Persepolis holds value in both its film and novel versions, though each impact consumers in unique manners. These differences can be categorized into plot, characterization, and design elements.
The graphic novel format of Persepolis begins with an opening chapter titled “The Veil” in which Marji is shown as a young girl in 1980 wearing her own veil (IvyPanda). In contrast, the film begins with Marji in adulthood in which she is shown folding a veil over her head (IvyPanda). The graphic novel is told in patches and highlights selected events while the film portrays more of a flowing narrative (IvyPanda). However, there are certain ‘chapters’ that get left out, including “The Letter” and “The Jewels” (IvyPanda). Additionally, while the book tends to give very detailed accounts of the story of Marji’s first love, this is not nearly as present in the film (IvyPanda). The final scene of the film is not present in the novel at all and depicts Marji taking a cab to the airport; when the cab driver asks where she is from, she responds ‘Iran’ (IvyPanda).
Characterization is another aspect of the film making process that differs across formats of presentation. For example, the film excludes several characters that are present in the graphic novel. This includes the women who insult Mali and Marji’s mother at the grocery store, Mali and her children, and Mr. Satrapi’s maid (IvyPanda). Additionally, Markus (Marji’s first boyfriend) has a reduced role in the film in comparison to his very extensively described impact and presence conveyed in the novel (IvyPanda). The cab driver is the only character that appears in the film but is not present in the novel (IvyPanda).
The final aspect that makes the film presentation different than the graphic novel are elements of design. While the novel goes into detail and incorporates extensive buildup of climactic dramatization, the film sacrifices this for use of other effects (T). In producing the film, certain scenes (and thus, characters) have been cut from the narrative. In doing so, the film utilized this extra time by prioritizing the events and themes in Marji’s life that had the greatest impact on her development (T). While the scenes that were cut bolstered these themes and added new ones, such as class separation and failure of independence, they were not necessary for the story of Persepolis to be told effectively (T). Production of film also allowed for the addition of sound, music, and real-time comparisons of shots by using dissolves rather than being limited solely to still shots, as is the case with a graphic novel (T). This helps to guide consumers of the film through the process of making comparisons and connections rather than assuming that they will make them on their own (T). The use of color is also a significant difference between the two modes of conveying Marji’s story. In the film, we see color used to distinguish both a temporal element of present time as well as a personal sense of identity development in which Marji no longer sees the world in black and white schemes. This is supported by Marji identifying that she is from Iran when confronted with the cab driver’s inquiry–a drastic difference from her response given in Vienna in which she told a group of peers that she was French in order to attempt avoiding backlash.
References
“Persepolis; The Book versus The Movie.” IvyPanda, 16 Oct. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/persepolis-the-book-versus-the-movie/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021.
T, R. “Persepolis Analysis: The Differences of a Comic Book Turned into a Movie.” Classic but New, 9 Nov. 2013, classicbutnew.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/persepolis-analysis-the-differences-of-a-comic-book-turned-into-a-movie.
Though I have not yet seen the movie, I can definitely see why they would change some aspects. It is incredibly rare for movie adaptations to be exactly like the novel it was based off of. While the small things in the book, such as her first love and other small characters, had a great impact on her life, it makes sense the movie would leave this out as it must focus on the major events. It is definitely interesting to me how the same message can be received in much different formats (book vs movie).
I agree with what wall.233 was saying about movie to book comparisons. They rarely are the same and often, we get more information from a book than a movie purely because directors feel the need to add a new interest into a movie in order to reach more audiences. This could be a reason why some of the information may seem to be missing. The other thing I would like to add is that although I have not watched the movie yet, I appreciated reading the presentation ahead of time in order to keep an eye out for what you discussed while I watch. Great job!
I definitely can notice a difference in the film adaptation vs the novel, you can tell that the film was trying to reach a broader audience and had to alter certain aspects and characters to make it so. In my opinion, the film seemed more laid back in general and more altered towards appeal and less of keeping the message. The characters that they chose to include and change relationships kind of shows their goals in doing so. Great context presentation and I think this contrast is a fun one, reading the novel one week then watching the film adaptation the next.
I like how you talked about how some of the character in the book are not present in the film. I think this the biggest difference between the two and I feel like many film or tv show adaptions of books tend to leave out characters. Characters are usually included to show other aspects of the atmosphere for different types of people, which is very important to understand the world the characters live in. The ones that were left out of the film had an important role in Marjis life and helped shape her views on the state of Iran.
I think you did a really good job of explaining the differences between the two forms of Persepolis, being the novel and the film. Not only do you describe specific differences that you noticed, but also told the importance of the differences and how they impacted that form of Persepolis. For example, one thing that I took particular note of was the use of color as you described. The book is in all black and white, but with the film having some color, you can get a different perspective on the story being told. You are able to see and perceive all new aspects that you would not be able to see or have when reading the novel. As well as this, you are also able to get insight on when emotions are changing, or things are flipping in the story. Overall, I think you did a very good job of telling and describing the similarities and differences between the film and book versions of Persepolis and how they affect each form respectively.
