A look at the second season of the series “Mastoran”; When the myth becomes attractive

Fars News Agency – Radio and TV Group: Humans have always been fascinated by fairy tales. The proof of this claim is the large number of literary works left with this theme in the history of world literature, especially in Iran. From Shahnameh to Thousand and One Nights, the first of which is Ferdowsi’s masterpiece to organize Iranian mythology, to the last one, which is a collection of Indian, Arabic, and Iranian stories, and has no known author, and anyone who has been able to add a story to Thousand and One Nights. In world literature, we can refer to old examples such as Hamlet and more recent Marvels and Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. The global acceptance of the creation of dramatic works in this field shows that the interest in fairy tales does not belong to a specific era and is even more popular in the present time.

Despite such a brilliant obstacle in the rich Iranian culture, the hands of national dramas are very empty in the representation of these legends. The memorable series “Sultan and Shaban” is perhaps the only example of these works that have been broadcast for more than four decades.

In a bold and admirable move, Ek Sima network, in cooperation with Oj organization, went to create a fantasy and legendary story in the heart of history. The combination of legend, drama and mystery in the context of history, which is highly attractive, has been realized in the series “Mastoran”.

The story of “Mastoran” series is a free adaptation of old Iranian legends. Sources of many ancient Iranian stories and legends have come to enrich the script of the Mastoran series. This series tries to use signs such as “Book of Tablets” and combine it with Iranian and Islamic mysticism to deepen the narratives derived from literature. May old Iran penetrate so that everything is formed in its place and correctly. A series that depicts the life of people who live during the years of Safavid and Ghaznavid rule.

Lasan-ul-Haq Tabatabaei, a researcher and author in the field of Persian literature and popular culture, said about the necessity of creating such works: “Mastoran” collection is an important work; Because culture is transmitted through that lens. The stories narrated in Mastoran are a part of our folk culture and their narration is considered a part of our general culture, and when these elements are exposed to a large number of people as serials and images, it transfers the culture and this cultural transfer It is part of our identity.

The story of the second season of Mastoran

The first season of the series “Mastoran” directed by Masoud Abparor was broadcast in the summer of 1401 and in 26 episodes on the first channel of Sima. The story of the first season was about a boy named Lotf Ali being kidnapped by a wild tribe and his parents trying to get him back. These days, the second season of “Mastoran” directed by Ali Hashemi and written by Mohammad Hanif is being aired on the first channel of Sima. The story of the second chapter is about Lotf Ali, who has now reached a young age and has fallen in love with Mah Mounir, the daughter of the ruler of the city.

It is true that Lotf Ali’s character had a small presence in the first season and most of the series was narrated in his absence and the time of his disappearance, but what the audience remembers from Lotf Ali’s childhood is a special child with perfections and revelations, in other words, he was the lost hero of the story, while Lotf Ali in the second season It’s as if he is separated from these characteristics and even with the clumsiness of his teenage and early youth love, i.e. abandoning Sode, he falls in love with the ruling girl at a glance. It should be noted that the presence of Lotf Ali as a stranger, even as a doctor in the privacy of the ruler’s daughter, is not very compatible with the cultural and social relations of old Iran, and it is as if the filmmaker expresses such a romantic relationship in order to make his story more attractive. Also, according to moral and religious customs, such romantic solitudes between an illegitimate boy and girl are rejected.

The character of Lotf Ali could have remained the moral and lovable hero of Mastoran with better pay, if instead of long talks with Mah Munir, he would have started to solve the problems of the people of the city sooner and with the power he gained through his relationship with the ruler’s daughter, he would have taken a more effective step to improve the situation. It took the people of the city.

A look at the narration of the series

Mastoran adheres to classic storytelling in structure to tell its magical story. For this reason, he has used Mohammad Reza Sarshar (passer-by) as a narrator to create a memorable feeling for the old people through the story of Zohar Juma and to show a visual representation. The narration of the city of Mastoran by the narrator has the mood of “One Thousand and One Nights” and “The Story of the Night” and the beautiful and charming poems of Persian poets, which are written on the page with calligraphy at the beginning of each episode according to the story and then read, are important strengths. It is the narration of the authors of the series.

Although, in some cases, these recited poems destroy the element of surprise for the audience. Sometimes the poems are chosen in such a way that sometimes the audience can understand the events that they are going to see in the upcoming episode from the content of the poem. While the use of more mysterious poems makes the element of suspense remain the audience’s companion and the audience follows the story with more excitement.

A story of good and evil

“Mastoran” is a straightforward narrative of the conflict between good and evil, and in this regard, there are many elements and references in the series that make it appear to be a work with a political and ideological charge, and for this reason, watching it will be attractive for different classes.

The savage tribe in this series is apparently a symbol of the West (in a political sense) and the city of Mastoran is also a symbol of Iran. The savages look and dress differently from the people of Mastoran city (the look and feel is not dissimilar to the characters of the “Vikings” series).

They have a lot of property and wealth, and their job is to rob the property and “security” of others; Of course, they have strict rules to prevent theft. In the city of Mastoran, they have an “influencer” called “Jahandakht”, which is a symbol of internal hypocrites. An influence whose damage is greater than any foreign enemy and the foundation of seditions and riots is built by him.

last word

In the end, it should be said that it is not necessary to make a historical series based on Iranian legends and stories in a huge way, for example, with several thousand black soldiers and special costume designers, while in Iranian films and series, the mood and worldview of the people of the old days is less. is paid attention to, and issues such as set and costume design are given higher priority.

It is true that creating a suitable atmosphere plays a major role in the attractiveness and believability of the story, but the content and concept should not be a victim of the apparent glamor of the story. Maybe the rhythm of the story slows down sometimes, but the fantasy aspect and the poetic tone of the story and its special effects are strong enough to keep the audience with them, although this series, like many Iranian serials, has had a noticeable drop compared to the first season.

One of the reasons is that the second season of “Mastoran” does not have the novelty of the first season in telling the story and introducing the characters of good and evil, and instead of telling interesting stories and paying better attention to new characters such as Nozer, Negin, Nora and the rest of the actors, it focuses all its attention. has shown romantic dialogues between Lotf Ali and Mah Mounir.

In spite of all the mentioned points, the production of “Mastoran” should be considered as a bold and admirable action, which needs to be supported by the country’s managers and cultural authorities to start producing plays based on ancient Iranian stories, in a time when especially the new generation is exposed to The influx of all kinds of western movies are based on fictional legends and sometimes full of violence and darkness and based on anti-moral and anti-religious messages.

Author: Nafiseh Tarabande

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