The Leader’s Perspective on Literature and Art

Ayatollah Khamenei
The Leader’s Perspective on Literature and Art

What could be better and more worthy than to hear the literary-artistic pains of the revolution from the language of its literary and wise leader and to look for ways to reach medicine and cure it, in the light of his torch. It is not unreasonable to say that, even though it is still there, these ways, although clear and obvious, are unfortunately low-key, and some of these low-key passers-by are stuck in the maze of everyday life and there is no news about them.

Any society that cannot express itself in the language of art, what it believes in and values, will not be recorded in the journal of world culture. The Islamic Revolution is a valuable category that we believe is based on an ideology and thought that can be presented and implemented beyond our borders; it has taken root among the people. It is clear that the Iranian Revolution was formed with the weapon of pen and thought and has achieved victory. Now, three decades after the revolution, the revolutionary leadership’s view of culture and art in general, and fiction in particular can reflect the record of cultural figures in the use of this weapon.

In this article, while expressing his most important words about literature and art, first the necessity of the existence of revolutionary literature, then the current situation of revolutionary literature and its ideal situation from his point of view are examined; and finally, the strategies to achieve, from what is, to what should be is expressed.

The Need to Explain the Revolution and its Ideals in the Form of Fiction

Expressing the values of the revolution through art and literature is a great need of the country, and this need and necessity can be examined according to the intrinsic nature of the two categories of art and revolution.

The art of language delivery is for all subjects, especially complex subjects such as revolution... no matter what people like me say about the revolution, we will not be able to explain that great truth unless the language of art enters the field. It’s the language of art that can explain and describe the great events and enlighten minds.

In other words, both revolution and art are inherently characteristic, and it is necessary to use the characteristic of one art to express the other characteristics of the revolution.

“First of all, the revolution is one of the events that cannot be expressed except in artistic language. How can one describe the situation, for example, the prisons of the Pahlavi regime in one history?! It doesn’t happen in history at all, and no one is bored to read it in history. These can only be expressed in stories and poetry. Also, the rest of the stories and characteristics that were in the revolution can only be presented in the story and the work of art, and nothing else. That is why the story of the revolution must be written.

This artistic expression becomes especially important when we know that inefficiency in the art sector in general and in literature in particular, harms the revolution in two ways.

First, the enthusiasts and the companions of the revolution, in order to recount the events and introduce the characters of the revolution, fall into the abyss of exaggeration which is inevitable; because the events of the revolution and its main characters are sometimes so great that they will naturally seem exaggerated in their simple and ordinary expression. This exaggeration is a kind of weakness in expression, a generation that does not understand the events of the revolution or makes people who were not during the revolution disbelieve.

“Ordinary sums away from art are sometimes misrepresented in a highly unorthodox and unattractive way. This book, which I find empty, should not be exaggerated. The same truth must be told. We have not yet been able to tell that truth to the people because we have not used artistic expression.

What can I say? My dears, there are things that cannot be expressed except through artistic expression.

Another disadvantage is that the enemies of the revolution use this weapon to instill in the public opinion what they want and what is in their best interests, even if it is unrealistic.

Today’s most advanced communication methods are used to substitute a lie for pure truth. The strongest artists are used to prove the utility of Zionism, to portray the Zionists who have come and embodied the oppression of the Messiah in a region of the world as oppressed! This is what is being done in the world right now.

The fact that the Iranian Revolution is a great, popular and unique revolution is not in itself enough to convince the public and the nations to be aware of its nature; unless the people of the world realize this fact with a powerful tool, collective understanding and perception, and this is a powerful tool of culture, literature, and art, and if it is not used, we will suffer losses. The leadership’s view of the current state of literature and the revolution is a realistic and idealistic view, in the sense that on the one hand, it pays attention to the existing capital and resources, the works done. On the other hand, considering the truth of the revolution and what it should be, they measure their weaknesses and strengths in terms of quantity and quality, and by clarifying the cause of their weaknesses and shortcomings, they show the way to the desired situation.

This revolution, with its greatness, dimensions and scientific works, in terms of presenting its own intellectual foundations, is one of the weakest and least effective revolutions, but also the developments in the world! When the October Revolution takes place, over the course of ten to fifteen years, so many books, films, stories, and pamphlets will be written at various levels about the intellectual foundations of this revolution that in countries where the revolution has reached them, other people, they don’t need to use their books [...] What have we done? “What we’ve done in this area is very small.”

I think I’ll talk to some of you some time, I say: “perhaps Iranian taste has not been trained in this direction; that is, we have a lot of poetic stories.”

