Hyperreality

Iranophobia is the hyperreality or representation of Iran’s reality in international relations. With the Baudrillard’s postmodern attitude, we can consider this phenomenon as one of the examples of displacement of the boundary of reality and representation, which was put on the agenda of the West, especially the United States, after the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran as a political project. Accordingly, Iranophobia was formed influenced by the cultural nature of the Islamic Revolution and its focus on the soft aspects of power and the reflection of the Islamic Revolution in the international relations and possible challenges to the interests of the West, especially in the Middle East region. Thus, in a short period time of after the Revolution, many of the concepts and developments of Iran’s foreign and domestic politics, including the policy of issuing the revolution, Iran’s support for liberation movements and causes, the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the human rights issue, Iran’s attempt to achieve military-defensive capabilities, etc. were interpreted with a reverse approach to their reality. This article tried to explain the dimensions and forms of Iranophobia and its consequences in the international relations by analyzing the backgrounds and roots of Iranophobia.

The present study argues the relationship between the media’s power and the reconstruction of subjectivity in Zubaida’s Window, a novel by Iqbal Al-Qazwini. It is a description of the tortured psyche of the exiled woman and her attempts to reconstruct her displaced subjectivity among different versions of media’s Baudrillardian simulacra and to distinguish reality from unreality. Media’s depictions of death and war’s destruction can generate xenophobia among natives who may blame immigrants for their social problems and disturbing spatial harmony. Qazwini re-emphasizes that xenophobia can destroy an immigrant’s self-perception and trigger the preference for death. Moreover, the hyperreal versions of truth and ignoring the subaltern’s voice and revelation affect an immigrant’s mentality negatively and persuade her/him to prefer loneliness and death to have social interactions. This article focuses on the significance of media in the reconstruction of subjectivity, intensification of anti-immigration views, and the dark sides of modern war based on the interrelated theories of David Miller and Derek Gregory. Considering the issues of compulsory displacement and territoriality, Miller focuses on the ethical/political dimensions, while Gregory examines the causes of armed conflicts and geopolitical factors. By applying such an interdisciplinary approach, the researchers investigate Zubaida’s mental downfall, her failure in the reconstruction of subjectivity, and her inability to reconcile different self-images. This article examines her ceaseless effort to reverse the colonial power of media by adhering to her homeland’s memories, or watching her country’s news through TV’s representation, or ignoring spatial interactions, and lack of interest in self-renovation.