Originally written 10/16/08.
Throughout history, Iran has been known as a country of conflict and political unrest. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 is one of the highest accounts of such unrest. It is here that is the setting of a particular girl’s journey of self-discovery of growing up in a tattered society. Through the experiences of her own life, the use of illustrations, and smartly written dialogue, author Marjane Satrapi captures her own unique perspective on what it’s like to grow up in such a time. We come along with her as she learns about the events taking place around her; a major part in shaping her life. The audience, especially for Western cultures, gains a better understanding through the virgin eyes of a growing girl of the Iranian culture. Marjane Satrapi takes us with her through her coming-of-age journey to gain a better understanding of what it truly is to be Iranian. This is Persepolis.
Iran has often had a bad reputation in the eyes of Western culture. As Marjane states in her introduction, “this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.” It’s not surprising, Iran is rarely visited by Westerners. All that we often know about it is what we hear from the news, which isn’t always very good. With much conflict in the Middle East, Iran is right in the middle of it. Government corruptions, civil unrest, terrorism, religious prosecution, and oil are mainly what we ever hear about the nation, and because of that, it’s all that we ever think about when we think about Iran. This view has become a huge generalization in Western society. We never get a chance of understanding the culture beyond this image. “It’s far from the truth” as Marjane writes. Persepolis helps give a truthful look into Iranian culture as she grows up and learns everything from the ground up, away from the generalized image that we often see today. Although this image may be true to an extent in reality, she can reflect beyond the conflict and see the deeper picture of what it is to be Iranian. This is what she hopes the audience takes away from the story.
She starts the novel with a veil, one of the first results of the Islamic Revolution. All girls are now required to wear the veil in Iran, a major event concerning women’s rights. Marjane is only a child when the event occurs, and thus, she finds the new rule to be quite different than what its perceived to be. She finds it silly and makes jokes about wearing it as many kids would at the time. Later in the novel, because of a better understanding through age, she takes the veil more seriously. It’s this progression of understanding the Iranian culture that allows Westernized cultures to do the same as Marjane does through her life. Kids, as in Marjane’s childhood, saw the generalized image of what was happening in Iran and never fully understood the whole extent of the situation. The novel starts off this way, at probably the same point of where many Westernized individuals have a basic generalized knowledge of the culture, and as Marjane grows up and learns a deeper meaning in everything around her, so does the audience.
In 2007, an animated feature was released based on all four original books, co-directed and co-written by Marjane Satrapi with comic artist Vincent Paronnaud. Produced in France, the film has been released worldwide gaining a total theatrical box office of over $22 million for the $8 million film. Like the book, the film has won numerous awards, including the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival and a nomination for Best Animated Film at the 2008 Academy Award. With the growing popularity and acclaim of the books and feature film, Persepolis is reaching a large audience worldwide. And with that large audience, her views and a better understanding of Iranian culture is now being embraced by millions worldwide. She is inviting everyone to enter her life and experience what is really is to be a true Iranian.
However, not everyone is happy with the open invitation. The film was initially banned in the country that is portrayed in the film, Iran, as well as Lebanon, claiming that the film was “anti-revolutionary." However, in an effort to help stop false delusions about the film once the ban was acknowledged by citizens, two screenings were set up in Tehran, Iran. Later, the ban was lifted in Lebanon in response to a public outcry of assertions that the ban was solely in place to please Iran. With these bans lifted, it finally gave the Iranians (and Lebanese) themselves an opportunity to relive the Islamic Revolution through Marjane’s eyes of a child growing up.
