A Reflection of Persepolis

This is my second time reading Persepolis. The first time I read this graphic novel was during middle school. I remember being drawn to the black and white illustrations and the thick, bold linework. Back then, I had decided to read the book strictly because of its aesthetic appeal. Reading it now, as a much older and more informed individual, was an entirely different experience. Obviously, because the story takes place in Iran during a period of revolution, it felt very foreign to me. I have never grown up during a time of such great political unrest, unless the current state of affairs in America counts. Moreover, there was a large point of intersection of culture and religion for Marjane Satrapi during her childhood. At first, I did not think I could relate to this, either. However, I slowly began to realize that many of the things she addressed felt familiar to me. For example, the way in which she had to balance religious, cultural, and societal expectations from a young age is something I still struggle with today. I vividly remember praying as a young child before eating lunch at school, and the judgmental eyes of my peers on me. I also remember moving to Texas, where Christianity is a big part of the schooling system, and being accepted more readily because of this. Being Christian was the norm, and any other religion was made out to be wrong. When my high school decided to implement a prayer room for the Muslim students so they could pray more comfortably on campus, the backlash they faced was huge. I wondered why this was the case, since Christian students could openly pray and tote around their Bibles without any complaints. 

Reading Persepolis helped me to reach a certain state of self-realization. By educating and informing me on the parts of history and religion of a culture that I was unfamiliar with, I was reminded of the type of oppression that the Muslim community endures in America. I was able to learn that experience is able to bridge across time and culture. Like McCloud stated in his graphic novel, “A huge range of human experiences can be portrayed in comics” (152). Being a woman of color is an experience that Satrapi and I share; however, we did not have the same experience. This is because living as a female minority in an oppressive society cannot be generalized. It is different for everybody, and although there are going to be similarities in the things that we go through, they are unique to us. It is these discrepancies that allow us to learn from one another and garner a sense of solidarity amongst the idiosyncrasy.