Persepolis

 

      I was a freshman in high school when I discovered Persepolis it is hands-down my favorite graphic novel I've ever read. Written by Marjane Satrapi, the title refers to the capital of the Persian empire, which adds a severe gravity to a story that has a fair amount of comedy for something that's depicting the Iranian Revolution where freedom was sent down the chute and left to languish and die. Satrapi gives a moving account of her experiences under extremist oppression and how that shaped her both as an individual and as a person seeking social justice.

In many ways Marji is a typical child with typical wants and needs, but she lives under the constant threat of death and punishment. Because she is rebellious the reader sees her go through several close calls and you can't help but hold your breath for a moment wondering what's going to happen to her. Woven in around the secretive parties and the black market western goods is the simple truth that Marjane is a highly conflicted person. There are times where she wants to be a normal girl, but the way her life in Iran is structured makes it impossible for her to live the way she wants. 

Spoiler warning, but one day she rushes home after finding out a ballistic missile has leveled her street, she discovers the body of a friend and she is unable to contain her sadness and anger. Her fury causes her to act out in dangerous ways and her mother has to tell her that by being a rebel she risks execution. Meaning that because legally the Guardians of the Revolution were unable to kill virgins, she would be married to someone, raped, and then killed. That is when her parents decide they have to send her away and she goes to a French school in Austria. This is deadly serious. 

      The reason I think this book would be valuable to teach is because it raises a lot of questions the nature of war in our society and how we as Americans treat other people that are impacted by oppressive regimes or natural disasters when they have a different race and/or religion than we do. Americans have been spoiled a bit when it comes to conflicts like this because the acts of violence that we experience are domestic and not military. When it comes to things like the ongoing bombings and gas attacks in Syria it's easy for us to dismiss because it's happening to people that aren't like us and a lot of those feelings are wrapped up in racism. When refugees come crying to us for aid, our government answers indifferently or not at all. Look at what happened with Puerto Rico. Almost 3,000 people died and the president just doesn't care because they're not white and he also refuses to admit that he did nothing to assist them.

I addition to the graphic novel which in the English version is in two parts, there is also a film that has both English and French voice actors and it's very interesting to make comparisons between the two because there are subtle differences thanks to the translation but also I think because French and American culture and language lends something different to the work. Catherine Deneuve plays Marjane's mother in both versions and her daughter Chiara also does the voice work for Marjane in both. The rest of the main cast is very different since they opted for recognizable Americans for the English dub like Sean Penn as Marjane's father and Iggy Pop briefly appearing as Uncle Anoush.