This movie is based off the book Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi. While the book was used to describe her childhood as in Tehran, the movie focuses more on the lives of the civilians during this difficult time (1980s). Marji’s parents are described as modern and avant-garde, while considering herself to be religious and the next prophet of the galaxy. Marji is encouraged by her parents to be strong and independent, like her mother. During this period many civilians, including her parents, took to the streets to start a revolution in opposition of Emperor Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
Shah wanted to make the city modern but attempted to accomplish this in a cruel way. He tried to change the conservative rural society into a industrial and urban society, with a focus on westernization. However, he had failed to complete his promises because of corruption. In the movie, we see soldiers with gas masks and tanks rolling into the city and a martyr being carried through the streets by civilians after being shot dead by the Shah’s force. The Shah’s regime is known for widespread imprisonment and torture. The Tehran civilians revolted by protesting in the streets and pulling down statues of the Shah. It is estimated that 60,000 civilians were murdered during the revolution (Constituate, 1989). This mass dissatisfaction led to the Shah resigning and the country was forced to rely on nationalism and religion to stay strong.
Throughout this movie, Marji’s individualism, religious views, and safety was all at stake. At school Marji’s teachers were telling her positive things about the ‘god appointed’ Shah, however at home she was learning the truth about how dangerous he was. She lost a lot of friends and family members from the war, which resulted in her having a negative perception of her God and impacted how safe she felt in her own home.
Constituate. (1989). Iran (Islamic REPUBLIC of)’s Constitution of 1979 with … Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iran_1989.pdf
Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis. Paris: L’Association.
Satrapi, M., & Winshluss (Directors). (n.d.). Persepolis [Video file].
Hi,
I really enjoyed how to mentioned that Marji’s teachers were referencing God often and focusing on positive things, but Marji took to literature to educate herself more on what is really going on in her country. However, believing so strongly in God and having family members being affected by this altered her perception on God.
hi, I think that in a lot of schools teachers are able to share their opinions about important things that are happening around the world with out thinking how it effects their students. I am a christian and went to a christian school and a lot of teachers were like that and even shared racist thoughts. Marji had very different thoughts from her teacher and she her views and thoughts on what was happening were all hers. By saying that means that did her on research on things and not just following what her teachers said blindly.Nice work
This context research presentation was not only incredibly researched and well written, but also depicted the historical information in Persepolis spot on. By focusing on how radically the Shah wanted to make the city into an industrial and urban society instead of the conservative rural society it was, I think I was more accurately able to see the mass dissatisfaction with the regime through Marji’s accounts along with the other characters in the film. I also like how you reference that her teachers we’re telling her positive things about “the God-appointed” Shah when Marjane knew good and well that he was not God appointed, creating this rift between her and society. I especially like how you give enough detail to perfectly outline the movie in a way that I was referencing your context presentation while watching the movie to keep myself focused on the historical context and gravity of the film.
I thought you did a really nice job on your context presentation. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned how harsh the soldiers were to the civilians. I agree that the mass dissatisfaction of Shah and his way of converting the conservative rural society to an industrial society led him to resign. I also thought it was interesting how Marji learned one thing from school about Shah, but at home, she actually learned the truth about Shah. This shows how much Marji has grown up and become more educated that she was able to go home and get some answers from her parents.
Hello!
After reading your context presentation I really liked the section in which you said that in school the actions of the Shah were justified, meanwhile, at home the parents knew how dangerous the Shah was. Furthermore, I thought that you outlined the historical information of Persepolis very well. I think that this in a way reflects what happens in school. Sometimes teachers have their own opinions and try to morph their student’s opinions into the teachers. Of course this is to a lesser degree. Overall, your context presentation was very well written and thought out.
Marji learning one thing at home and another in school was such an interesting part of the film. For one, it shows how much influence her family and school has on her. Since she learned these things since she was young, it took her some time to realize that her parents were actually right. Comparing this to my real life, I feel I have experienced it both ways were either school taught me wrong vs my parents taught me wrong. I think it is important to for her because that’s when her personality really developed to be against the Shah and to want the best for her country. I also thought that when the Shah was turned over for a bit, one of her teachers ripped the page from a text book. This shows how much power they had over schools because they forced the teachers to teach these new ways, whether they believed in them or not.
While reading your context research presentation, it helped me realize how similar and how different the book and the film are to one another. The research that you did to emphasize the different issues going on helps show me what you are wanting us to get out of your presentation. Including the number of estimated deaths helps allow the readers understand the number of lives that were lost fighting for their life and and their future. The detailed inclusion about the soldiers with gas masks on, taking over the civilians, making them carry dead bodies of the people from their community really puts things into site. It helps me understand how much control the Shah took over these communities and the reason behind why they drove him to resign. The reason was not the civilians fault, but the Shah himself. To say it bluntly, he was trying to be a dictator rather than a leader. The people did not respond well to this, and that is why they tor down his statues.
I liked how you pointed out Shah’s perspective and desire of making the city more modern. I think this is bringing awareness to the fact that there are people that want their country/city to evolve like others around the world. Shah’s desire to want to grow and develop the city is what many individuals want. Even though he fell short, the passion was originally there. The part though when his image and name have been altered negatively was overwhelming, and the change that happened and with the tens of thousands of murders that occurred did not help the intended message he set out to accomplish. Many people do not always accomplish the goals they have set for themselves, but it’s how you alter your mindset and make changes that make a difference. I feel though that because of what happened, Shah would have never been able to recover his name from this experience.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your context presentation and I thought you did a great job conveying the relevant information. I think you included great points that were important in the film and important to take note of in order to gain a better understanding. I liked that you included historical context through the explanation of the political climate and the events that were occurring around Marji. She had to witness death and violence due to the Shah with many contradicting ideas being introduced at home and at school. It was interesting learning about how her parents demonstrated defiance yet her teacher taught her about the good in the Shah. It must have been hard learning about the situation around you through different perspectives and tying it to religion.