Persepolis is written by Marjane Satrapi’s and tells of experiences growing up in Iran in the 1980’s. As a young girl growing up through what was known as the Khomeini decade, Satrapi faced and witnessed many hardships, and this was a particularly hard time for women of Iran. In an interview Satrapi talks of how important it was to make Persepolis because of the image and story that is told of Iran and how most people would think of extremist terrorist groups. She doesn’t deny their existence, but she knows that’s not the only story to be told of Iran. This may sound familiar as we have learned of the issue of The Danger of a Single Story from Adiche the first week of this semester.
An affordance described by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used.” An affordance of Persepolis is the graphics of the novel. The graphics allowed for readers to better visualize the scene and furthermore the importance of her story. A common theme I saw throughout the novel and a lot of you seemed to agree in your discussion posts is how you could see the graphics tone change in different scenes of the story, especially in scenes of violence, while still be completely black and white. Satrapi’s graphic style of choice was very intentional because she wanted as many people to understand and maybe even relate to the novel as possible.
The novel even tells of the hardships of generations before her had faced such as her grandfather and the actions her parents took to fight back. Satrapi also was not one to give into the power that was trying to control her even by considering herself to one day be a prophet. I personally found the novel to be very powerful and I enjoyed hearing the narrative of someone who experienced it firsthand and it is not the typical story you hear of Iran. What did you guys think?
“Affordance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affordance. Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.
Vermeeren, Susanne. “Persepolis: An Autobiographical Graphic Novel”. Diggit Magazine, 2021, https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/persepolis.
I also really enjoyed reading the novel. I appreciate that we were asked to read the novel telling a story of a woman living through this time, rather than something that read more like a history book of what was going on. I learned a lot from the novel and was able to see and learn through her images although being only in black in white! Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your post. I appreciate the definition you included because I was not sure what affordance actually meant. I really liked how the novel remained in black and white, but yet we were still able to truly feel her tone when it came to certain sections. I liked that she told her story and we later connected it to history in later context presentations. It made it much more informational.
I know that I, like many people, had an image of Iran that is very narrow. Persepolis definitely expanded that view for me. I found myself relating with certain things that Marji went through growing up (she is a still just a girl who is maturing and growing and learning!), and I also found myself feeling a lot of empathy for her the other Iranians around her during the serious parts.
As in the novel, I continued to really enjoy the graphics with the movie, and in fact I think I liked them better. I think there was a better flow when it’s put together and read for you, versus you having to scan the page and read and then look like in the graphic novel. I felt the emotions and transitions were even stronger. The addition of music was also really impactful for how the movie made me feel, and I think a lot of people can probably relate to that.
Thanks for the great information!
Hi! I enjoyed reading your presentation! I like how you put emphasis on how this time was a hard time for woman specifically and how you brought up the single story theme where there are several stories meant to convey the truth of Iran. I enjoyed how you used a real life example from the dictionary to help the reader understand the stories efforts. I also think it is important to hear it from someone who experienced it firsthand as this allows for the truth to be exposed.
Hi!
Very interesting presentation. I agree with you, it is very powerful to hear the narrative of someone who actually experienced it firsthand. It gives the reader a better perspective and understanding of the story. I learned a lot from this novel and movie.