Persepolis, By Marjane Wiesel: Film Analysis

Another way Marji’s father frees himself from his oppression is by participating in the demonstrations against the tyrannical government. His job is to photograph the rallies held by the rebels and publish them in papers and news articles so that the world can see how Iran really treats it’s people. “My parents demonstrated everyday… Things started to degenerate. The army shot at them…

In the beginning of the book Persepolis it depicts and retells the story of the author's loss of innocence and faith. As a child growing up, Marjane constantly claims god called her to be a prophet. She had an imaginary friend known as god and would talk to him and god would speak to her. “Yes, you are, celestial light, you are my choice, my last and my best choice.” (Satrapi, 8) Throughout her childhood, God encourages Marjane to become a predictor of the future. The readers begin to see her detach from her faith little by little as Marjane begins

Marjane’s friendships are few and far between, after the wake of the revolution. In the beginning of the novel, Marjane’s best friend is God and how she mainly identifies herself. This is significant to understanding the depth of Marjane’s thoughts as a child. She is very different from the rest of the kids. This is evident when Marjane’s says when she wants to be a prophet and her classmates say they want to be doctors, or teachers. Growing up in Iran makes it hard for Marjane to express herself and really identify herself. This affects her friendships with children her age. Marjane is very sympathetic for a child her age, and she deeply understands what her country and family has been suffering through. She sat in a bathtub for hours trying to understand how her grandfather felt. Other children her age were not doing things like this. She often talks to God as mentioned before and this is when Marjane can express herself. She cannot do that with other children so she leans on God and identifies with him. As Marjane grows she meets her uncle who be¬comes the light of her life and her new best friend. He tells her stories about his struggles and Marjane begins to identify herself in his stories. In this quote her Marjane is talking to other children her age, she says “ There are lots of heroes in my family, my grandpa was in prison, my uncle Anoosh too: For nine

Furthermore, facial expressions also enhance the understanding of the story by showing the character 's body language. Almost all of Marjane’s pictures show her frowning and sad face as a result of the new Islamic system that invades her life. Even though the pictures don’t have a lot of texts or details, they still serve what Marjane wants to deliver. In conclusion, all of these pictures and images are used for the purpose of delivering the message that everyone should have the right and the freedom to do what they think is convenient for them without any restrictions or rules against them. Marjane shows how she is proud of her mom for raising her voice, even though everyone is against her. Everyone should be treated the same no matter what religion they follow, or what gender they are.

Throughout the Iranian Revolution, many events and changes took place that largely affected the views of Iranians by other nations. The graphic novel, The Complete Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi (Satrapi, 2003), conveys many of these events and changes through the eyes of a child growing up in the 1980s in Iran. Satrapi’s main purpose for this book is to describe how the Iranian government was corrupt, causing foreign nations to have a tainted view of all Iranian citizens. The Complete Persepolis does so by presenting major events and changes in a manner that is directed towards audiences that are willing to have an open mind about ethnicity and false stereotypes, and an audience that is young and can relate to the “coming of age” aspect of this novel. By exhibiting a credible first hand account of how Satrapi and many others were affected by the events that took place during the Iranian Revolution, The Complete Persepolis can effectively persuade a reader to eliminate the “Islamic extremist” stereotype that the corrupt Islamic Republic gave all Iranian citizens.

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, is a spellbinding read. From start to finish, the story grips the reader with its thought provoking content and touching storyline. The author’s depiction of war torn Iran provides its audience with a better understanding of a people that many Western communities deem as ungodly and dangerous. By reading Satrapi’s work, it becomes clear that the Iranian people are much less one-dimensional than most automatically assume. From a Christian perspective, this is particularly important because it reminds us of God’s call to love and care for all people, regardless of their beliefs. The book helps Christian readers to open their eyes and see the needs of a hurting people who see religion as a government mandated obligation rather than a life giving gift. Throughout the graphic novel, Persepolis, religion becomes less and less of a priority due to the increasing basic needs of the Iranian people; however, despite the rather depressing content, Persepolis is beneficial for Christian readers because they can use the information presented in the book to better serve hurting communities.

This figure shows a view of the Earth with each flag proudly displayed on top of its own nation. This clearly separates one nation from the next, and allows the viewer to see the support each group of civilians has for its country. The people of each nation are very proud of their flag, and, therefore, want it to represent their beloved nation. It is very insightful to use the nation’s highly revered flag as a representation. Nationalism is a very big idea in Marjane’s narrative, and her acceptance and awareness of this theme is evident throughout the novel. For instance, Marjane and her family are very emotionally affected by the playing of their country’s national anthem on the T.V. (Satrapi 83). They love their country completely, and this is shown through a very simple, yet precise, sketch of Marjane and her family with their hands over their hearts, and tears in their eyes. Marjane suggests here that although she is aware that Iran has its faults, she accepts them, and loves it profusely. She wants freedom and peace to develop between Iranians solely upon their own efforts. Furthermore, “for a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it” (Satrapi 17). This indicates that the people of a nation must constantly show their nationalism boldly, with confidence and pride. Marjane is aware of the nationalism, and she has accepted that without the honor and support from a society, the nation cannot succeed in its ambitions. The support from a populace gives the country the encouragement it needs to flourish and

