Persepolis Dumbs Down Iran, Reveals Even Less
NAM, Commentary, Behrouz Saba, Posted: Sep 12, 2007
Marjane Satrapi, the writer of Persepolis, the best-selling two-volume autobiographical graphic novel about growing up under Iran’s Islamic regime is a media darling in the West. But she doesn’t deserve it, says New America Media contributor Behrouz Saba, a Los Angeles-based writer and a native of Iran, earned a Ph.D. in film history and criticism from the University of Southern California.
Marjane Satrapi is hotter than a triangle of Iranian sangak bread fresh out of the oven. Persepolis, an animated feature based on her best-selling two-volume autobiographical graphic novel about growing up under Iran’s Islamic regime, is to close the New York Film Festival in October.
The film, co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud, has already won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Yet a dispassionate evaluation makes it clear that it is not her accomplished artistry, which is winning her such accolades--as she is manifestly bereft of it. It is the patronizing political correctness of offering the spotlight to an Iranian woman who has taken on the ayatollahs, albeit from the safe distance of Paris where she resides.
Her "graphic novels" are of a barely passable dexterity, with the blandest writing this side of Scooby-Doo. "And so to protect women from all the potential rapists, they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory," an exceptionally piquant passage reads. It is not that she is using a "minimalist style" in language and drawing for its directness; a lack of nuance in thought along with nearly childish artistic execution make it clear that she is incapable of anything more ambitious.
Her books bring Islam, Iran and the condition of women in that country down to her own level of understanding, which is that of an over-privileged young woman who found the Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq as impediments to the full enjoyment of her family vacation in Italy and Spain. Her outlook dumbs down one of the most complex issues of our time in a world where reading is increasingly anathema and illiteracy no longer an impediment to authorship. Consumers, having perused her comic books, can think they understand Iran.
There is also the appeal of a poor little rich girl running to a benevolent West from the big, bad, bearded ayatollahs. All that is missing is Olive Oyl’s "Help, Popeye, help!" as she runs away from a fundamentalist Bluto, even though E.C. Segar as Popeye’s creator runs circles around Satrapi.
Satrapi, fine-tuning her product for every country in the world but Iran, doesn’t have to bother with Farsi as the native language of her characters. The French version of the film includes such authentic Iranian voices as those of Chiara Mastroianni and her mother, Catherine Deneuve. The English version is to feature equally authentic Iranian voices of Gena Rowlands, Iggy Pop and the renowned Iranologist Sean Penn.
Far more immune to criticism than Satrapi should be Change for Equality, a burgeoning women’s solidarity movement in Iran, which is campaigning to abolish gender disparity by gathering a million signatures for its cause. Instead of sashaying along the red carpet like the artiste, the women of Change for Equality are busy petitioning and pamphleteering aboard Tehran’s metro cars. The regime has found them of sufficient threat to hand down suspended prison sentences to two activists. Such grassroots movements, which cannot be accused of having Western support, present the best hope for a genuine civil society in Iran.
Ill-conceived comic books, on the other hand, are not going to reveal the true Iran to the world or even to Iranians themselves.
Middle East
Page
1 of 1
|
User Comments
PounamuKnight on Oct 11, 2007 at 01:16:32 said:
PERSEPOLIS is definately not up there with WATCHMEN, A CONTRACT WITH GOD, BLANKETS, and THE INVISIBLES, but it's enjoyable. Then forgotten.
Even if it does have a bitter tinge, I'll remember this review more than PERSEPOLIS though! Exhilerating to read a review that hasn't fawned all over this passable G-novel. Heh!
Carlo on Sep 24, 2007 at 00:47:43 said:
I also enjoyed Persepolis.
It's not really a masterpiece, but as a coming-of-age-in-Ayatollahland book, it's interesting and sometimes moving.
By the way, I also liked "Maus". In fact, Maus is, in my view, much better.
Carlo
Behrouz Saba on Sep 15, 2007 at 20:12:47 said:
I would like to thank those of you who read my piece and responded so thoughtfully. If you search my name on this website, you will see that in some of my previous pieces I have written glowingly of Iranian authors and filmmakers. Yet I think, when called for, I can be far more useful as a dissenter.
There is something that deeply bothers me about the “genre” of “graphic novels” when they deal with vital issues. I was given by a dear friend of mine Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” when it first came out. It is arguably a pioneering work as it uses the comic book format to tell a dead serious and true story, in this case of surviving Nazi Germany. Yet even as “Maus” was generating a huge buzz and rave reviews, I found it distasteful to read. Something about it hugely bothered me. I didn’t finish it and as I just checked in my library, I no longer own it. (I have thrown away so very few books in my life.)
For the past few years, however, I have been reading and re-reading Victor Klemperer’s “I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years” as well as his “The Lesser Evil.” The three hefty volumes span from 1933 to 1959 to tell the story of Klemperer as a Jewish professor of Romance languages in Dresden. Similar to millions of other Jews in Germany, he was stripped of his post and possessions, yet he survived Hitler (chiefly because of Eva, his fiercely loyal, “full-blooded Aryan” wife) to regain his former life under the communist rule in East Germany.
He wrote his diaries every day, not knowing what was in store for him next and never thinking of seeing them published in their raw state. (During the war years he would have been executed immediately had the Gestapo found even a page of his writing during brutal house searches.) Yet it is this rawness that is responsible for the diary’s majesty. He depicts himself with all of his fears and courage, makes vivid notes of every cruelty he endured and every kindness he was shown as a Jew, and offers snippets of gallows humor that have me roaring with laughter no matter how many times I read them. One critic said of the work that so far we have seen World War II in black and white, with Klemperer’s detailed observations we see it in color.