Hello! I agree with both the original presentation and you’re commentary on it as well. This was a great presentation of the material in the Persepolis film. I think the film does a great job of maintaining the spirit of the book by including the crux of its themes, while still condensing the content into a timely manner. The change in color also helped me distinguished the different time frames in the movie, which otherwise may have been confusing. Overall, I thought the movie was very interesting and I am very glad we have taken two weeks to work through Persepolis material.
Your blog entry is very intriguing. This reminds me of other novel-based movies that I have read and watched. Some books directly relate to the flow of the movie where other movies seem to be completely separate from the book. Persepolis is a mix of both; at times, the movie is exactly the same as the book, and at other times it leaves chapters out and follows its own flow. I have realized that movies sometimes do this because it makes the movie more interesting and more understandable for a person who had not read the book.
I really enjoyed reading this blog post. Whenever I have read a novel and then watched a movie, I have always been disappointed by how it turns out, but this time, not so much. I also enjoyed this film. The details that were left out as well as added helped the film to develop a sense of drama to the film and also helped the viewer connect more. I really enjoyed this reading as well as this film.
I think it’s interesting seeing how a movie is adapted from a book let alone a graphic novel. There is only so much that you can include in a movie, so it makes sense how the film excluded several characters that were in the graphic novel. I thought it was fascinating how the film emphasized certain themes more than others compared to the graphic novel. Sometimes it is more essential to acknowledge not what is said necessarily but how it is said. It’s important to note that the film is in color where the graphic novel is black and white. This can affect the tone and how the audience can perceive the world presented to them.
I plan on watching the film today and reading this helps me to think about some of these things and take note of what is different and this helps me understand why these differences occur. Especially when referring to the film, and the idea that some things are left out and there is more attention film prioritizing the events and themes in Marji’s life that had the greatest impact on her development really is something that is very valuable in the comic novel, so it will be interesting watching the movie and using these comparisons to look out for!
Nicklaus.24 brings up a great point in that the film allowed for the addition of sound and music. For me, the sound in the film led to a more expressive and engaging story than the comic. Hearing the tone in the characters’ voices helped me understand the overall mood a lot better than the comic. Lastly, the music was a great addition in setting a certain scene or building up suspense.
I think it was great that you noted some of the characters being left out in the movie. One character that I particularly wish was in the movie was the Satrapi’s maid. If she would have been in the movie I think it would have brought to light the power dynamics of social class within traditional Iranian society. I also liked how you made the connection between there being the color in the movie but not in the novel. The use of color brings attention to the scene at the beginning and allows viewers to feel as if Marji has found herself within society.
I agree with Nicklaus.24 and Bradley.638. I think that the film allowed for more sounds and more music to help the viewer experience and understand the story better. When you are able to hear the ton of the characters and see their facial reactions. you get an overall better understanding of what is going on. It sets the scene better than when you just read the story.
I also find that some plots are removed from the movie and it is interesting to learn the reason behind it. Initially, I think it is the time limit of the movie that prevents it from including all the chapters in the book, but your presentation provides a deeper explanation which I think is really helpful. I like your explanation that “while the novel goes into detail and incorporates extensive buildup of climactic dramatization, the film sacrifice this for use of other effects”. Also, I like the use of color in the film which distinguishes time and personal identity.
I agreed with your point that the film allowed the addition of music and sound. I think the audio was a huge part of the film that allowed the audience to understand the moods and tone of each scene that was being shown in the film. How ever there were some details in the book that were left out in the film, but in films you cannot always include every detail without dragging the film on. I thought for the book versus the film it was a really good difference between the two, most movies or films based of a book are not very good in my opinion, but I enjoyed this film.
I really enjoyed watching this film and I think the use of music and hearing them talked helped me enjoy this story a lot more. By having these different features, I think I was able to read into facial expression and understand more of what they were thinking, even when no words were being said. Even though there were some details left out from the book, I think this is pretty normal for film makers. I still think that if you had one person who just read the book and one person who just saw the film, they would feel similarly at the end.
I agree with the point that the book becoming a film itself can push different ideas on a reader that they may have overlooked prior. This can be done by visual elements along with sound and music. The visual element of the film being in black and white tells a viewer that Marji personally isn’t comfortable with her past. The sound and music elements can also show mood and emotion that can sometimes be hard to pull out of text. With the film aspect it does become a little more graphic physically seeing the hardships of Marji’s young life that you imagination may block you out of considering some parts of the reading can be uncomfortable but it must be conveyed properly in order to full understand the plot.
You really highlighted many differences and I would have to agree that I think the novel ends up a better work of art. Leaving out characters and skimming over conflicts that include major character changes doesn’t do the story justice. This is not the type of story you want the watered-down version of.