One way the Iranian people rebelled against the Iran government was by allowing western influences into their lives or acting more modern than the traditional Islamic government. In the chapter Kim Wilde, she shows her love for music, specifically western music. This is meaningful because the government has outlawed most western or modern ideas or influences. Marjane’s love for western music has even nearly gotten her arrested by the guardians of the revolution when she was walking around town after getting a few tapes of music by western musicians. As she was walking home she was stopped and asked about her clothing and Michael Jackson pin, one of her favorite musicians. This leads to the next act of rebellion Marjane does, her clothes and shoes. During the same time when she was stopped by the Guardians of the Revolution, Marjane was asked about her shoes. Marjane claimed,”I wear these because I play basketball,” (Satrapi 134) but the Guardians refused to believe her and questioned everything she says. Marjane tries to make an excuse so she is not taken away by the Guardians of the revolution. This shows that even through a small act of rebellion such as wearing western clothing, you can be punished for it. This makes everything that does not conform with the government a massive problem. In a final attempt at getting home safely she says, “Ma’am, my mother’s dead. My stepmother is really cruel and if I don’t go home right away, she’ll kill me… she’ll burn me with the clothes iron! SHE’LL MAKE MY FATHER PUT ME IN AN ORPHANAGE” (Satrapi 134). She finally convinces the guardians to let her go and is able to get home safely.This shows the risks Marjane takes to rebel against the Iranian government and

Soon after the revolution, Iran became one bundle of chaos as the country began experiencing internal difficulties with the new republic. Then with the war between Iran and Iraq, violence became Marji’s daily lifestyle. The Iranians were left to themselves to protect their friends and family from the bombings and other types of violence happening in plain sight. Many unfortunate individuals lost their belongings as well as close friends and family. For example, a close friend of Marji’s mother, Mali and her family, lost her and her family’s belongings in a bombing. The family found refuge in Marji’s home until they left Iran for good. They were one of the few families who understood the severity of the violence overwhelming Iran.

Siamak was a journalist who got arrested for writing subversive articles in the Keyhan (Iranian Newspaper) and Mohsen was a revolutionary who got arrested for being a revolutionary. This incident reveals how freedom of expression was seized in Iran at that time and also shows how shah was using his secret police to oppress revolutionaries. Siamak told Marjane how brutally they were tortured in there for a long time. When siavak told marajane how were they tortured in there that gave some her some evil torture games like moustache on fire, the twisted arm and many more. But Marjane felt overwhelmed because she felt like she was doing something wrong because when she looked in the mirror she saw horns coming out of her head like a devil. This shows how much an incident about tortures can impact a child’s brain.

Pesepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel depicting the life of Marjane Satrapi during the Iranian Revolution. In the early pages, Marjane illustrates that she saw herself as a prophet. She wanted to change the world, and with the help of God, she thought that she could.

Another historical event that we see is the rise and effects of the Islamic regime in Marjane’s life. This event is arguably the central issue that affects Marjane during her upbringing in Iran. Marjane shows how the regime begins to control schools, and how this affects her life by separating her from her friends (4, 3-4). We also see how the regime decides to close universities as they “educate future imperialists.” (73, 1-3) This demonstrates the negative effects that the regime has on society, as they prioritize Islamic values over education. The Islamic leaders portrayal shows them as upset and bored, and are given much different facial expressions than those that Marjane sees as intellectual (such as Uncle Anoosh (54/3) or Marjane’s grandfather (23/8)). This imagery communicates the backwards-thinking of these leaders, and as such, also effectively communicate Marjane’s opinion of the leaders without needing to discuss it with text. Additionally, we see both of Marjane’s views: Marjane not understanding the veiling and separation (3/5) as well as Marjane’s depression over the closing of the universities (73/7). The text here illustrates her opinions on the situations that she experiences, and the imagery allows us to see a visual representation of her basic thoughts and emotions, which are well communicated. A final example of the regime’s changes is the difference between the fundamentalist and modern women

Images are satirical as they connote how the school, under the influence of a fundamentalist society, damaging the children by treating them strictly and condemning them to accomplish what the society think is right. Among the recurring images, a metaphorical image that stood out symbolically is displayed on page 95, in which the teacher mobilizes Marjane and her classmates to beat their hearts to mourn death of young soldiers. The full-page panel exhibits an oppressive atmosphere with its heavy shading, which employs a pessimistically impression with Marjane’s childhood

Other influences through the story help develop Marjane’s perspective on revolution, nationalism, and social class. Even with all the things going in in Marjane’s life. Her life and perspective of life changes how she talks and thinks about all the things going on in Iran. How

The film is a sappy recounting of Marjane Satrapis's early childhood, adolescence and young adulthood living in and out of Tehran in the years following Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 Iranian Revolution. Marjane