CREATING THE IDEOLOGY OF ‘WEST’ FROM ‘NON-WEST’: EXAMINING ACADEMY AWARDED FILMS OF ASHGAR FARHADI FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM

Relations between the US and Iran have been hostile since the Iranian Revolution. Cultural and artistic works are also influenced by conflicts that sometimes take place in direct conflicts and sometimes in the form of ‘soft warfare’. While Iranian cinema has achieved a global reputation with the awards it has won in Western film festivals, cultural censorship in the country is trying to prevent the emergence of new works. This study tries to take a critical perspective on the factors behind the 'Best Foreign Film Academy Award' awarded by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It will be argued how the criteria for rewarding non-Western films, which are expressed as 'world cinema', have a pre-requisite for current Western hegemony. In this context Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi’s films, A Separation and Salesman, had been analyzed and it had been examined whether the films have included orientalism in their discourses. In conclusion, the Oscar award will be considered as a means of cultural imperialism