Persepolis

Persepolis has received high acclaim and praise but has also met its fair share of criticism. A lot of organizations and states call for Persepolis to be censored. Persepolis can be described as “sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always revealing and sincere.

 

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,452401,00.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20030622094439/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,452401,00.html

- Dillon

 

to be continued

to be continued

To be continued

Marjane Satrapi's self portrait drawn in the back of her graphic memoir "Persepolis". The illustration, although very simple, resembles her well and shows bits of her personality though the inclusion of a cigarette in her hand, and platform boots. Below, we can compare her resemblance in the illustration to her photograph.  

Above, Marjane is photographed in an interview, which can be found https://thatshelf.com/interview-marjane-satrapi/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">here (https://thatshelf.com/interview-marjane-satrapi/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://thatshelf.com/interview-marjane-satrapi/) .

"Director Marjane Satrapi attends the 'La Bande Des Jotas' Photocall during the 7th Rome Film Festival at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica on November 16, 2012 in Rome, Italy."

- Zimbio

Photo source (http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Marjane+Satrapi/La+Bande+Des+Jotas+Photocall+7th+Rome+Film/CsfuDO8R_Mx).

 

Persepolis takes place during the Iranian Revolution. This occurred from the late 1970’s. Though this is being told by Marjane Satrapi as what she remembers as a child the events are true to life. We see the changes of society depending on who was holding the power. This is a time of fight. Many people were protesting for changes but also fighting for power. This was because of Shah law, which many were not fond of. Satrapi realised at a young age that she was always being told what she could and could not do. Her parents rule often stemmed from the laws.

The laws had created a lot of unwanted division amongst society. Women were often subjected to the rules. They could no longer wear what they wanted to and had to wear veils, they no longer could congregate with men in social settings. Satrapi’s was not fond of this as she was divided from many of her friends. The veil was a symbol of modesty and women who didn’t wear this wear judge and even persecuted. Satrapi’s mother hid when her photo had made it across many newspapers here rebelling her veil.

Not only were there divisions because of gender, there was also division because of social class. You weren’t allowed to congregate with those out of your social class unless it was for work purposes. Satrapi’s maid Mehri wasn’t allowed to eat with them as they came from a lower class or even love the boy next door. She wasn’t the best at reading and came from a poor family. Satrapi realized from a young age that this is not Mehri fault but all because of the laws that are in place.

Persepolis gives us great insight into the cultural customs that shape Iran to the country it was in the 1970's. To not shame your family, your culture and your country meant that you were a good Iranian citizens during this time. Satrapi is often seen rebelling her Iranian culture. She knew that women were treated differently in other cultures. She is often influenced by western culture. The music, the clothes and ultimately the sense of freedom for women.

- Shailah

Marjane Satrapi is known not only for her successful graphic memoir, but also for the movie adaptation based on the book that she co-wrote and co-directed. As with many movie adaptations, it has received some criticism regarding its ability to portray emotion as "nuance and depth is needed". However, the movie has been successful and received international recognition and awards. Marjane's awards can be seen https://persepolisanalysis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/47001610-works-and-awards" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">here. Marjane's accomplishments have lead to several media appearances, including talks at university of "Stanford" and "The Phil", which can be seen here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2GlRjWh6DU - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2GlRjWh6DU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Stanford university

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HN0J1noluw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HN0J1noluw" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Phil

Marjane Satrapi allows us to understand the Islamic revolution through the eyes of her young self. We are able to get a realistic, serious and whimsical understanding the eyes of a child. Through Satrapis stories, we have insight of Iran during that time. Satrapi reminds readers that a child’s point of view regarding war is just as important as anyone else’s. though a child’s impact because of war may be different it is still very real, and the emotions are just as valid. Readers are able to place themselves in that historical time and have a great understanding of the culture. This story Is being told through the eyes and words of Satrapi, she gives us so much insight into each individual character.

