Abstract
Cinema was an invention introduced to the world from the West that quickly became a widespread medium of entertainment and communication. Although cinema was introduced to Iran and Japan almost simultaneously, it experienced remarkable development and expansion in Japan but did not develop to the extent expected in Iran. Many reasons could be cited for the success of cinema in Japan and its comparative lack of success in Iran. The present article compares concerns regarding the potential negative impacts of cinema and how cinema officials dealt with them in both countries. In Japan, a proper understanding of the many concerns at hand led to efforts to address them, whereas in Iran, not only did concerns go addressed, but they were intensified through official decisions. As this article demonstrates, the result was the tarnished reputation of the cinematic art form in wider Iranian society and incidents such as the arson of cinemas during public protests, which ultimately led to a lack of development in the Iranian cinematic industry.
