Persepolis

Melanie McAllister's Epic Encounters focuses on representations of the Middle East in forming the U.S. national identity. When thinking about what contributed to my own conceptions of the Middle East I couldn't stop thinking about Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2. Although these books, and later a movie, were written in French and not necessarily intended for an American audience, the works were later translated into English and have considerably influenced both my conception of educated Iranian women as well as own definition of nationality. Satrapi is a smart, funny, independent woman with a fierce loyalty her Iranian identity. The way she situated the milestones of her personal life within a larger Iranian history reminded me of the way I identify with political happenings in the U.S. Satrapi’s personal life cannot be separated from the political events of her nation, but she tells the history of Iran through a very particular lens. She does not separate the public and the private spheres in the problematic ways that McAllister discusses.

Both the graphic novels and the animated movie are drawn in a bold black and white style that is immediately engaging. The author’s humor and vulnerability are easy to relate to, and the casualness in the author’s voice makes the reader comfortable even when learning about a completely foreign situation. I think Satrapi uses the medium of the graphic novel extremely well in telling a serious and often tragic history. In class we often talk about the problematic ways in which pop culture presents history, but Persepolis is a great example of how a history can be individualized, entertaining, and still informative. Satrapi is telling her own story, not speaking for a large group of people, but her novels do present a Middle Eastern viewpoint that is not always available to a Western audience.