Satrapi spent a lot of time wondering why her parents made the choices they did and even contemplated many of the choices that she had made herself. While reading I quickly understood that many of the choices that were made my Marjane and the people around her were done to protect themselves while under Shah law. In order to survive, she often had to portray someone which was not true to herself. At the age of six Satrapi is very proud of her choice to become a prophet. During this time many think she weird and crazy for picking such an unrealistic career choice. She quickly changes it to wanting to be a doctor. This is just the beginning of a time where Satrapi changes to fit societal standards.

Satrapi’s passion is so clear, she wants a change. This has been influenced by the travesties around her and her families hope. The purpose of this memoir is to be resilient, to keep on trying regardless of the things that try to hold us back and to stay true to yourself. Ultimately Satrapi wants the rest of the world to have insight on what it’s like to grow up in Iran during the Islamic revolution.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marjane-Satrapi" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marjane-Satrapi

- Shailah

 

Laura: Marjane’s graphic memoir has sparked my interest from the very first page. Her use of a simple art style has made it easy to view the story through her point of view. Although her life has been very different from mine, I was able to draw some similarities between the cultures we grew up in. I grew up in Lithuania, a rather patriotic country, likely due to it being faced with oppression and forced assimilation. Lithuania’s native language faced extinction during Russia’s occupation; all the Lithuanian books were ordered to be burned and the language itself was forbidden to be used. Those who disobeyed faced serious consequences, sometimes even resulting in death. Yet, there were still those who refused to let go of their country, and secretly delivered Lithuanian texts to the people. It was a sign of hope, and it silently built a resistance which eventually won back their country. I can understand Marji’s parents’ compliance with Marji’s desire to own posters of western stars and to show off buttons of Michael Jackson. These things have not only been art to enjoy, but also significant symbols of freedom and rejection of oppression.

Dillon: This story really hits home for me. I’m a second generation from an immigrant family. My family are refugees that escaped a communist regime in Laos in the 1980s. My parents didn’t know any English and came here by boat and spent time in as refugee camp. My parents wanted to give me a safe and caring home and they made sure that I had the freedom to study what I love. My parents taught me that even though it was scary for them back in the 80s, it’s no longer like that. Laos is a thriving nation full of people and an exotic culture and tons of delicious food.

Ripin:

Shailah:

The characters in the memoir are presented in a very simplistic style. This has been deliberately chosen by the author to create a feeling of relatability. Satrapi has mentioned in an interview that the simplistic style allows the reader to put themselves into the character’s position and experience the story for themselves. This way the story of the Islamic revolution seen through a child’s eyes can be understood with less preconceived notions.

In “Persepolis”, the characters differ in appearance depending on their importance in the story and how close they are to Marjane. The people closest to her such as her family, are drawn with more defining characteristics.

Marji has admired her uncle Anoosh ever since she learned of his heroic accomplishments preceding the revolution. His first appearance in the graphic novel is presented in a glorified manner. It is a portrait of a neat man standing in front of the sun with elegantly styled wavy hair that has been carefully and individually drawn out. The placement makes it appear like he is emitting a positive aura, with rays of light coming out from behind him, signifying his almost Godlike importance seen through a young girl’s eyes.

In comparison, the people appearing in the background are drawn almost identical, sharing similar silhouettes and performing the same actions. This is well illustrated in the author’s drawings of crowds which are always bunched together, almost as if they were sharing one body, two forces opposing each other.

 

Outstanding scenes

The graphic novel “Persepolis” is filled with scenes that most westerners would consider completely out of the ordinary. Marji is faced with the realities of living in a war plagued country at a very young age. There are a few scenes that are especially significant, as they have shown the extreme emotional, physical and mental challenges of Marji trying to make sense of her experiences in an unpredictable and violent world.

Scene: Uncle’s death

Anoosh’s death has been one of the most significant scenes in this memoir as it has marked the end of Marji’s childhood and her innocence which she has previously retained through her relationship with God. In the upper panel, the newspaper and the two bread ducks carved out by Anoosh are the only physical reminders of him that Marji has left. She denounces God in anger, yelling “Shut up you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!”(p. 70). Marji becomes lost and empty as she tries to cope with the death of such a beloved and admired member of the family.

