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Persepolis: Unfamiliar Cultural Norms

What would you do if your entire life changed in an instant? If your beliefs, values, and worldview were challenged and found lacking? If you were forced to reacclimate in every way because someone decided that all of the things that make you  you were flawed and wrong?

If you think back, do you remember anything about 1980? Maybe not. Some readers weren't born, some were very young and some will just remember life as normal:  Ronal Regan was the newly elected president. Charles and Diana were newlyweds and the TV shows Dallas and General Hospital were popular.

On the other side of the world, Iran was experiencing a revolution: The Shah was in power and the formerly secular country had shifted to a religious one. The conflicts in the Middle East, so common and expected now, were just beginning. Islam and all of its accruements were very unknown and unusual. Most Americans didn't know very much about the Quran or the teachings of Mohammud. Most Americans didn't understand the role of the U.S. and British in Middle Eastern affairs. We certainly didn't understand the overwhelming reliance on foreign oil and how that need would compound over the years."

Persepolis explores the beginning of the Iranian Revolution through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl, Marjane. In 1980, Marjane's world changed irrevocably. Her school changed from a secular one to a religious one. She and her classmates were separated: girls and boys were no longer educated together. Girls had to wear veils at school. Marijane's family would suffer and lose their friends, like Anoosh." the truth is, they have arrested Anoosh" (Satrapi 68) and family members, like Marjane's grandmother, would suffer tremendous losses "The Shah's father, took everything we owned. I lived in poverty." (Satrapi pg 26)

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The story of the revolution is Marjane's childhood. It is a funny, irreverent look at a family caught up in circumstances beyond their control and how they cope. One of the most memorable passages is when young Marjane and her friends misbehave in school, and she and her classmate's parents are called. The girls were making fun of the self-flagellation ritual that they were expected to perform daily. The girls made fun of the process and, of course, were disciplined. Their parents came to their defense and challenged the teacher. Marjane's father said, " if hair is as stimulating as you say, then you need to shave your mustache"( Satrapi pg 98) Can you imagine? It isn't often that we, as Westerners, are shown alternative, humorous viewpoints of Iranian or other Middle Easterners. Many were just as shocked and unprepared for the shift in ideology as anybody. This inspires a feeling of familiarity even though the specific cultural experience is foreign: most of us have made fun of something serious and grim. Many of us find humor in the macabre- Ten-year-old Marjane is no different.
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Persepolis is written entirely in black and white- no color. This method exemplifies McCloud's idea of minimalism in comics " by stripping down an image to its essential meaning, an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can't." (McCloud 30). The character's expressions and movements are all the more striking because the panels are so dark.

Persepolis also used many symbols to convey meaning. There's a scene of poor children exploding and dying in a minefield. The very next panel shows Marjane at a party, wearing a sweater with holes and a chain necklace. " Punk rock was in."( Satrapi 102). McCloud calls this method of illustration "the invisible realm of senses and emotions." ( McCloud 135). The message, alternating between death and he very normal, happy punk rock-inspired party, creates a stark reality for the reader and viewer of the panels. We have to internally construct a transition in thought and emotion in order to continue reading. This is the most relevant example of McCloud's definition of  Understanding Comics chapter three "Blood in the Gutter" that I've seen. " Comic panels fracture both time and space." and in doing so, allows " closure to connect these moments and mentally construct a continuous, unified reality." (McCloud pg 67)
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Persepolis, which means Persian City in Greek, isn't a comfortable read. This novel made me question my view of Iranians, the Middle East and our role in conflicts because of the insatiable need we have for oil. I read the novel and was surprised that the maid was a young, uneducated girl who couldn't eat dinner with the family or flirt with the boy next door. I had to question my own beliefs about class and social acceptance. I had to ask myself how others feel when the people they love are lost, and how people react when they lose their way of life and are forced to leave their homes.

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This novel puts readers in an uncomfortable zone in may ways. We must ask ourselves how our own belief systems about other people develop. We have to acknowledge that human suffering is universal and that the right to live and be should not be reserved for a few, but all." I couldn't bear looking at them there behind the glass. Nothings' worse than saying goodbye. It's a little like dying." ( Satrapi)
At 14, Marjane left her parents, friends, and home with many Iranian people seeking safety and freedom. The ending of the book is sad and abrupt. Satrapi wrote a follow-up novel called Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.  This book deals with Marjane's life as an adult, and her eventual return to Iran, and Marjane's "commitment against totalitarianism". ( Satrapi)

McCloud, S  Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art Harper, 1993

Satrapi, M  Persepolis Pantheon Books, 2003



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