دلارام سادات یاسینی

"Cinderella complex" is a syndrome and psycho-behavioral disorder that deals with women's hidden fear of independence. This issue is related to feminist theories on the one hand and psychoanalysis of women on the other hand. Society teaches women to be dependent and not having intellectual and financial independence for women is a natural and accepted thing in most cultures. This causes women to choose a more comfortable and safe path to avoid possible failure and to hide from facing the real issues of life. This fear makes women feel frustrated and even depressed in life.

In this research, using Saussure's method of semiotics and taking into account the theory of media representation and Barth's theory of myth, we have discussed the representation of "Cinderella's Complex" in Iranian cinema. A purposeful sampling method was used to select the films, and the analyzed films include five films "Rage Khab", "Abad Va Yek Rooz", "Be Hamin Sadegi", "Zire Sghfe Doodi" and "Varoongi".

The research findings show; Women in the examined films have a passive character and depend on men, and they face problems in choosing and making individual decisions. In these films, many characteristics of Cinderella's complex for women and their natural lack of independence have been shown. However, even though Iranian cinema confirms the existence of the Cinderella complex among women, it has also criticized the pathological dependence of women on others and has shown the consequences of this dependence for women in individual and social dimensions. In these films, the dependence of women is represented as a negative characteristic and having independence is the only way to free women from psychological complications and personal, family and social problems.

Keywords: representation, Cinderella's complex, cinema, semiotics, feminism, Iran