Perturbing the symbolic order through defamiliarization in Mohsen Namjoo: A Marcusean study of Reza Khan

This research focuses on making a correlation between Lacanian ‘symbolic order' and defamiliarization in Mohsen Namjoo's song, Reza Khan. Mohsen Namjoo is one of the most controversial Iranian artists, creating constant innovations in his art to challenge the taken for granted concepts and the status quo in general. Mainly, the theories of Herbert Marcuse are applied to Namjoo's ideas and the song Reza Khan to draw on one technique Namjoo implemented in this track. At first, the researcher elucidated the historical figure, Reza Khan (King of Iran during the 50s). In this section, broad details are presented regarding him. Next, Marcuse's theories are applied to Mohsen Namjoo and his art. Then, the researcher looked for the traces of defamiliarization in his works, in general, and the song Reza Khan. As a final point, the researcher claimed what Reza Khan did to the people was psychoanalytically perturbing people's “symbolic order' (a term coined by Jacques Lacan). Accordingly, the results of the research demonstrate that Namjoo has followed the same pattern in this track.