Reza Attaran's 18+ Jokes in Qom Spark Controversy

Age ratings in Iranian cinema resemble a decorative warning on posters more than a binding rule. It is sometimes enforced late, sometimes ignored, and sometimes crushed under advertising and families' indifference.

Age classification in Iranian cinema is more like a decorative warning on posters; A rule that is sometimes implemented late, sometimes ignored, and sometimes crushed under the feet of advertisements and neglect of families.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the age rating of 15+ means that people above this age group can watch the movie and watching it is not recommended for people below this age. But the age classification in Iranian cinema is just a number, which after a while, with a warning, only fits on the movie poster and makes a mockery of advice and education.

For example, the movie "Khanm Walde" which is based on sexual jokes, has taken the same age group; But the video that was released yesterday to promote this work in a cinema in Qom washed away all these warnings and legal requirements.

It's enough that this movie received an age rating a few days after its release and after its strong start; Worse, the movie "Zande Shoor" was subject to age classification after weeks of its release. This incident was also a marginalization about the movie "Old Boy"; A work that was classified as over 18 years old. A rule that practically alienates the main audience of the film and, in the end, resembles an ineffective advice; Like the "do not smoke" warning on the cigarette packet!

Of course, Zahra Shia, the deputy director of the Film Distribution and Screening Office, in a meeting held last week at the Farabi Cinema Foundation on the subject of age classification, said that the age classification guidelines have not been communicated to many centers and despite its inclusion in the screening license, there is no subsequent monitoring of the implementation of this guideline.

This situation shows that the age classification, on the one hand, is limping due to lack of implementation and supervision, and on the other hand, it is facing the neglect of some families. As Mozhgan Zargar, the director of Niayeshmal Cinema Campus, said, sometimes families themselves insist on watching violent movies with their children, and movie theater owners can't stop them either.

It is better to improve the literacy of families about the age classification of works, to carry out prior supervision more carefully and to consider specific job descriptions for cinematographers so that they can have special planning for children and teenagers.

In this way, simultaneous attention to the three areas of informing families, careful monitoring and planning of movie theaters can prevent the continuation of this situation.