One’s perception of a comic book could include having superheroes, drama, comedy and various amounts of action involved. I believe that most people think about comic books in this way, which is what I initially thought as well. I believed that comic books were for entertainment through small stories about how superheroes save the day. I also found comic books to have drama and comedy as I read Archie comics when I was younger. My perception about comic books changed when I read an intriguing graphic narrative in my ASTU class.
We were assigned a graphic narrative called Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, who is an Iranian-born French graphic novelist. Persepolis pictures the authors story through a girl named Marji. Throughout the book, we see Marji grow up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and her life after the Revolution as well. We get an inside glance as to how the education system, religion, gender, and the state shapes society and especially Satrapi’s.
As I began reading the book, I was confused as to why I was reading about history in my ASTU class? However, as I read on, I was so intrigued by Satrapi’s story about her childhood in Iran. By the end of the book, I was fascinated with her story, but realized it’s not just a story, but in fact history. The struggles Marjane faced, happened to many other people in Iran who faced similar situations. I found it very interesting on how Satrapi used panels and tiers in the book. Panels is one box surrounded by a border and a tier is a row of panels. I found that when she used big panels, it was seen as a very significant situation or an event. The significance and the representation of religion in Persepolis fascinated me on how it connects with identity.
The theme of religion in Persepolis has been put in the negative and positive spotlight throughout the book. The Muslim religion is seen as strict with harsh punishments if you don’t comply. The rules include a strict dress code and limiting women’s right with concealing their identity. The theme of religion confuses and bring the truth about the world in Marjane’s vision. In the beginning of the book, Marji had this strong connection with God and had the vision of being a prophet. This vision of being a prophet was a part of Marji’s hidden identity, as she didn’t want anyone to know. Some of Marji’s rules were not to have old people suffer, maids eating at the table, everyone having a car, and celebrating traditional Zarathustrian holidays like a fire ceremony. Having these talks with God who was portrayed as an old white man with a beard, gave Marji encouragement that she could become a prophet and improve the world. This thought of being a prophet lost connection as Marji faced the struggles of the Islamic Revolution. She was facing the reality of history and she was hearing the struggles of those closest to her. The history of Iran was conflicting with her identity as she envisioned a perspective of how the world actually was. During these troubled times, Marji found the comfort and safety in God and at times she also demonstrated her anger at God.
Her faith in God demolished when her uncle Anoosh was executed by the Islamic Fundamentalists. She had a close bong with her uncle as he was her hero, and he took upon her as his child. Marji felt lost as her mighty God didn’t save her uncle, and also the world wasn’t full of justice and love. The use of black in the panels signified darkness and her loneliness within the world, and her understanding of it. Marji being surrounded by the planets and stars symbolized how she felt like she was in another world. Having the one panel on the right page signified that this was a crucial moment in Marjane’s life.
At first Marji, believed she was very religious, but saw herself and her parents to be very modern. After her break through with God, Marji adapted to a westernized way which was seen as forbidden in the eyes of the Islamic Fundamentalists. The Fundamentalist viewed anything that was seen as Western to be forbidden, due to their religious rules and act of behaviour. The author displayed how her family included these westernized items in their household like alcohol and a deck of cards but hid it from the outside. In the picture above, Marji had Nike shoes, a denim jacket, jeans, posters, and a Michael Jackson pin which were all forbidden. Marji displayed them anyway as it represented her identity. This displays how she defied her religion and represented it in the negative light. However, she shows another side of her identity by wearing the veil. The veil is very significant as it is part of her religion and her identity. She is holding the fundamentalist regime and her own western identity together which she portrays to be her true self.
The picture above shows the first page of Persepolis and the sense of identity of the veil. Satrapi showed how wearing the veil, shields one’s individual identity as they are all portrayed in the same way. However, it is shown that on the children’s faces they show sadness, confusion, dismay, and irritation which the veil can’t hide. By Satrapi cropping herself from the class photo on the second panel, she signified how everyone had the same identity regardless if she was in the photo. Satrapi might have also cropped herself out by rebelling against the veil and not wanting to be a part of it. The state saw the veil as every women’s identity and how it represented their common culture, but in Persepolis it was represented as suppression and constraint. However, the people in Iran use religion to get away with execution and rape as it is punishment for not wearing the veil and following the strict rules.
In the view of a sociological perspective, Durkheim’s view on religion and society is based upon how religion serves as a function and binds individuals to their fellow citizens. They feel a sense of obligation. Comparing this with Persepolis, I find it to be untrue as Iranians are either for or against the take on their religion. However, the females wearing the veils have commonality with each other. They might not share a common faith, but the veil connects them with each other. Although, the children didn’t feel a sense of obligation in the beginning, as they were confused. They didn’t understand the purpose of wearing the veil so in response they took it off and played with it. As they got older, they had this sense of obligation of wearing it outside of their household as they didn’t want to face the brutal consequences. Sociologically, the sense of “self” is partly being a constructed though religion through the dress code and their beliefs of the system.
Persepolis reveals to us what history looked like through the choice of a comic which views the darkness and light of one’s self. I believe that Satrapi’s purpose of showing us this view on religion is to make us aware on how it can shape our identity and create internal conflict by a sense of religious obligation. This book has made me change my perspective on the purpose of comic books and how religion connects with history. This book being told from a child’s perspective show us the inner take on how children in Iran felt at the time and how their childhoods were very different from ours. Religion can seem to have a positive and negative effect towards identify as it can conceal our identify and help one face the truth of one’s country’s history. I wonder what would happen if Satrapi didn’t truly believe in God in the beginning and how it would have affected her story?
https://medium.com/@camillaanderson/exploring-the-significance-of-the-veil-in-marjane-satrapis-persepolis-416886a817e4