Hello!
Every start of the new school year introduces new curriculum, topics, and reading selections. Having started my first year of University with the program, “Global Citizens” I was admittedly a bit nervous but also intrigued to explore topics involving Global Citizenship and expanding my knowledge through literature. Currently in our ASTU 100 class, we are reading and exploring the graphic narrative Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This light humoured but highly descriptive memoir of a young girl living in Iran during the 1970’s, lead me to contemplate many aspect of Global Citizenship and Westernization. During this weeks blog post, I would like to further explore these two topics and expand on them.
Satrapi begins the narrative by giving us a little background and context about the history and development of the Iranian war. This brief but telling introduction helps us in the western world – her seeming target audience- gain a little context for the autobiography. Something that I drew from her introduction is her desire of wanting to express her patriotism for her country. The western world can often have different interpretations of events in countries of conflict, especially those in the Middle East. “…this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connect with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism” (2) is the image of Iran that most in the western world probably have. However, Satrapi continues on by saying “As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth” (2) , we understand her true intentions behind the creation of this memoir. She is seeking to gain more global understanding and awareness for her country, whom she loves. Satrapi exemplifies the meaning of being a Global Citizen as she has lived in multiple countries and looks at the world on a global scale with appreciation for diversity. However never forgetting her roots, she continues to share not the stereotypical Iran appearing in the media, but the Iran she knows.
The story opens up immediately with the confrontation or introduction of “The Veil”, an object that is in the most part the first imagery that is brought to mind when discussing a Muslim country. But Satrapi shares with us that in fact when it was first introduced, it caused much turmoil. The children of course did not understand the true meaning behind this and simply treated it as a new toy. But on the following page, we can see that for the adult women, it was not as easy to accept. I believe this is a point that Satrapi intended to make. The veil is in fact not something that all women wanted or accepted voluntarily, it was something that was forced upon them – and this is the truly oppressive form of it. Later on in the narrative (75) even with the integration of the veil, it stil divides the general public. I believe Satrapi is trying to show her western audience that yes in fact the veil is oppressive, but only if it is forced upon someone (similar to religion). Personally speaking to this, coming from a Turkish background, due to beliefs, certain Turkish women do chose voluntarily to wear the veil as it is not mandatory. However, because it is voluntary, certain do not feel oppressed as there is not pressure to conform to the veil. In contrary, women who are forced can feel suppressed and in result have an ever developing hatred towards the veil. We can draw from this the conclusion that anything that is forced upon someone can in fact create distain and rebellious ideals – for example Marji’s rebellion by dressing “punk” or smoking.
Similar to the veil, another highlighted topic in the narrative is religion. Coming hand in hand with the veil, religion is forced upon the population as less of a personal matter but something that is mandatory. Through time and time again, religion has been used as a form of control and power. Once religion is used in this manner, it goes from being something that is personnel to something that you can feel conformed to. Satrapi expresses this with Marji’s slow distancing from her religious beliefs (70-71). We see religion changing people around her community like with a neighbour who was “..wearing a miniskirt, showing her beefy thighs to the whole world..” (75) but is now sporting a burka. Satrapi shows us that the world around her is changing quickly and the public is adopting these new ways of life which are advertently becoming the norm. This brings forth the question, are these women choosing to do this voluntarily or do they feel pressure from society? That also drives me to ask, does following the rules of a religion truly make you religious? I believe religion is at its purest form if it comes from the heart, not from a place of obligation. This is a point that Satrapi expresses throughout the narrative.
Another element of the autobiography that plays to her western audience, is the story being told as a graphic narrative. The simple and humorous drawings helps her audience understand the concepts behind them without the material seeming too heavy. The characters appear more relatable and we don’t sense too much of a cultural barrier. In contrary to this, an autobiography that was written as a novel might not draw much attention from a western society. In addition, sometimes images can speak louder than words, and can draw more emotion as it is brought to life. Her family becomes fundamentally more concrete and I found myself sympathizing and becoming emotional when deaths occurred. A part of the story that truly touched me was when Marji is being targeted in public by older women for “dressing punk” where they verbally assault her and try to slander her (132-134). This is a representation that these religious “beliefs” have blinded people into shaming others without even knowing where there true beliefs lie. The idea that to be religious means you dress or act a certain way is honestly perplexing, and yet time and time again this is how religion is perceived.
All in all I believe Satrapi is trying to share with us this idea that conflicts occurring in countries do not stem from things such as religion but instead from the struggle of power involving governments. She also conceptualizes the idea of being a “Global Citizen” by showing us the key of being a compassionate and understanding human comes from being curious and open to new ideas. Depicting the events through the eyes of young Marji is key to the development of Satrapi’s story. She is trying to share with the western world that Iranians are people like everyone else, and the conflicts within their country should not be held against them. Not everyone is an extremist or a terrorist within Iran, and that similar to all citizens they are striving for the same goals and aspirations. By highlighting her memories as a child, she is helping us better understand history, which in result is fundamentally contributing to the ever globalization of our world. The more historical events and cultures we are aware of, the better we can understand our society on a greater global scale.
Until next time…
