she is able to do so in fact she so believes in the power of Zinat’s role as a medic that she locks her in the room with her child sealing both of their fates.


Throughout the film, I loved the imagery of the veils. The covering up while meeting with guests, the removing of veils to show a private face, a private feeling. After Zinat serves her future mother in law, the first thing she does upon leaving the room is to remove her outer veil. Once the veil is removed, she is able to show the true conflict of her emotions. The veils are not heavy except, interestingly enough, for the one Zinat wears to work, but they consume, cover, and obliterate the women from head almost to toe. The veil at the wedding completely covers Zinat’s face – interesting. I know that the veils are part of the traditional society but I thought their presence fascinating and beautifully done.