Concluding our seventh week of university we have explored a variety of topics and texts in our ASTU class. For this date, most students decided to write their blogs on themes inspired on our first literary work to be discussed, Marjane Satrapi’s graphic narrative Persepolis. While some students’ interest was sparked by the comic genre’s form and characteristics (Melody, Lukas, Anna Huynh), others were very intrigued by this introduction to Iranian and Islamic culture and the portrayal Satrapi provides in her narrative, resulting in engaging reflections. (Kate, Leah, Daanish, Nejmo). I consider the general opinions to be very interesting, as it was also fascinating to me encountering a text that carries on such a sincere portrayal of a culture, a historical time, and a childhood through a genre that used to be underestimated by the academy.
Persepolis is not my first comic ever read, but this piece of work can be taken as a turning point, for it opened my eyes to graphic narrative genre. As Anna Huynh puts it, these are “more than just drawings”, for they have the power of depicting actions that would otherwise be described in a significant amount of words. Anna quotes a 2016 interview to Satrapi where she says, “comics are really connected to fine arts(…) you write with your drawing”. Huynh also reflects on the drawing technique used by Satrapi in Persepolis, and even compares a sample page of the book with a page from Archie Comics’ Spiderman (2005). To her perspective, the simplistic drawings used in Persepolis allow the reader to focus on the essence of the narrative, and this is a distinction between Satrapi’s memoir and a fantastic comic book, for graphics are a very effective tool for stories, but their visual delivery must not distract from its intent.
Melody was also very interested in Satrapi’s overall comic techniques, and shows great appreciation for this genre as she argues that comics can even be “superior to other forms of art”. I agree with her in the sense that it is a very powerful genre, and there is lots of merit in carrying out such exemplary as is Persepolis, especially given the difficult themes it involves. However, I am often more driven by words as I can hear them sound in my head as I read them (my personal experience). I think it is admirable to transform experiences of public and private trauma into visual image, and Melody agrees with comics’ “therapeutic strategy” through “filtered images” that enable the ease of hard topics.
Furthermore, Satrapi’s work has ignited more than just appreciation for the graphic narrative genre, for her story as such has also unraveled very personal accounts on behalf of many students. Daanish is particularly impressed with the way Satrapi portrays religion and class throughout Persepolis, as it is relatable with his personal experience in Pakistan, a theocratic republic of polarized yet confused political ideals. Not only has his family lived in the country whilst unstable political changes, but he also feels connected to Marji’s character as they both grew up in privileged conditions relative to their context. People even “spoke in English instead of Urdu”, in his neighborhood and many people had a maid, (two factors similar to Marji’s case in Iran). On the other hand, Leah could not relate personally to Satrapi’s narrative, but she did relate with the topic of islamophobia that supplements Satrapi’s intent behind the story’s publication via her uncle’s experience being a Muslim in the United States, for instance in cases like immigration complications related to discrimination.
Finally, there are cases like Kate’s, whom was first introduced to the idea of “Iran” when we started reading the book for class. Having no personal relation to the background context nor the genre, the story sparked her interest as something bright new. She is very intrigued about the way Satrapi has broken boundaries between media-related knowledge and a personal account on the private life of an Iranian girl. Objects like the veil, an image western audience associates directly with Islam, are taken out of the traditional frame to challenge the western readers, encouraging them to break assumptions and be open to an intimate Iranian story. This way, the fact that Marji’s family ride a Cadillac is normalized. Kate understands and values Satrapi’s work, praising how narratives like hers “dissipate the ignorance that surrounds her country”.
Like Kate, I have no personal connection with Iranian or Islamic culture, but I am a girl who grew up in a country that has lived in armed conflict for more than 50 years, and I am incredibly lucky to have a safe and comfortable life based on my parent’s hard work. Persepolis has made me aware that our collective history must always be acknowledged, and that our personal narratives matter when it comes to breaking down stereotypes. This narrative has also opened my eyes towards so many different topics, from growing up, politics, Islam, memory, and even feminism. I admire how Satrapi has created a timeless story, breaking all sort of traditional paradigms, and opening my mind to topics and previously remote to me, such as communism and comics. Reading my classmates’ blogs has been a very interesting experience as well, as I am conscious on how other people my age with totally different backgrounds interpret this “story of a childhood” and the idea of it being portrayed through a comic form.
Links: https://blogs.ubc.ca/annahuynh/ https://blogs.ubc.ca/melosastu100blog/ https://blogs.ubc.ca/daanishsayani/2017/10/12/blog-2-on-islamization-and-internal-contradictions/ https://blogs.ubc.ca/leahtaylor/ https://blogs.ubc.ca/katepasula/