Ferdowsi’s Shâhnâmeh and Popular Culture, a Video Presentation by Hooman Hedayati. This is a condensed and revised version of Hooman’s presentation at the 2009 Ferdowsi Teach-In at the University of Texas at Austin (ferdows1000.com).
A close look at the great attention which Ferdowsi (940-1020 CE) and his epic narratives called Shahnameh {Book of Kings} (1010 CE) receives today suggests that significant aspects of this attention may not relate to the text of Ferdowsi’s stories per se, but rather to the adaptations and interpretations of them and artistic and cultural reactions to them autside of the realm of Persian literature and literary culture, among them: (10) Saied Ghahari’s 2005 animation feature film called The Rebirth of Rostam, (20) Rostam and Sohrab Opera by Loris Tjeknavorian and Darya Dadvar, (3) Robert de Warren’s Zal and Rudabeh ballet suites, (4) Nicholas Maw’s Shahnama for Small Orchestra, (5) Ziba Shirazi’s pop song called “Iran” and Shahnameh-based Persian rap Music, (6) Shahnameh naqqali (recitation performances in Iran past and present, (7) the Iranian Age of Warrior Heroes video game, (8) Shahnameh comic book series and children’s books, (9) Parviz Kardan’s Shahnameh video stories for children, (10) The Tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab (Tajik feature film, 1971 (in Russian), 1991 (in Tajiki), (11) a Tajik folk version of Ferdowsi’s Story of Esfandiyar (from M. Hillmann’s Tajiki Textbook and Reader), (12) Ferdowsi’s Story of Seyavash and the tradition of Seyavashan [Mourners of Seyavash], (13) Bahram Beizai’s film and stage play called the Death of Yazdgerd. A Spring 2010 course at UT Austin called Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and Pop Culture (MES 324k), taught by Michael Craig Hillmann, will treat in detail subjects of Hooman Hedayati’s video presentation as a window into Iranian culture.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.