Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis is a graphic autobiography by Marjane Satrapi, as she recollects on her childhood and coming of age during the Islamic Cultural Revolution, and how this impacted her growth, especially with her faith in God.
I really enjoyed Persepolis's art style of feeling childish and simple shapes similar to the drawings you would make in elementary school with less precision. It really makes a striking difference between the context of war and political extremism, when the schools are being separated and the women are being forced to wear veils in the start of the Cultural Revolution, and the childish perspective of refusing to wear the veil because it was uncomfortable and hot, as opposed to her parents, who demonstrated and protested on the political standpoints. She was also very child-like in her wish to join her parents in the demonstrations. Her relationship with God in her childhood is also akin and reminiscent of how children react to having invisible friends. The art style supports this very well.
To take the perspective of war and political unrest from the point of view of a child, especially on a subject I was no very well educated on, presents a stark reality of how violence affects a person's growth, how quickly children are forced to age as they experience harsh realities of the world far too early. It is really a unique case to see how a child would process events like massacre and political demonstrations and morally gray situations, such as when she brashly sought revenge on a classmate because their father was part of the Shah's regime, not understanding the morally grey situation of being related to a killer, and whether killing was ethical and what evil truly is. While the history of the story gets lost on me easily because I do not know anything about the Islamic Cultural Revolution, it was really interesting understanding perspectives not often seen in public media, and seeing the effects traumatic events like war and politics can have on a child just trying to grow up in an unwelcoming environment.
I really enjoyed Persepolis's art style of feeling childish and simple shapes similar to the drawings you would make in elementary school with less precision. It really makes a striking difference between the context of war and political extremism, when the schools are being separated and the women are being forced to wear veils in the start of the Cultural Revolution, and the childish perspective of refusing to wear the veil because it was uncomfortable and hot, as opposed to her parents, who demonstrated and protested on the political standpoints. She was also very child-like in her wish to join her parents in the demonstrations. Her relationship with God in her childhood is also akin and reminiscent of how children react to having invisible friends. The art style supports this very well.
To take the perspective of war and political unrest from the point of view of a child, especially on a subject I was no very well educated on, presents a stark reality of how violence affects a person's growth, how quickly children are forced to age as they experience harsh realities of the world far too early. It is really a unique case to see how a child would process events like massacre and political demonstrations and morally gray situations, such as when she brashly sought revenge on a classmate because their father was part of the Shah's regime, not understanding the morally grey situation of being related to a killer, and whether killing was ethical and what evil truly is. While the history of the story gets lost on me easily because I do not know anything about the Islamic Cultural Revolution, it was really interesting understanding perspectives not often seen in public media, and seeing the effects traumatic events like war and politics can have on a child just trying to grow up in an unwelcoming environment.
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