Marjane Satrapi wrote Persepolis as a graphic novel describing her experience growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She explores the unrest preceding the revolution, events during the revolution, and the state of the country after the revolution. Much of the novel is told from the view point of Satrapi, meaning many of the events, especially early in the revolution, are presented through the eyes of an innocent child who doesn’t quite understand what’s happening. One of these events that struck me was the Rex Cinema fire, so I will be exploring exactly what happened on that awful day, who was responsible, and how it impacted the growing tension in Iran during this context presentation. I think that this will help to give a better idea of the confusion and fear that Satrapi and her family were experiencing.
It was 1978, the country of Iran was divided and tensions were high. The Rex Cinema, in Abadan, was playing a movie titled “Gavaznha”. According to Roblin, “The film reflected the economic despair of many Iranians, and its depictions of police violence had barely escaped government censors.” (Roblin). Four men locked the doors of the lobby, and set the cinema, filled with 700 people, on fire. 370-430 people died in the theater, with only 320 escaping. The fire department arrived late and could not put the fire out for six hours. The attack was blamed on the Marxist/Islamic radicals by the Iranian government, but the revolutionaries believed that the SAVAK (the Shah’s secret police) carried out the act of terrorism.
Even while there was confusion as to who was at fault, the act ignited a new, strong wave of revolution among the people, and it ultimately fueled the removal of the Shah and the beginning of the Islamic State. It was not until years later, in 1980, that the culprit came forward and confessed. His name was Hossein Takbalizadeh, and he was an Islamic radical who, with his friends, carried out the act of terror as an attack against the cinema, which he viewed as a symbol of “western decadence” (Roblin). The event was awful. I believe that it helps to show the confusion within the revolution, and perhaps shines light on why Satrapi criticizes both the Shah and the Islamic State that followed the Shah.
Roblin, Sebastien. “In 1978, Four Terrorists Burned 420 Movie-Goers Alive in Iran.” The National Interest, The Center for the National Interest, 14 Dec. 2019, nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/1978-four-terrorists-burned-420-movie-goers-alive-iran-105082.
This information is very interesting. I had assumed, due to the information in Persepolis that the fire had been intimated by the Shah. However, I am not surprised that it was an Islamic nationalist. This demonstrates how much tension was really happening in Iran at the time. So much tension that it is difficult to determine who could have committed such an awful attack on innocent people. This definitely would have been confusing to experience as a child, especially since so many people were likely discussing their theories on who committed the crime.
I believe your work has shown a true perspective of what actually happened in the years of Iran during the time of the Revolution and allows us readers and outsiders to dismiss the ideas of a “Single Story.” Therefore, I appreciate your work to look further into The Rex Cinema fire so that we may further understand the experience that many Iranians experienced during the late 1900s.
Additionally, I would like to add that I now understand only a part of the fear that Satrapi and her family endured during her life in Iran. As a result from learning about part of this experience she went through, I agree that it makes sense that Satrapi criticizes the state of violence that she lived in, given that this event had occurred within the state.
It makes sense why Satrapi would be so confused by this event in the book since everyone else around her was just as confused. Obviously, neither side wanted to take responsibility for the fire so both sides blamed the other. When we read from her we get a single perspective that we’ve heard about in week pasts with authors like Adichie. Your background is valuable because it gives us the outside perspective of an event that Satrapi was writing about from one perspective. Hearing more about this terrible event in the book allows me to better understand the reason why Satrapi wrote the event as she did. This information is even more valuable because in the book in your own words the story was “presented through the eyes of an innocent child who doesn’t quite understand what’s happening”.
Though I already knew that growing up in Iran is a completely different experience from growing up in the US, I never really stopped and thought what exactly it entailed. Reading about Marjane Satrapi’s experience growing up during the Islamic revolution, an extremely difficult time for the country of Iran, helped give me some much needed perspective. This event you wrote about helped me even further. I cannot even imagine the terror and confusion that Iranians endured because of the Rex Cinema fire. It is even scarier that they spent years not knowing who was responsible for the incident or if they would strike again. It would be impossible to feel safe. The country was divided for years regarding who they thought was responsible, which shows us the importance of listening to different perspectives before formulating opinions about a situation. As we have talked about previously, experiences cannot be summed up into one single story. Different people have different experiences, so we cannot generalize the whole Iranian experience by reading one book, article, etc. We must be educating ourselves further.
Great context presentation on Persepolis. I found that your discussion of the specific event of the cinema fire and how it caused great confusion within the country on what group committed this crime was a really important distinction. I believe this was significant because the revolution sparked and the confusion led to greater uproar amongst the people in the nation and finally led to change whenever the Shah was removed. Futhermore, I could not fathom what it would be like to be living in such a state of confusion and violence. Therefore, I understand where Satrapi is coming from when she criticizes both parties associated.
You posted a great context presentation on Persepolis. I found your post to be very informational about the event, Rex Cinema fire, that is discussed in the reading. This post helps to provide some background information on why there was great confusion during the Islamic Revolution. Event occurred like the Rex Cinema fire where no one was able to determine who caused it which can lead to more anger and hatred towards the other group. Also this post helps to describe the fear and confusion that Satrapi and her family went through during these times, which leads me to understand Satrapi criticism of two parties involved.
I loved your analysis of the Rex Cinema fire. As I was reading Satrapi’s Persepolis I was particularly interested in this event because of how traumatic and horrific it seemed. However, Satrapi did not go into much detail on why or who did this, rather she used it as another example of the division that was occurring in Iran. I think that the fact that the culprit did not come into light until two years later indicates the chaos that distracted the country from immediately discovering who started the fire. With so much tension and division going on, it seems as if each day something new was brought up or occurred that created great anger and separation, ultimately leading to the removal of Shah.
Your context presentation really helped me to understand Persepolis on a much deeper level. I, too was particularly interested in the Rex Cinema fire and I think the information your provided does a great job at explaining the general feelings of the time/surrounding the events. The confusion to me is what seemed to create the most unrest and chaos in people’s minds specially in reference to the lack of information on who started the Rex Cinema fire. Confusion, misinformation, etc all led to violence, aggression, and anger. I will never understand the true nature of Iran at the time, but your presentation did help me understand the emotions of the time.
The information that you gave in this context presentation post was great and gave me much more insight of Persepolis and what was really happening Iran at the time. Your explanation of the Rex cinema fire showed how violent and hate filled this War and revolution really was. It also shows me why Marji and her family were so angry about what was happening and why they were so determined to fight in the revolution. Statrapi story made me sad and heavy hearted for the people who endured the malicious and gory acts of war throughout the years, but after your explanation of the fire it makes me feel even more for them
Hi, for someone to lock hundreds of people in a building and lighting it on fire to kill people is a terrible thing to do. To know that things light this happens all around the world is disheartening and makes me worry. All of this was done because people had different view points on certain things. I believe that anyone who about things similar to setting a theater on fire should be upset that innocent lives were taken and not try to justify the act.
The information you provided in this background presentation is excellent and gave me a better understanding of Persepolis and Iran’s real situation at the time. However, Satrapi did not elaborate on why or who did it but instead used it as another example of Iran’s division. The revolution caused this chaos, which led to an uproar among the people across the country, and eventually changed after the king was removed. Besides, I cannot understand the feeling of living in this state of chaos and violence. The country has had many years of divergence concerning those they believe to be responsible, which shows us the importance of listening to different points of view before deciding on a situation.