What macrocontextual (societal) and microcontextual (situational) factors could have influenced the formation of certain taboo words over this time frame?
The researcher compared the macrocontextual (societal) and microcontextual (situational) factors proposed by Hongxu and Guisen‟s (1990) framework which influenced the formation of taboo words used in both movies. In general, in terms of macrocontextual (societal) factors, social structure, cultural heritage, religious beliefs, value assumptions and behavioral rules were the six (6) effective factors out of the seven (7) factors suggested (see Chapter 3, Section 3.4) to form the taboo words used in
130 the movie “Qeisar”. Political institutions did not influence the formation of any taboo words uttered by the movie characters probably due to the lack of political freedom in that era (Sadjadpour, 2012). Amongst these six categories, value assumption comprised the most effective factors on taboo formation. Moral values and social virtues were highly respected by lower class families as tradition, culture and religion were inseparable parts from their life (see Chapter 1, Section 1.2) followed by cultural heritage and religious beliefs as the important values among the lower class families.
Social structure had the least important role in the formation of the taboo words in that era. Behavioral rules also affected the formation of several taboo words in the movie
“Qeisar” made before the revolution (see Chapter 4, Section 4.4).
As for microcontextual (situational) factors, there were only two factors a) purpose of conversation and attitude of participants and b) content or subject matter determined as effective factors which contributed to the use of taboo words. Purpose of conversation and attitude of participants was a more effective factor to form the taboo words as compared to the content or subject matter in the movie “Qeisar” (see Chapter 4, Section 4.4).
The macrocontextual (societal) factors which affected the formation of taboo words in
“Separation” were similar to the factors which contributed to the formation of taboo words in “Qeisar” The only difference is that religious beliefs and cultural heritage were determined to be the most effective factors in the taboo formation. Social structure comprised the least effective factor followed by behavioral rules and value assumptions (see Chapter 4, Section 4.4). There was no taboo word that was formed by the political institutions as was also the case in the movie “Qeisar” (see Chapter 4, Section 4.5).
131 According to microcontextual (situational) factors, purpose of conversation and attitudes of participants contributed most to form the taboo words in “Separation” while content or subject matter had far less impact on the formation of the taboo words (see Chapter 4, Section 4.4).
According to Hongxu and Guisen‟s (1990) definitions of setting (formal and informal situation), participants (their age, sex, education and social status) and medium (spoken and written media), the researcher could not find any taboo words formed by any of the three mentioned factors in either of the two movies (see Chapter 4, Section 4.4).
5.2 Limitations
The first limitation of the study is the corpus of data as there were a limited number of taboo words uttered by the movie characters (see Chapter 1, Section 1.8). Another limitation was that the taboo words in the Iranian movies were restricted to Iranian language, Farsi, and Iranian culture. As a result, referring to the Standard English translation, in some cases, does not bear any tabooness in the viewpoint of non-Iranian readers. (see Chapter 1, Section 1.8).
This study could only focus on a particular genre- tragic-action and findings might be different if other genres were studied. In addition, the study was restricted to only two (2) social classes of Iranian society, the lower, uneducated and poor class with unstable social status and educated middle class with a stable social and financial status.
Moreover, Iranian society as a closed society could in turn affect the taboo words application in the movies, in particular the movie “Separation” that was made after the revolution in Iran as the media censorship like cinema industry is strictly practiced in post revolutionary Iran (see Chapter 1, Section 1.4).
132 It should be noted here that the limitations mentioned above would definitely impact the findings of the current study.
5.3 Implications
This study provides a comparison of taboo words used by movie characters in two movies made in two different eras. Specifically, this study focused on two social structures of the Iranian society: the lower-class and the middle-class families. The findings indicate that different social levels in a society use different taboo words in their daily interactions and communication with others (see Chapter 2, Section 2.1.1).
The tabooed subjects analyzed may differ from one social class to another and from one period of time to the other. The analysis further showed that there were no taboo words linked to political institution which can be evidence of political restrictions before and after the revolution in Iran.
The study also indicates that education, social status and economy can affect the language a community applies (see Chapter 2, Section 2.3). The middle class families in Iran who were mostly educated, with a relatively stable welfare and financial status tended to use less taboo words as compared to the lower class section of the society who were less educated and who had a lower quality of life in the era before the revolution.
This made the lower class members more dissatisfied and unhappy (see Chapter 1, Section 1.2) and as a result they had to find a way to vent their frustration. One way to do this, as has been explained in chapter 4 was by using words. Unlike the movie
“Qeisar” in which the lower class articulated the more taboo words as compared to the middle class, the characters in the movie “Separation”, both from lower class and middle class applied almost the same number of taboo words in their conversation. This could be an indicator that the middle class families after the revolution, regardless they
133 want to or not, apply taboo words in their conversation. The social gap between the lower class and middle class narrowed after the revolution and hence many attitudes and social norms and values changed (see Chapter 4, Section 4.6).