Persepolis begins in the days immediately following the Iranian Revolution of 1978–1979. The throne of Iran was taken over by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1941. He initiated the White Revolution, which was a regime of radical modernization. His monarchy led to rapid urbanization and westernization under an oppressive one-party regime, and sparked concerns over democracy and human rights. The program was economically successful, but the advantages were not distributed evenly, creating several problems in Iran. He and his government were accused of denying political opposition, hoarding oil exports revenues, and pushing Wester technology, concepts, and ideals to be accepted by the people. This monarchy left many citizens angry and feeling powerless.
The Iranian revolution began in January 1978 when a newspaper report about Islamic scholar Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–89) incited students in a religious school in Tehran(the capital of Iran) (Afray). Khomeini criticized and opposed the government led by Pahlavi, sparking a period of protests, repression, violence, and mourning among thousands of Iranians. Security forces fired on a large rally in Tehran’s Jaleh Square the morning after the Shah(the title of the monarch of Iran) proclaimed martial law. At least 100 were killed and the incident was referred to as “Black Friday” (Maloney). As Pahlavi fought back, protesters were killed by the regime’s soldiers, who were then considered as martyrs, or people who died for their religion.
After all of the protests, the Shah fled and the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Rena Pahlavi was replaced with a theocracy led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in February of 1979. Khomeini quickly applied strict religious beliefs in power. Because of the stringent rules and a constant fear of the religious law-enforcement patrols, we see how the main character Persepolis, Marjane, feels restricted living in Iran’s Islamic religious Republic. Iranian women were required to wear the veil, and Western music and alcohol were banned (Afray). Khomeini became Iran’s political and religious authority for the next 10 years and the story of Persepolis describes the life of a girl going through these drastic changes in her childhood life.
Works Cited
Afary, Janet. “Iranian Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Jan. 2021, www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution.
Maloney, Suzanne, and Keian Razipour. “The Iranian Revolution-A Timeline of Events.” Brookings, Brookings, 7 Feb. 2019, www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/01/24/the-iranian-revolution-a-timeline-of-events/.
(these links are really helpful, especially the timeline of events that took place during the book of Persepolis >> https://libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/onebook/obop10/docs/Persepolis_timeline.pdf )
I think you did a great job in summarizing the events surrounding the setting of Persepolis and the onslaught of the Iranian Revolution. Having just started reading Persepolis, reading through your summary of the events, I feel, is a great foundation from which to frame one’s reading with. The rapid change of culture in Iran from the oppressive regime of the Shah Reza to the religiously radical theocracy led by the Ayatollah just goes to show the danger of being too extreme in the leadership of others. When Persepolis starts out, the reader is led to support the revolutionaries’ goal of overthrowing the Shah in favor of an Islamic Republic. As soon as the Shah is ousted, however, the negative effects of a fanatical theocracy begin to become apparent as the freed politcal prisoners are picked off one by one. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. By saying this, I certainly am not advocating to reverting to the Shah’s oppressive ways. I am simply pointing outthat full radical support of an opposing view is a dangerous maneuver in a battle for human rights.
I really enjoyed the information you shared on the history of the Iranian Revolution, I found it very helpful in understanding more of the context of Persepolis. As I am approaching the end of the novel, I have been able to comprehend the current events that she described and depicted, but the historical background you provided definitely opened my mind more to what else Satrapi experienced during her childhood. It makes sense that with all of these traumatic experiences and injustice she’s witnessed, she is trying to regain social equality for herself and for others.
Ytien Pham I defiantly agree with your comments and also did enjoy the history shared in this presentation, I believe understanding the current events expressed throughout the novel, you can more clearly understand what was taking place in the life and also in those cultural experiences. Not only seeing the cultural side of things but also the injustices that took placed or was witnessed, having race or gender equality was something she was fighting for and also for many others.
I think it’s important to know what is happening politically in Iran as this can affect many aspects of the citizens’ lives. I think socially, life in Iran can be very different from other cultures and countries. It is important to understand socially what is and isn’t acceptable to better understand the characters in Persepolis. It’s essential to have a good idea of how life is for women and how they were treated within society. Something I learned from this Context presentation was that western music was banned. I didn’t know this, but based on my prior knowledge it isn’t shocking to me.
The political background happened in Iran is important to know before reading Persepolis. We can see how a girl changed through all these threats and danger. Since we live in a peaceful country, it is hard for us to think of how Iranian citizens’ situation. By reading the presentation, I can see how hard the Iranian are living with and how bad women were treated in the society. You provide me a wider look towards Iran and give a deeper thoughts about Marji’s life and how she suffered from these unfair treatment.