The meme works on two layers. First, there's the sincere version: users post grainy photographs of Iranian women in miniskirts, couples at nightclubs, and Tehran's neon-lit streets from the Pahlavi era, usually captioned with some variation of "Iran before the Islamic Revolution." These posts focus almost exclusively on the absence of the hijab or veil in pre-1979 Iran4. Second, there's the parody layer: users mock how predictable and shallow these posts are, pointing out they reliably farm upvotes and engagement by presenting a cherry-picked slice of Iranian history2.

The photos typically depict upper-class urban life in Tehran during the Shah's White Revolution period, when aggressive modernization programs promoted rapid urbanization and Westernization starting in 19633. Critics of the meme note that these posts erase the realities of life under the Shah's regime, including the SAVAK secret police, widespread rural poverty, and the fact that the modernization benefits were unevenly distributed across Iranian society13.

The format is flexible, but most versions follow one of two approaches:

Sincere version: Post a vintage photograph from pre-1979 Iran (typically showing women in Western clothing, nightlife, or university settings) and caption it "Iran before the Islamic Revolution." This version is usually played straight on history-focused subreddits.

Parody version: Take any image showing people in modern Western settings, glamorous environments, or absurdly idyllic scenarios, and caption it "Iran before the Islamic Revolution." The joke works because the image is obviously not Iran. The Barbie movie still is the best-known example of this approach. Some users also post memes that call out the trend itself, mocking how reliably these posts generate upvotes and engagement.

A common variation uses the format "\*does X\* / Iran before the Islamic revolution" to joke about how the topic pops up in predictable contexts, like opening a history textbook or browsing Reddit's front page4.