The idea of false consciousness was first formally introduced to me a week ago in both my Political Science and Sociology classes. Subsequently I have read Persepolis (2003), written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi. It is a personal account of her childhood; growing up in Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution.  After class discussions with fellow peers and personal reflection, I have chosen to highlight the idea of False Consciousness prevalent in Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis. To define this concept, I have chosen a definition from “Introduction to Politics Canadian Edition” (2013). False Consciousness is, “A belief or perspective that prevents someone from assessing the true nature of a situation. The concept reflects the Marxist idea that capitalism makes it impossible for most people living within the system to see the true nature of their exploitation.” (455)

Leading up to the Revolution, Islamic Fundamentalism became an increasingly (not by choice of the people) important facet in Iran. Prayer was enforced as a central aspect of daily living. There was a change in acceptable attire for woman and men. Women had to be properly veiled and could be arrested if they did not adhere to conservative and fundamental customs. Teachers were portrayed as largely influencing the youth’s opinions and ideas on religion and politics.

Marx believed that religion served society as a distraction, misleading people from seeing and understanding the repressive nature of Capitalism. Marx equated religion to drugs, saying it is, “the opium of the people” (1843). Those who believe in a religion have drugged themselves. Their religion has created their views on social issues to be distorted and inaccurate.

In Persepolis, various aspects of the Islam religion are explicitly portrayed. However, most shocking to me was the scene when Marji’s family maid, Mehridia, shows Mrs. Satrapi the plastic, golden painted key given to her son at school. She explained that “They told the boys, that if they went to war and were lucky enough to die, this key would get them into heaven” (99). In addition, “They told them that in paradise there will be plenty of food, women and houses made of gold and diamonds” (100). Mehridia represented the working class; the masses of Iran at the time. False consciousness requires large portions of the population to believe in certain ideals. The elites in power targeted the poorer and less educated. Thousands of young kids were recruited and sent out into battle with plastic keys around their necks, under the pretense that they were headed for an afterlife, “even better than Disney Land” (101).