The city in fragments: distraction, flânerie and urban modernity in Tehran, Conceptual Art (Mohammad Reza Aslani)

This research investigates the concept of distraction in Iranian cinema that oscillates between cinema studies, visual studies, and urban history, focusing on the documentary-experimental film Tehran, Conceptual Art (Mohammad Reza Aslani, Citation2012). Since analyzing distraction in Iranian films has previously been absent in research works, this article shed light on neglected aspects of Iranian cinema. This paper examines the concept of flâneur as a critical figure of urban modernity, drawing inspiration from influential theorists. It demonstrates various aspects of distraction in Iran’s urban modernity by concentrating on Tehran’s visual evolution to investigate how the city’s flâneur encounters the positive and negative aspects of distraction. In Particular, this research analyzes how Tehran, Conceptual Art as a documentary film, highlights the distraction experience in Tehran, not through traditional cinematic storytelling, but by examining the city’s urban form and structure.