I firmly believe that reducing this richness to a comic book, no matter how well-intentioned, is to create a work which is intellectually stunted and emotionally flat. What I think is true of “Maus” and Spiegelman I also think is true of “Persepolis” and Satrapi. (I am not really a fan of anything that is pared down for children or young adults. “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Robinson Crusoe” and “Gulliver’s Travels” endure as they articulate a wild complexity which children often keep to themselves.)
What grieves me the most is that the Iranian revolution has Satrapi but it will never have its Klemperer. For that reason, among many others, Iran is destined for yet another round of recrimination and bloodshed in the name of freedom and democracy. Texture, nuance, detail, depth, literacy and clarity are so very important to learning from our colossal follies of the past.
A note to my astute critic and First Amendment defender, Lucine Kasbarian: I attended Cal State Fresno between 1969 and 1973 where I met and befriended numerous Armenian students. One of them invited me to write and produce with him a documentary about the genocide of Armenians by the Turks. Impoverished students both, we gathered photographs of the atrocities from survivors in Fresno’s sizeable Armenian community and made a film with little material resources of our own when digital camcorders and scanners weren’t even fantasies. On a memorable night our work was aired on the CBS-affiliate televison station in Fresno to attract favorable response from the Armenian press nationwide. I am glad that at the time graphic novels weren’t so worshiped to inspire us otherwise. Comic books, similar to the best of B-movies, are meaningful and effective precisely because they don’t pretend to serve a “higher purpose.” “Maus” and “Persepolis,” regrettably, start with that pretension.
Lucine Kasbarian on Sep 14, 2007 at 15:01:42 said:
"Free speech" means being able to speak freely without censorship. It gives us the freedom to publicly comment upon endeavors, policies and the like -- be they outstanding or objectionable. Free speech is crucial in any democracy, and among other things, helps to hold people (be they politicians or layfolk) accountable via open dialogue and criticism. My thanks to New America Media for giving Mr. Behrouz Saba voice to express his views about Persepolis, and for giving readers, including yours truly, the opportunity to respond (my prior comments appear elsewhere in this post). Three cheers for the free press!
Daniel Schaffer on Sep 13, 2007 at 13:03:17 said:
I loved Persepolis, and I was sorry when it ended. It was so great learning about Iran from the point of view of a girl growing up there. It had a perfect combination of story and adventure and humor mixed with history and current information about Iran. We USers know so little about the world's people- what a perfect way to inform us, by pulling us in with an entertaining story. Thank you, Marjane Satrapi! ...I would be careful about not publically attacking an artist's work, especially when it so passionately speaks to the liberation of your own people. I would be even more careful about not attacking an Iranian during the current political climate in the US! And even more careful when it comes to an Iranian woman who has spoken out about the conditions of sexism. Let us all remember to respect each other, and to wholeheartedly support any Iranian voice!
Lindsey Ellis on Sep 13, 2007 at 07:21:01 said:
I doubt that anyone would claim to understand Iran, or any country or issue for that matter, after reading a single or series of books from one author. But that is not the goal of Persepolis, now is it? And it seems silly to have to point out that comics are appealing exactly because of their "childish artistic execution." And that the story is about the experiences and thoughts of a child.
As a student of Middle East Studies, Persepolis presented to me a welcome and refreshing perspective of Iran that is often lost among the politics and discussion of what is considered to be the more important matters. And yes, she is a bit "westernized", but she never for a second hides that fact.
Furthermore, I work for an NGO that is active in the One Million Signatures Campaign, a goal of which is to build awareness, network, and give a voice to those women who often don't have one. It seems to me that Marjane Satrapi is accomplishing that goal as well.
The fact that Americans are playing the roles of Iranians further emphasizes the point that this book has built bridges. Last time I checked, Iranian-American bridges were scarce. Kudos to Marjane Satrapi!
Sandy Rip. on Sep 12, 2007 at 18:23:40 said:
the piece basically says because she lives at the safe distance of
paris she cant really write about whats going on in iran. same logic
could apply to mr. behrouz writing his criticism from the safety of california.
on the other hand its ridiculous to compare a graphic novel memoir to
a women's solidarity movement in iran in terms of impact,
righteousness. they have entirely different aims.
actually i thought the first book was quite funny in a dark way. but
what the hell does he mean by "passable dexterity?" its a style she has
and its pretty good, really. i mean by that token south park or king
of the hill would be passable dexterity.
Jimmy brake on Sep 12, 2007 at 17:16:24 said:
test -- please delete
Lucine Kasbarian on Sep 12, 2007 at 14:34:32 said:
Satrapi's Persepolis is, in this ethnic writer and cartoonist's opinion, just what a autobiographical graphic novel should be: an coming-of-age-yarn that is entertaining, informative, educational, visually stimulating, and tightly presented. While Satrapi's work may not be scholarly, it succeeds in introducing readers -- young and old -- to an (albeit privileged) life lived during the Iranian Revolution. Though Persepolis may only scratch the surface for some tastes, it winningly whets many an appetite for those whom I assure you have already ventured beyond Persepolis to further acquaint themselves with Iranian history & politics, religious and cultural styles & attitudes, class struggles, et al.
Satrapi Fan on Sep 12, 2007 at 12:48:13 said:
I found Satrapi\'s graphic novels to be interesting, nuanced and exciting. I\'m not sure how well-versed the commentator is on the genre, but I found his nit-picking on Satrapi\'s work to show his own prejudices.
-->