The Revolutionary Research

The Revolutionary Research

Identifying the Network of Protest Music Themes in the 1401 Unrest

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD in Political Sociology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Master of Media Studies and Media Researcher, University of Radio and Television of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor of Management, Abrar Moasar Institute, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/fademo.2025.547925.1147
Abstract
The protests of 1401 AH that followed the death of Mahsa Amini were one of the most serious protests after the revolution in terms of complexity and scope. In these protests, protesters used numerous and diverse tools in different fields: cultural, economic, social, political, media, legal, etc. One of the distinctive aspects of these protests compared to past protests is the prominence of their “cultural and artistic” dimension. The activists of the "protest art" movement, centered on some protest artists, were able to publish numerous and inspiring works in a short period of time to provoke and encourage people to protest. Among the various arts, protest music played a pivotal role in the protest art movement due to its ease of production and distribution, as well as its high influence on the media consumption tastes of a generation.Therefore, this article will attempt to answer the question, "What was the network of protest music themes in the 1401 protests like?" To answer this question, the research data were analyzed using thematic analysis method. The network of themes drawn as a result of the research, with 31 organizing themes and 6 overarching themes, shows what perspectives and norms the artistic movement promoted in the protests and what demands it sought to make social. Based on the findings, "blackening the situation in Iran," "giving hope to protesters," and the possibility of achieving "freedom" and "prosperity" conditional on "continuing protests" are the main themes instilled in the audience.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 November 2025

  • Receive Date 19 September 2025
  • Revise Date 04 November 2025
  • Accept Date 22 November 2025