Scene: Neighbour’s death

During the war, Marji and her mother find their neighbour Baba Levys’ house to be completely destroyed. In the rubble, Marji notices a bracelet that her friend got on her fourteenth birthday. She knew that the girl and her family have been in that house and now have become the victims of the merciless war. This devastates her. The last panel in this significant scene is black, showing that no image and no “scream”(p. 142) could come close to portraying the suffering and anger she felt that time.

 

Her art is very simple but very effective. Her lines are very clean and distinct enough to see who the characters are and to see who is speaking even if they’re wearing religious garments.

Like her art her words are chosen carefully neglecting to add fillers and unnecessary adjectives, she lets her illustrations and her words tell her story in a very simple but very effective way. She’ll only use words when illustrations can’t describe what she’s feeling or is impossible to show with illustrations.

 

https://www.shmoop.com/persepolis/writing-style.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.shmoop.com/persepolis/writing-style.html

- Dillon

 

The significance of Persepolis is show the oppression that happens in Iran. Statrapi wants people to know what happened in the 1979 Iranian war and the stigma it brought to Iran and its people.The Iranian war turned Iraq into a country who is deeply rooted in archaic and patriarchal ideologies and it forced its women to wear a burqa and or cover up with a veil. This graphic novel is very important because it shows Satrapi’s voice in a violent regime. She says the veil itself has brought her to eventual freedom. “Satrapi is no longer metaphorically ‘veiled’ or blinded by disinformation or deceptive ideologies behind the regime as she is able to think freely and critically for herself”

https://blogs.ubc.ca/magda2370/2015/10/01/why-did-marjane-satrapi-write-persepolis-the-story-of-a-childhood/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://blogs.ubc.ca/magda2370/2015/10/01/why-did-marjane-satrapi-write-persepolis-the-story-of-a-childhood/

https://medium.com/@camillaanderson/exploring-the-significance-of-the-veil-in-marjane-satrapis-persepolis-416886a817e4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://medium.com/@camillaanderson/exploring-the-significance-of-the-veil-in-marjane-satrapis-persepolis-416886a817e4

Reception on Persepolis:

Persepolis has received high acclaim and praise but has also met its fair share of criticism. A lot of organizations and states call for Persepolis to be censored. Persepolis can be described as “sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always revealing and sincere.

http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,452401,00.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://web.archive.org/web/20030622094439/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,452401,00.html

- Dillon

Satrapi was interviews by Emma Watson for Vogues “Our Shared Shelf” bookclub. The two talked about the relative freedom that women shared in Iran in the 1970’s. Satrapi raised a very important point about educated women in Iran. She said that they have more rights because they can ask for a divorce, but if a woman is uneducated and not economically sound with children you stay with that man. She continues to say that 70% percent of women in Iran are in school because they want to learn. She wants a fair economy for girls to study in. “If women are educated, they will be economically independent and they will just accept less shit. That is the first step toward democracy.”

 

 

Simon Hattenstone interviewed Marjane Statrapi when Persepolis was announced its film adaption. In this interview she stated that Persepolis was dismissed by the Iranian Government for being Isamophobic. She’s not a religious figure, she’s an artist she says. The interview says Marjane wrote Persepolis when she was 29, and not anytime earlier because her world view was angry and it would be rubbish she said. Her world was divided into good and bad people

 

https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-watson-interviews-marjane-satrapi" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-watson-interviews-marjane-satrapi

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/biography" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/biography

 

Marjane Satrapi became popular due to her graphic novel novels about her story in Iran. They were published in French. She later won the Angoulême Coup de Coeur Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Due to the violent nature and language of the story, Schools in Chicago ordered Persepolis to be removed from schools and classrooms in 2013. This was a case of censorship and islamiphobia. The novel deals with Satrapi’s childhood in Tehran during the Iraq and Iran war. The novel starts with her just being 10 and already faces oppression.

Although she’s known for Persepolis she has also published a children book called “Les Monstres n’aiment pas la lune (2001; Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon) and Le Soupir (2004; The Sigh).

