In the Coordinated Arts Program stream, “Global Citizen”, our English class analyzes different pieces of literature and finds meaning in texts. We recently examined an article by the educational scholar Farhat Shahzad that introduced the term, “Interpretive Communities” and the effect these communities have on our perspectives. Shahzad states that these interpretive communities such as family, education, religion and culture affect the way we perceive events. Since we analyzed this text, I have been noticing the influence of these communities when reading or listening to a retelling of events.
In my English class with Dr. Luger, we have jumped into the quirky graphic memoire by Iranian author, Marjane Satrapi, titled Persepolis. After reading just the first couple chapters, I began to notice the strong influence that interpretive communities have on the main character, Marji.
In the first part of the book you can locate the interpretive communities that Marji responds to. Culture, religion, family, and education stand out and make their appearance known as influential. Religion and culture go hand in hand in the sense that they have a bi-directional relationship, mainly in the first couple chapters. Not only does Marji correspond with her image of God very frequently throughout the novel, but she dreams of being a prophet when she grows up. Because of the large role religion plays in her life, she sees most things through the lenses of prophet-like ideals. Later this dream deteriorates, as the culture surrounding her begins to frown upon her somewhat “absurd” future goals. The culture that engulfs her in Iran negatively affects her ideas of religion throughout the graphic memoire, and Marji begins to set new goals for herself through the social lens of what is “culturally appropriate”, and at that time its patriotism.
Another powerful interpretive community you can recognize throughout Satrapi’s graphic narrative is the ever-present family and educational community. Throughout Persepolis, Marji gets many different outlooks on the events in Iran thrust upon her. Her parents, who are against the king and both demonstrate regularly, influence the way she sees the war and government. While her parents may feel one way, her teachers and school claim to support the king and teach that loyalty to the government is good and necessary. As the story goes on, there are many places where Marji has conflicted feelings between believing books and the educational system, while remaining loyal to her families beliefs and ideals.
Though I state that all of these influences are as Shahzad writes, “Interpretive Communities”, as I read the novel and look at it from a Sociological lens as well, I can see these communities as also being social influences. I say this because Marjane Satrapi writes Marji to be very consciously aware of these different influential factors in her life and is constantly grappling with which one she should believe and trust. Are social influences and interpretive communities one in the same? Or can we make a clear distinction between them?
I found it interesting how you bring up religion playing such a key role as an interpretative community for Marji in the early stages of her childhood. You mention that as she grows and circumstances around her change, her ideals about God, and visions of becoming a prophet change as well. Does she turn more realist in a sense? Do the circumstances of war repel her religious dreams? I have to wonder if she had grown up in a different time, or place, under different circumstances if she would be more or less religious. It’s interesting to see religion as a community itself, that socialized Marji for however short a time. Also in my own personal opinion in answering your question, I would think interpretative communities to be a part of the greater encompassing social influences. But it’s important to note the point you make, we often question which social influences to trust but communities we assume to be inherently socialized by. Should we perhaps start to question the communities we are so intricately a part of more often? Community seems so intimate but it is an influence like any other that introduces various biases.