Iran has often had a bad reputation in the eyes of Western culture. As Marjane states in her introduction, “this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.” It’s not surprising, Iran is rarely visited by Westerners. All that we often know about it is what we hear from the news, which isn’t always very good. With much conflict in the Middle East, Iran is right in the middle of it. Government corruptions, civil unrest, terrorism, religious prosecution, and oil are mainly what we ever hear about the nation, and because of that, it’s all that we ever think about when we think about Iran. This view has become a huge generalization in Western society. We never get a chance of understanding the culture beyond this image. “It’s far from the truth” as Marjane writes. Persepolis helps give a truthful look into Iranian culture as she grows up and learns everything from the ground up, away from the generalized image that we often see today. Although this image may be true to an extent in reality, she can reflect beyond the conflict and see the deeper picture of what it is to be Iranian. This is what she hopes the audience takes away from the story.
She starts the novel with a veil, one of the first results of the Islamic Revolution. All girls are now required to wear the veil in Iran, a major event concerning women’s rights. Marjane is only a child when the event occurs, and thus, she finds the new rule to be quite different than what its perceived to be. She finds it silly and makes jokes about wearing it as many kids would at the time. Later in the novel, because of a better understanding through age, she takes the veil more seriously. It’s this progression of understanding the Iranian culture that allows Westernized cultures to do the same as Marjane does through her life. Kids, as in Marjane’s childhood, saw the generalized image of what was happening in Iran and never fully understood the whole extent of the situation. The novel starts off this way, at probably the same point of where many Westernized individuals have a basic generalized knowledge of the culture, and as Marjane grows up and learns a deeper meaning in everything around her, so does the audience.
After her childhood in Iran, teenage years in Vienna, and early adulthood back in Iran, she moves to Paris where she meets up with a team of artists who introduce her to the world of comics. With her love of drawing and writing, she combines the two to produce a graphic novel re-accounting her adolescent years. Originally written in 2000, Persepolis 1 became an enormous success with its initial French audience. It has also spawned three additional books, Persepolis 2-4, selling over 400,000 copies within seven years. With the introduction of the books in new markets, especially the United States, where the four books have been combined into two (later to be just one, The Complete Persepolis), Persepolis has gained over a million readers. Translated in twenty languages, in use in hundreds of high schools, and appealing to comic book readers, graphic artists, and almost anyone interested in politics, culture, art, and reading in general, Persepolis has garnished a wide audience in its universal appeal. The book has won countless awards, including three at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
In 2007, an animated feature was released based on all four original books, co-directed and co-written by Marjane Satrapi with comic artist Vincent Paronnaud. Produced in France, the film has been released worldwide gaining a total theatrical box office of over $22 million for the $8 million film. Like the book, the film has won numerous awards, including the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival and a nomination for Best Animated Film at the 2008 Academy Award. With the growing popularity and acclaim of the books and feature film, Persepolis is reaching a large audience worldwide. And with that large audience, her views and a better understanding of Iranian culture is now being embraced by millions worldwide. She is inviting everyone to enter her life and experience what is really is to be a true Iranian.
However, not everyone is happy with the open invitation. The film was initially banned in the country that is portrayed in the film, Iran, as well as Lebanon, claiming that the film was “anti-revolutionary." However, in an effort to help stop false delusions about the film once the ban was acknowledged by citizens, two screenings were set up in Tehran, Iran. Later, the ban was lifted in Lebanon in response to a public outcry of assertions that the ban was solely in place to please Iran. With these bans lifted, it finally gave the Iranians (and Lebanese) themselves an opportunity to relive the Islamic Revolution through Marjane’s eyes of a child growing up.
With a vast audience under her belt and growing, Marjane Satrapi has given the world a better understanding of her life and culture through an entertainingly written and illustrated work of art and literature. It’s one step closer in trying to rid Westerners of an image of Iran as a nation of camel-riding terrorists. She certainly makes it evident in giving her audience a better perspective on the Iranian culture through the writings of this novel. She is who she is, and a girl who has been greatly influenced by Western society her whole life, she can’t hide her tattered-viewed culture away from the Western society that she tries to assimilate into, as evidently failed in the story. She has to embrace her culture, and she does, and she even shares it with the world. As Marjane states, “I am Iranian and proud of it!”
✘ Brian
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