Criminal law and Criminology Studies

Qisas -e nafs in the Cinematic Frame: A Qualitative Study Through the Lens of Cultural Criminology

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

zahra farhadi alashti

Department of law. faculty of law, ferdowsi university of mashad. mashad.

10.22059/jqclcs.2026.411676.2073
Abstract
This article analyzes the cinematic construction of the of Qisas -e nafs in Iranian films produced over the past four decades, through the lens of cultural criminology. To this end, drawing on the anarchist methodology of cultural criminology, David Altheide’s ethnographic content analysis is employed as the main analytical tool. Given the qualitative nature of the study, the sample was selected through non-probability purposive sampling, and ethnographic content analysis was conducted on thirty films. The findings indicate that the meaning of Qisas -e nafs, as a floating signifier, is reproduced across four interpretive spectra depending on narrative logic and representational patterns: legitimation, problematization, substitution, and semantic suspension. Furthermore, some critical filmmakers, by intervening in the meaning-making policies of the dominant discourse, challenge the hegemonic meaning of Qisas -e nafs and seek to destabilize official narratives of an order grounded in Qisas -e nafs. These representations are critically examined at three levels: structural victimization, collateral effects of Qisas -e nafs, and the wrongful convictions.

Keywords

Representation
Construction
Cultural Criminology
Film
Qisas
Cinema
Subjects

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