Persepolis later got a film adaptation in 2007. It won a Jury’s prize and later be nominated for an Academy Award for Best feature.

http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/persepolis-story-childhood

Wikipedia contributors. "Persepolis (comics)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Jul. 2019. Web. 28 Jul. 2019.

- Dillon

The voice of Marjane Satrapi is conspicuous in Persepolis as political and social impact that fits an affirmation of challenge. Authorial voice can be depicted as the talk or the manner by which a story is passed on. The story voice in Persepolis is worried about the nature of the speaker and whether it's dependable. In Persepolis and in many diaries, the speaker is likewise the storyteller. When examining the tone of the content we are additionally discussing the manner in which the story is told yet can be from a realistic point of view and how the feeling is passed on. Satrapi composes this realistic journal in the style of her very own voice as a grown-up yet additionally enabling the voices of Iran by attempting to talk reality. Satrapi portrays her very own story and her place inside the historical backdrop of Iran from a first-individual point of view. Her certainty recommends her insight about her kin and her craving to help Iran.

As a youngster in Iran Satrapi states her insight about her nation when saying, "“To enlighten me they bought books. I knew everything about the children of Palestine. About Fidel Castro… About the revolutionaries of my country” (Satrapi, 42). She doesn't cloud the actualities with creative language, she gives the delineations a chance to manage the symbolism and her words are utilized to depict her fact. As a child being the hero, she portrays her surroundings so as to show signs of improvement comprehension of her general surroundings, while her grown-up self-portrays the world view. Jason Merger of North Carolina University analyzed the voice and tone to a great depth and claims we can isolate the storyteller and Marjane as a child being the hero as two separate tonal voices that talk in Persepolis. She utilizes these voices to give a more prominent world setting as a storyteller while giving us her variant of truth about the condition of 1980's Iran from her youngster point of view. She utilizes this partition to recount to two pieces of the story, the direct wellspring of what Iran looked like through her eyes challenging normal media presentation, and the impression of those perspectives.

The tone of Persepolis ends up balanced by the topic yet more critically by who is talking in connection to that content. We can't talk about the tone of what Satrapi is stating without in regards to how that message is depicted or what Satrapi is attempting to let us know. She keeps on examining tone in connection to voice in his paper by remarking on the group of spectators' capacities to recognize tone, "our capacity to hear tone commonly relies upon our taking care of a mix of expressive and logical highlights of articulation, for example, event, topic, character of the speaker, earlier relationship of speaker, and crowd" (Satrapi, 50). As per Satrapi our capacity to translate the tone of a given content is dependent on how we see a character or the condition that character winds up in or the creators point of view.

These factors can enable us to uncover the tone of a creator’s work. In view of these factors we realize that Satrapi's principle character in Persepolis is a tyke inside the setting of wartime Iran, while the storyteller is a grown-up pondering that youth. Given the reason for the content to indicate the reality of the state against prominent media introduction we can begin to unwind how she expected to pass on that message. With this youth voice we trust Satrapi as a storyteller for what she sees as truth dependent on our connection to the character encompassing her. She utilizes our trust and faith in her character to recount to the story she needs to tell about Iran.

- Ripin

 

Violence, Forgiveness, and Justice

The body count towards the end of Persepolis is tremendous. Before the end of the book, Marjane communicates her distress that “we could have avoided it all”, demonstrating a conviction that a great part of the harm done to the Iranian individuals was an aftereffect of the Iranian system's own behavior: its aggression with Iraq, its radicalization of young warriors, its religious enthusiasm, its valorization of suffering. Legally authorized punishment for violations as small as an improperly worn veil or the possession of expired bus fare could be outrageously strict, including torture and death, and the people who conduct these penalties are usually officers of regime. in that capacity, Marjane claims, “it was really our own who attacked us.”

