A look at “24” magazine (film review special)/ in praise of staying in love
Fars News Agency – Cinema Group: Perhaps there are a handful of people who are interested in art magazines and press, who still stop by the newsstands and follow the headlines and pictures with their eyes. For a long time, cultural-artistic magazines have fallen from prosperity and virtual space has cast a shadow on the field of art. In the meantime, sometimes the presence of a magazine with attractive headlines and beautiful pictures excites and attracts old audiences.
One of these magazines that caught my eye this October (1401) was “24” magazine, an old magazine that is more than a decade old. “24” magazine from the magazine collection of “Hamshahri” Institute has given new weight to the press stalls with its return (after a one-year absence). An attractive and readable magazine that can delight cinema lovers as much as watching an exciting movie.
This issue of the magazineSpecial film review“, a subject whose absence has always cast a shadow on the country’s cinema during the past decades. At a time when “virtual space has become a hotbed of yellow reviews” and has disturbed the review market more than ever, 24 magazine is like an educational class.
A magazine that tried to deal with the evils of “writing to get likes” and expose “Lempnism in film criticism”. In addition to these topics of the day, 24 Naqbi also took a look at four decades of film criticism in Iran, talked about “superstitions in Persian language film criticism” and examined “the state of film criticism in Iran’s cinema yesterday, today and tomorrow”. . Of course, these are not all the contents of 24 magazine, the fascinating section “Institutionalization and theorizing” which is “an introduction to Seyed Morteza Avini and his cinematic views” as well as the introduction of film criticism books and the publication of a chapter of the currently published book “Author Theory” on the most exciting theory He has brought the film review to the magazine.
In this report, we will try to introduce “24” magazine after a few months delay. A book-magazine that can be very attractive to students and those interested in film criticism. Therefore, with the help of the introduction of the magazine, we will introduce it.
* Publication of the new policy book-magazine of “Hamshahri” Institute
In an era when the appearance of publications in press stalls has almost lost its meaning and in a situation where Iranian cinema is faced with an unprecedented crisis of audience anger, and this time in the form of a book-magazine, which is the new policy of “Hamshahri” Institute for the revival of its publications. ; Books-magazines that are supposed to deal with a central topic in each issue.
At a time when press stalls have practically changed their use to small supermarkets and people read more news and articles and reports on their mobile phones than in publications and it seems that the press has left the game to the virtual space, still the best and highest quality content by Journalists and press writers are produced.
Virtual space, with all its improvements and easy and quick access, is mostly a place of opinion and passing, and for more and deeper reflection, written is still more reliable and practical. Virtual, with all its breadth and diversity, has its own limitations. In this space, the amount of content is usually proportional to the amount of audience. The text should be short and contain emotional content to be seen and read.
In such a situation, in order to survive, the press must go the way that the virtual does not have the opportunity to travel and provide content that cannot be found quickly and easily on mobile phones. The book of Hamshahri magazines will be published with such an intention, focusing on one topic and, as much as possible, a comprehensive review of the central theme of each issue.
* The ups and downs of a 13-year-old specialized magazine
In the worst period of public reception of cinema (which can no longer be justified by the excuse of Corona) and the unfavorable economic situation of the cinema press (of which only a few are still surviving) from December 2018 when the first issue of “24” magazine was published until today , nearly thirteen years ago; Thirteen years in which he has gone through many ups and downs.
As the first editor-in-chief of “24”, Hossein Meghazinia laid the foundation stone of a serious and at the same time attractive film magazine, whose high quality glossy paper and color printing were equal to the form and content of its content. A publication whose professional editor and editorial staff did not waste the trust and support of the then managers of Hamshahri Institute.
The resignation of Meghazidnia in June 2015 and the arrival of Mohammad Shakibania did not cause a major change in the trend of “24”. The new editor made the best possible decision and did not start the composition of the winning team. The only major change in the magazine during this period was the addition of the documentary cinema section, which was also rooted in Shakibania’s background and interests.
In September 2017, the management of “Hamshahri” Institute decided to transfer the group of magazines to the private sector. A change that resulted in changing the story of magazines, some of which (including “24”) had status, credibility and readership.
“24” magazine was published in Mehr 2017 under the editorship of Salman Farkhandeh; How and on what basis the then director of “Hamshahri” magazines handed over the editorship of “24” to an actor of TV series was never clarified, and after a transition period, Qasim Jafari, a film and television director and producer, became the magazine’s editor from February 2018. that this was also a strange choice; Of course, with the presence of Maziar Fakhri Arshad as the editorial secretary, the magazine was published in a more professional style during this period. The last issue of this team was released in September 1400 and after a year, now “24” has appeared with a new image.
* What is the story of the new season “24”?
In the introduction of “24” magazine, in the article titled “The article is supposed to be like this/ In the explanation of Asheghe Manad”, it is written by Saeed Marvotti – the editor of the magazine: What words should be said in what format? The story of the new period “24” begins exactly here; From stepping on this difficult and uneven path and trying to be read, to make an impact and find a place in the library shelves of our audience; It is like a book that can be referred to from time to time. To the extent that if we deal with the issue of the day (which we cannot avoid as a media), we should look for horizons beyond the consumption of the day.
This is our way and character, and naturally, in this direction, we are not going to follow the trend, and at the same time, we do not want to move in a vacuum and deal with the usual abstract topics in theoretical journals, which generally have no readers except the editor and editor of the journal. In a word, we want to publish a publication that we, as readers, are interested in reading and do not find similar in existing publications.
*Why is this a special issue of film review?
But why the special film review in the first issue? Part of what we are facing as the crisis of Iranian cinema, which usually starts with the level of public acceptance of the cinema and ends very soon with the quality of the films, is the product of the marginalization of criticism. Iranian cinema, as a phenomenon abandoned by film critics and writers, over time has become a phenomenon that almost no one (from the audience to critics and cultural managers) takes seriously. Over time, as the importance of Iranian cinema has decreased, the credibility and status of criticism has also been questioned. A significant part of critics and movie writers prefer to remain silent about what happens in this cinema. Movies come and go quickly without receiving serious feedback; According to the director of one of the films released this year, negative criticism is a natural reaction and it is better than not writing anything about your film. A range of critics have always faced Iran’s cinema with distance and avoidance, usually with Tafaran.
In today’s world, the issue of quality has become meaningless, with the atmosphere of criticism being saturated with all kinds of personal, economic, and socio-political motives. Pretending to be knowledgeable, hiding behind concepts that are complex (and in fact dumb, the meaninglessness of which is usually the product of wrong translation due to the lack of mastery of the subject or the source language and sometimes the target language) and hitting Donbash shops with the title of criticism workshops (except for a few exceptions) ) is one of the serious damages of film criticism in these years.
The constantly declining quality of movies should also be taken into account, which do not create a desire to write. Although even in this situation, the process of the emergence of a thoughtful and tasteful critic has not stopped; But it cannot be denied that criticizing a concept that even existed ten years ago has almost lost its meaning.
At a time when criticism has been replaced by accounting, exchange and transaction, the chaotic situation of film criticism in Iran highlights the need to address it. This is why what is written in this issue of the 24th magazine is supposed to answer questions about film criticism as much as possible. What is the main issue, what is the use of film criticism and how is it now?
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