For example, Shahnameh, military books and other poets. These stories are very good, and some of his stories are fairly strong in terms of storytelling. But we don’t have a storytelling job. In the West and Europe, the work of playwriting and storytelling has been popular since the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s as if their poetry is very weak and far behind us, but this is not something that does not provide. These are not permanent human destinies.

As for the works that have been written, “quantitative breadth” – both in poetry and in literature – is not enough. Works that are produced should be in terms of content and theme reflects the high values and in terms of shape and form, artistic quality with global scale.

I think that no history of the Soviet October Revolution can tell the story of those novels written about this history. If you’ve read these novels, you’ll know what I’m talking about. For example, consider the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don”... They wrote so well and portrayed the revolution so well that in these books you can find the dimensions of this revolution to such greatness; of course, his weaknesses can also be seen in these books, although what he wrote was not written as a weakness. What did we write in this category?

Our people are not frozen people. At the same time, you look at what is new to us in the category of old art (such as storytelling, poetry, and the like that has been going on in our society and country for centuries). Whether in the category of new arts (such as performing arts and cinema, etc.), we are behind. We are behind in both categories. It may now be said, with the exception of poetry, that after the revolution, there was a superficial and so-called “quantitative expansion” of this movement. Many people turned to poetry, and relatively good or mediocre poets were found, but in other categories, you see how lacking we are! For example, we do not have a long story comparable to the famous long stories of the world inside our country. If there is, name it... While this is not a new category for us. We have stories and storytelling centuries ago. “Amir Arsalan” is a story. “One Thousand and One Nights” is a story. We have had such stories for a long time. But we did not go ahead and did not move. Of course, some have tried to write a long story and have written it. But these stories are not at all comparable to the long stories that are told in the world today (for example, let’s say with the poor, with Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” or the stories they wrote for the Soviet Revolution).

Characteristics of a Work of Art and Fiction

From his statements about the works accepted at the international level, several features can be obtained for one work; of course, these features are necessary for all literary works, but since in most fiction works with valuable content, the payment of artists in the form of works is ignored, their attention and emphasis on form is very instructive for writers committed to the revolution.

I think it will take ten years for your children to write a book like Sholokhov. “Quiet Flows the Don” is certainly not Sholokhov’s first experience. “And Quiet Flows the Don” is one of the best novels in the world. Of course, the first volume. Subsequent volumes fall from the level of the novel [...]In this book, the picture is extraordinary; and I have never seen this in any other novel; for example, it depicts the steppes of Russia in a hundred places in a hundred kinds! This is a lot of art, and literature is so enduring. If this is not the case, why do I read the book “And Quiet Flows the Don” by a servant of a cleric in an Islamic country? If he doesn’t have an attraction and if he doesn’t deserve to read, someone like me who doesn’t go to read it.

Content Features of the Works

In discussing the content of fiction, given the philosophy and purpose of the story and the necessity of its existence in life, there must be a general orientation in all fiction and literary works. That direction is to show the right way of life and human perfection to the people of the society, and only the story that moves in this direction has value and credibility.

What do we mean by storytelling? Why is it said, ‘Tell a story to your children’? Why is the story so popular with all the sages of history, including Islam? Because the story, in the face of its heroes, teaches the lesson of life. In the story, each human being can find the perfection of his or her own desires and ways of life, so if we are shown the wrong way, he or she has strayed from his or her own philosophy and is no longer valuable; therefore, it must be relied on that some stories are worthless.

This general orientation applies to all stories, in any field and with any subject, but in the discussion of subject selection and content payment, two specific issues must be considered in particular:

1) The events and personalities of the revolution;

2) The holy war and defence.

3) Characteristics of the writers and artists of the revolution

4) Everyone must understand what he or she understands, feel, and incorporate it into his or her art, otherwise, art will become something artificial.

Therefore, the revolutionary artist must first perceive the revolution in his being so that he can pour this understanding into the container of art and present it to others.

In addition to this condition, writers and artists committed to the Islamic Revolution must have the following characteristics in order for their movement to be progressive, fast, and successful in promoting the Islamic Revolution:

1) A sense of responsibility and duty

2) Self-knowledge and self-confidence

3) Not underestimating one’s work and contributions to society

4) Not being intimidated by the artists of the past and believing in one’s abilities and talents

5) Not being influenced by the opposition groups

6) Trying to attract facilities in order to promote cultural affairs

7) Not to be delayed in theoretical discussions.

8) Forming a coherent collection of artists and writers.

9) Pursuing the goals of the revolution and compensating for the shortcomings.

10) Strengthening the existential capital and placing it in the service of pure and holy goals.

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