You did a good job detailing some of the differences between the book and movie and I agree that there were some points which should not have been removed or changed. It’s pretty typical that books are just able to communicate more to the reader and present more situations and character development than movies can. I think one reason that movies are often adapted to be a bit more plot-driven is just because that’s what movie audiences want. I think that there are plenty of instances in which movies wouldn’t be successful and would be thought of as slow or boring if they were the exact same as the book. We have different expectations for the experience of reading than we do for watching a movie. In the long run, it might be a good thing that the movie made some of these changes, otherwise it might not have gotten much attention and then fewer people would have been exposed to such an impactful story.
I like how you explained that the movie left out some pretty significant chapters that were in the book that explains not only the time setting that they were in but also gives an insight in the character development itself. If I remember correctly the movie did not include two pretty important chapters that were in the book; “The Letter” and “The Jewels”. During “The Letter” is about Marji’s father and how he is against the relationship between their maid and there neighbor. The reason he was against this relationship was because he thought relationships between two people from two different social classes was not acceptable. “The Jewels” we saw an encounter between Mali, Mrs. Satrapi and two other women at the grocery store. Mali explains that she would rather lose everything to Iraq than have “her own kind” insult her. This encounter explains the internal conflict between the Iranians even with the shared enemy they are fighting. I also like how you explained the use of color and music that obviously had to differ from the book but how those elements brought on a new element to Persepolis.
I really enjoyed your take on the presentation this week, I defiantly enjoyed the film along with the book but the film did leave out certain details the book covered. The things I enjoyed about the film which you touched on, was the music and sound throughout the film. I feel as though those two elements made the film more enjoyable and very interesting to watch.
I thought it was interesting that you compared the film and the graphic novel with the understanding that both are made for fundamentally different audiences. Too many scorn movies for condensing or oversimplifying the characters and plot of the novel it is portraying on the screen; however, one must understand the limits of film as a storytelling medium. It may take days to read a book, but a movie can be enjoyed in 2 hours or less. Although movies have the advantage of making stories more immersive, they are severely limited by their runtime.
Your post really intrigued me! I like how you mentioned the film excluding certain characters as this is something almost all movie adaptations of books must take (sadly) to fit within time constraints. Another thing I found interesting was how the movie handled creating a relatable character compared to the book. The book made its characters with child-like depictions so that they were relatable where as the movie did so through sympathy for the characters plight and watching them grow throughout.
I totally agree with your comparison and you bring up some excellent idea that I hadn’t figure out such as certain characters are excluded in the film. I totally agree with your point about film guide audience to the process comparison and connections to the character. This is the main point about differences between film and graphic novel. Although graphic novel has already been posed as comics, Movies still do a better job of bringing emotions into play.
I always prefer watching movies over reading a book, but movies tend to leave out details. You brought up good contrasting points when comparing the movie and graphic novel. But I think that the scenes that were included in the book but excluded in the movie, were not considered as of importance, because it didn’t change the whole storyline or missed other details like the expressions and feelings being portrayed in each scene.
This blog post was a lot of fun to read. I’ve always been saddened by how a book turns out when I’ve read it and then had it adapted into a film, but not this time. This movie was also enjoyable for me. The specifics that were left out and those inserted helped the film created a sense of drama and allowed the audience to bond further. I thoroughly enjoyed both the reading and the movie.
I think you did good on breaking down the differences of the film and book. Movies to tend to leave out important details and can make a reader of the original novel upset to see pieces of the book gone. The details that were left out in this case were not a huge deal and did not effect the overall story telling of the movie, the overall message still comes through very well.
There’s a big difference between movies and books, and you’ve done a good job of expressing their strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I prefer reading novels because they give me more space for thinking and imagination.
This blog is very interesting and for my point of view I prefer the feel of the movie. Although some people may think the film is not clear enough, I think the most important part of the story is presented through drama, which I like very much. And movies can also make people think, some small details and character dialogue are thought.
I think that your post did a really great job at not only explaining the differences between the movie and graphic novel, but how the differences could impact the audience. I really liked that you included how the audience could interpret different things based on watching the film or reading the graphic novel. I also think that the comparison between the two can give the audience the choice to which they might prefer because if they wanted to interpret more of the context themselves they would usually choose the graphic novel over the movie.
From your blog, I see the difference between the presentation of book and movie. The book incorporates more details in the protagonist’s personal growth, while the movie combines more elements in telling the different stages of Marji’s growth in a flow. Both book and movie provides different effects to audiences.
In my opinion, I prefer watching movie instead of book. Movie could give me more details by performance of character. These expressions of emotion and conversation will catch viewers eyes. On the other hand, movie can emphasis some important scenes that affect her identity. Director could use music and photography technique to tell story.
I like your analysis on comparing the focus of the book and film and element design. Because the length of two forms of Persepolis are different, books can comprehensively describe every tiny detail to emphasize things the author want to state and helps readers to have immersive reading experience. However, movies need to pick up the essential part from the novel and emphasized the main theme indicating in the book to audience. The time length determines the element design. I prefer reading books because I can detect the emotion from the background of picture, from style of drawing and interpret in different ways. Comparatively, the opportunity for imagination when watching films is restricted to some extent.