Plato, in his Allegory of the Cave, imagines a situation where people are seated facing the cave wall for their entire lives, witnessing shadows on the wall and believing these images to be the complete truth. One of these individuals might one day leave the cave and realize that what they had been seeing was not reality itself but merely shadows of objects reflected on the cave wall by a fire behind them. To perceive the real world or the Platonic forms, one must leave the cave. Perhaps the shadows in this cave are not unlike the numerous images injected into society through various means.
Different media, particularly official outlets like the state broadcasting service, have always promoted the policies of the ruling system through methods like news gatekeeping, presenting a dominant image aligned with the government’s views. During the 1979 Revolution, critics accused the previous government of diverting public attention from political developments through a systematic focus on entertainment programs such as football, pop music, television shows, cinema, and more—a tendency that still has echoes in contemporary society.
This tactic takes on a particular shape in times of crisis. Imagine individuals who rely on a single source of media for information. When society is inflamed, and violence runs rampant in the streets, they remain isolated in their own ‘cave,’ consuming entertainment and one-sided news, unaware of the real world outside. A world that bears no resemblance to reality.
This project examines one of the most turbulent years in modern Iranian history—a time when nothing in the country was as it should be, and the only thing showing on TV was ‘The Silver Nail’ program. Such a media landscape can lead even those in power to misinterpret reality. Just when the rulers believe the public adores them, perceiving reality only through the lens of official media, they suddenly face collapse. In a disillusioned environment, the people lose trust in these images, and the symbols of authority hold no appeal for them anymore.