The Media Function of the Islamic Revolutionary Movement of Iran (Research Type: Radio)

The revolution of Iran in 1356 (1978) caused the falling of the monarchy and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, one of the significant conflict periods in the political history of twentieth-century Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Movement is one of the most important and influential events of the contemporary period, which started a new process by challenging the existing order. The functionalist approach describes revolutions as socio-political pathology and seeks their causes in Imbalance and Asynchrony. Functionalist theories assume that society is similar to a hypothetical system; therefore, we can analyse this constructed system. The revolutionary movement and its management in the community are affected by different institutions. The present study aimed to investigate the role of radio in this field. Today, the media has created a new kind of power with an intangible face with its speed and complexity. As a hot media, radio has a special place in establishing direct and comprehensive communication with the general public; therefore, we should evaluate its functions and dysfunctions. The present study aimed to answer the question of ‘What role radio has played in the process and spread of the Islamic Revolution?’ The results indicated that the radio has two functions and misfunctions. The role of operations is to create the capacity to perceive injustice in society, transmitting the values related to violence management, flourishing critical rationality, and educating the right-oriented and aggression. The role of misfunction is promoting a personal and ethnic fanatical framework, promoting violence as a habit, institutionalising violence in the attitudes and behaviour of individuals in society, and transmitting anti-values related to violence as a tool for the development and cohesion of revolutionary movements.