Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Full Professor, Cultural Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University.
2 Master of Cultural Studies, Cultural Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University
Abstract
The creation of the corona accelerated the "medical dominance" of public opinion by creating a "state of exception". Five hundred videos, photos and text produced by ordinary users of the Instagram network in the days of the pandemic have been reviewed. Relying on semiotics of all these contents, the codes of "forefront, support lines and traitors against Corona" have been obtained. These codes have the signals and meanings of the upper and subaltern. The signs of the "defenders of health", the "martyr of health", the "readiness of the warriors" and the "sacrifice of the medical staff" provide an "epic, sacred and upper" account of the medical staff, especially the female medical staff. The "home front", "people, Organizational and institutions’ struggles" provide a "hopeful, empathetic, supportive and upper narrative" of the fight against disease. But in contrast to the signs of lack of support from the medical staff and the pressure on the medical staff, it presents a "tragic, sad and subaltern" narrative of the days of the epidemic. In this epidemic, medicine dominated of everyday life by health guidelines (such as the identification of vulnerable groups and self-quarantine) and of citizens' memory by the "sacralisation" of medical staff. "Inattentive people" and "Nowruz travelers" are considered enemies and "evil". Popular memory holds "people" more responsible than "government" and "health care system" for the spread of disease. This projection is the result of bio-power and the memory politics that have hidden the roots of the power of medical power-knowledge in Iran.
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