Hello ASTU classmates!

I would like to start out by saying how interesting and enjoyable it was to read all your blogs as they made me think about the topics discussed this week from various fresh perspectives. This past week we continued to discuss Marjane Satrapi’s graphic narrative, Persepolis and we read and looked deeply into Hillary Chute’s “The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis.” There was an evident pattern in writing about the connection between these two readings.

Focusing on Persepolis, Ben did a great job as he described how, in Persepolis, the presence of visual images as a part of the narrative, “added a whole new dimension to the story” as Satrapi’s drawing portrayed imaged that could not be equally portrayed in words. He also argues that the graphic narrative should be more widely introduced in schools as this is a type of narrative that students might be more likely to enjoy as it is easier to comprehend. Chase went even deeper into discussion on the idea that Satrapi’s work being a comic book as he stated that even tough the comic is easier to understand and more appealing to a visual learner, it still lacks the respect it deserves amongst academics. He explains how the descriptions of Satrapi’s story held the attention of his peers until he explained to them that it was a graphic narrative and this led to them to disregard it as not holding sufficient authority.

When discussing both Persepolis and the way it is analyzed by Chute many had interesting points and connections. A.J. explained how Chute’s article led him lo look deeper into the images and their significance in Persepolis. I found myself emphatically nodding as I read his blog when he points to how he retraced the emotions caused by disturbing images that had not produced the same degree of emotion on the first encounter. A.J. also discussed Chute’s theories about Satrapi’s exclusive use of black and white in her visuals, a topic that Olivia analyzed both clearly and effectively. She agrees with Chute’s idea that Satrapi’s use of black and white serves not to show an emptiness of memory, but rather a deepness within said memories and, because colours are supposed to express emotion, the absence of this is what allows us to see how hard it is to share or convey the emotions she felt. She then adds that the black and white may be used to show the reality of the situation and its starkness with no grey areas, a point I found very interesting and that makes you think and dig deeper into the symbolism behind the author’s choice of color.

Harnoor also wrote about the meaning of Satrapi’s style. With both personal and larger, global examples, Harnoor illustrates how Satrapi’s images “provides a shocking juxtaposition between the simple drawings and the violence they are producing” and then takes it further and does a great job discussing a larger theme in Persepolis which is the way in which are now viewing violence as something normal. She contrasted Marji’s encounter with violence and her remembrance of it with the way that we now come in contact and deal with violence as a normal, everyday thing because of the way the media presents it.

I enjoyed reading all of your amazing blogs and hope you all have a great week!

Andrea Barraza