In the good 'ol days after the end of the Revolution, Marjane and her friends discover that Ramin's dad played a huge piece of the special forces police squad under the Shah that killed numerous individuals. They choose to seek retribution by holding nails between their fingers and assaulting Ramin. Be that as it may, Marjane's mom instructs her that one can't fault and rebuff the offspring of the culprit, who has nothing to do with the wrongdoings that have been done. She says that one must forgive, and Marjane acknowledges this. Afterward, nonetheless, subsequent to seeing the passings executed by the new Islamic Republic, she negates herself to some degree, saying that “bad people are dangerous, but forgiving them is, too.” This remark proposes the acknowledgment of an inconceivable circumstance, the acknowledgment that regardless of what the storybooks may state, absolution isn't a fix all, that terrible individuals won't mysteriously turn them great. At a certain point, Marjane's mom claims, “Don’t worry, there is justice on earth.” But the book appears to always scrutinize the veracity of this case. In Persepolis little equity is to be found.

- Ripin

• In 2001, Marjane Satrapi won the Angoulême Coup de Coeur Award, a major prize for comics authors, for her graphic novel ‘Persepolis’.
• In 2002, ‘Persepolis: Tome 2’ won the Angoulême Prize for Scenario, another prestigious award given during the annual Angoulême Comics Festival in France.
• In 2005, the Angoulême Best Comic Book Award was given to ‘Poulet aux Prunes’, Satrapi’s second work to receive recognition at Angoulême.
• In 2007, the Jury Prize of the Cannes Film Festival was awarded to the film adaptation of ‘Persepolis’, which Satrapi co-directed and co-wrote.
• In 2008, the Cinema for Peace Award recognized ‘Persepolis’ as the ‘Most Valuable Movie of the Year’.
• In 2009, Marjane Satrapi was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from two universities: the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain.
• In 2013, Satrapi’s work was recognized in her native country, when ‘Chicken with Plums’ received the Noor Iranian Film Festival’s award for Best Animation.

- Ripin

Back in Iran, she turned out to be much progressively discouraged. She was 19 years of age, her long-time friends had rejected her as a corrupt individual, she had felt as if she belonged nowhere and had no place that she can call home. She attempted to cut her wrists, however failed at that “a fruit knife was never going to do the trick”. She took an overdose of antidepressants, yet they simply made her rest for three days allowing her to escape everything that she was going through. She ended up studying while in Iran and fell in love with graphic design while studying she found love at the age of 21 and married a young artist like herself who ended up being her polar opposite He let her to do what she wanted, yet regardless she felt constrained. After a month they were sleeping in different beds, after three years they were separated. As a young lady, she says, she got things so off-base. "I was so stupid when I was 20. I could do mathematics extremely quickly so I had this kind of intelligence, but the intelligence of life I didn't have. I was too aggressive, making all the bad choices, believing I was a nice person and I was not, believing I was a mean person and I wasn't. Everything I thought was wrong. With age things become better and better." At 24, she came back to Europe, and completed a second craftsmanship degree in Strasbourg. She bolstered herself by yoga exercises and learning different languages. When she finished studying she expected to be famous, but no one was interested.

- Ripin

Satrapi was conceived on 1969 in Rasht and experienced youth in Tehran, where her father was an engineer and her mother a clothing designer. Her granddad was Nasser-al-Din Shah, Persian prince and ruler from the years 1848 to 1896. Her family were communalist shrewd individuals who savored the experience of the incredible life - they drove extravagant cars, drank alcohol, and had stewards, intensely westernized. They waged holy war against the Shah, and foreseen the Islamic agitation till it happened. In Persepolis she visits her dearest uncle in jail awaiting execution. As a child, Satrapi was astoundingly talkative and open minded. Her family always asked her to have her own opinion. There were no toys in the house, but a large number of books that kept her busy. Her family feared she would get into great hardship and trouble with the Revolutionary Guard. Not long after their neighbors were bombed, they sent 14-year-old Marjane away to Austria to study. It's not astonishing that Satrapi lost her way in Europe. She was under the care Zozo, her mother's best friend. Young Marjane discovered boys and alcohol. At her nadir she was selling drugs, down and out, and she almost died from bronchitis due to overdose. Following four years in Vienna, she surrendered defeat, put on her cover and returned home.

- Ripin