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The blackened background of "Persepolis"

By Anonymous

When first reading Persepolis, there were a lot of things that I was not used to due to the difference between this and western graphic novels. The very first thing that I noticed about Persepolis was the cover o the graphic novel. Compared to the western graphic novels that I have; the cover of Persepolis was simple with just one picture of the protagonist and the title. I think this simplicity of the cover on the graphic novel is to show the difference of what is in it compared to the western ones. Once I started to read Persepolis, I noticed that the graphic novel was very different compared to the graphic novels that I am used to reading.  One big thing that I noticed that I noticed I kept on doing while reading was relating the events in the graphic novel to the American lifestyle. The very first time that I made the comparison was on the second page was when Satrapi talked about how her mother stood against the demonstrators and stood up for her beliefs but then was scared and nervous about what could happen to her (2003). When I thought about it, I thought about how women stood up for their rights in America for ages, but then I remember the differences in the belief of religious as well as lifestyle and politics in Iran compared to America. While understanding the differences in the religious beliefs and the cultural beliefs of the graphic novel and its setting, it is not as foreign as I would think it would be.

With the use of social media and advanced technology, I had a basic understanding of the culture and religion in the graphic novel. Now some of the things mentioned in the graphic novel such as the violent demonstration on page 76 and parents sending their children aboard like on page 147, I thought were not as real as they were but now I understand that they were real (Satrapi 2003). Referencing back to the time span of the graphic novel, I could only imagine what people could be going through now, especially with the escalating world politics as well as many putting their own views online without realizing what is happening. For example, some troll could put up some fake video and make it look like something is happening in Iran, and then many gullible Americans would actually believe it and start commenting how America is the best for their rights and beliefs, blah, blah, blah. I could easily go on and on about the major differences that I saw in the graphic novel and compared it to how Americans would view it, but I want to get into talking about the use closure in the graphic novel as well as the use of the blackened background.

In Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, he talks about closure and how the readers perceive what happens between the panels (2011, 66-68). Now in Persepolis, to perceive closure between the panels might be a little tricky. While in western novels, the readers could easily imagine what would happen between the panel due to the background of the panel. In Satrapi graphic novel, it is different as she uses a blackened background. With the blackened background, the readers would have to focus on finding closure through the dialogue of the characters alongside the actions that are going on around the characters. Now you could easily go through the graphic novel and see almost all blackened background, but I am going to focus on page 107. Prior to the page, the readers could tell that the bombs were going off again but on page 107, a lot of actions happens. Through the dialogue at the top of each panel, the readers can conclude that the revolution and bombing affected everyone differently. Such as the Aunt putting the newborn baby into the child’s hand and running away without even looking back (Satrapi 2003, 107). Even though there was no detailed background, readers could easily tell from using the information from McCloud’s book about closure and imagine what was going on through the mind of the aunt or the other adults that were running down the stairs (Satrapi 2003, 107).


                                           Picture: L'Association. Persepolis. 2003. Print


For this being my first graphic novel that is not western nor Japanese, I found it amazing to read as it gave me insight about something that I would never be able to personally experience. I was not born during the time the graphic novel was set in, so seeing the events through Satrapi eyes and experiences, I would recommend this to many who want to go further than the basic western-style graphic novel or want to see a perspective in a culture that they are not used to seeing.




                                                              Works Cited
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. HarperCollins, 1993.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. L’Association, 2003.

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