Iran and the Western World
Throughout both Persepolis and Reading Lolita in Tehran, both women try to escape the Iranian repression that they are feeling. Marji wants to change her appearance and become a punk rock girl, and Azar choses different books, mostly American authors, for her and the seven students to read. Both though, remained true to their countries as best that they could, even though they were in disagreement with the regime in power. In Persepolis, Marji and her father praise Iran and are extremely patriotic towards their country when they go to war and are dropping bombs on Baghdad, Marji says "I was all wrong about Dad, he loved his country as much as I did." In Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar says, "I left Iran, but Iran did not leave me." These woman have pride in their country, they are proud to say where they hail from and how it has shaped them. Why then is there such a heavy presence on Western society in the worlds that they live? This Western influence is not one that is pressed on them either, but one that they choose. Reading through the books, its clear that Marji's want to be a punk rock girl and to be rebellious and listen to different music, and Azar reading Western books and gathering with her students to discuses them, isn't about changing who they are, or not being proud of where they come from. It is about the prospect of freedom, and having the freedom to be who they want to be, when they want to be that. I think that one thing that Western society, especially American culture pushes is that we are free. To read books, and listen to music and wear denim jackets, this isn't something we do out of rebellion. What we do to rebel, is protest things we don't like that the government is doing, just as they do. But they protest and face police in riot gear for their rights to be like Western society, not to be Western society. They simply want the choice that Western society has, to not have to veil themselves, or to do that if they so wish. The push of Western society in these two books for me is a way to express the freedom that they are searching for, not necessarily the want to be a part of Western society. Its just something that I noticed and something that was briefly brought up in class, what do you guys think?
I agree. The quote you chose, "I left Iran, but Iran did not leave me," seems like the ideal way of wording the beliefs of both writers. After reading some interviews that Marjane Satrapi has had, she is very intent on identifying herself as an Iranian. While she may speak with a french accent she comes across as a firm believer of the above quote. Her youthful attraction to western culture does seem purely to be out of a desire to have the freedom to make decisions. She rebels against oppression because it is in her nature, her interest in western culture stems directly from it.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree; you make a very important observation of the mindset of both Marji and Azar during their stories. Both of them are filled with internal conflict as they try to reconcile their love of Iran with their more Western-Ideologies. But you're right when you say they aren't doing it to rebel and that it's the government that's identifying them as "rebels"; they just don't share the same views as those in power, and are being pressed out of their homeland because of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. Marji is very much Iranian at heart even to the point where she wants to restore some old Persian customs into her ideal world. Her conflict with veil wearing is more about being given the right to choose to do at opposed to been threatened to it. These women desire for the "west" is to simply a chance at freedom
ReplyDeleteMarji is looking for freedom in her life and the choices she makes do not seem to have a huge impact on her until she realizes the consequences. She goes to protest with the maid just to be out there and is punished when she gets home and realizes that many protesters were killed that day. Later she dresses in her American clothing without thinking about the possible repercussions and ends up almost in jail. Those choices start to help her understand and only in the end did I feel that she knew what freedom was.
ReplyDeleteAddressing Persepolis, it is hard to say what Marji really wants. I think in the earlier parts of the graphic memoir, she did still want to be Iranian, just free as well. But towards the end, I think she truly writes off her own nation through her obsession with all things American. By listening to Kim Wilde's "We're the Kids in America", Marji is sort of cleansing herself of her own heritage; she is wholly pretending to be American.
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