Satrapi's Persepolis: The Islamic Revolution

“To become self-aware, people must be allowed to hear a plurality of opinions and then make up their own minds. They must be allowed to say, write and publish whatever they want. Freedom of expression is the most basic, but fundamental, right. Without it, human beings are reduced to automatons” (Ma Jian). The Islamic Revolution in Iran has affected the country for decades making it a completely different place to live. Before western items and style were encouraged, now they are forbidden. The stark contrast between the Shah and the Ayatollah is shown through her childhood and how she was forced to change the way she lived. Under the Ayatollah life became radically different and even dangerous for Satrapi that her parents sent her to Vienna.
In her graphic memoir Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi provides insight on captivity, freedom and defying the rules through her life experiences. Through these insights Satrapi comes to the conclusion that the government should allow people to have self expression and be able to form their own political views. In Persepolis, Satrapi’s inclusion of the mandatory wearing of the veil represents how she believes the Islamic Revolution should not have changed how people view women in Iran.
In the beginning of the Satrapi introduces the idea of the veil as she calls it. From the first panel Satrapi’s inclusion of her distastes for the veil is evident as she has a frown on her face. Satrapi also includes protests of the veil, and depicts how her own mother has shaped her opinion of the veil. In 1980, one year after the Islamic Revolution they in put new laws that reflected the teachings of Islam. Because of the way government officials interpreted the Quran, it was now mandatory to wear the hijab. As Satrapi describes her and her fellow classmates did not understand or wanted to wear it, “Then came 1980: The year we had to wear the veil at school. We didn’t really like wearing the veil at school, especially, since we didn’t understand why we had to” (Satrapi 3). Satrapi includes the repetition of “we didn’t” this implies that not only Satrapi disliked the veil, but the girls at the school as a whole. She does this to set the precedent that she will always dislike the veil. This is also a primary source from Satrapi herself giving it credibility. This was a way for the government to restrict the women and girls in Iran. They used a strict interpretation of the Quran as an excuse to limit and undermine women. Since Satrapi never liked the rules set by her government she found different ways to defy it. One of these ways was wearing the veil “wrong” she would let a few strands of hair show..By doing this she did not conform to the standards set by the new government. As she states later on in her graphic memoir, “Your opposition to the regime by letting a few strands of hair show” (Satrapi 75). Satrapi includes words such as “opposition” to show her resistance to the law. She also includes “regime” because it prompts the idea of an authoritarian government. Authoritarian
government restricts the rights of the people. Usually these governments limit freedom of speech or expression so it is not a surprise when protesters are met by the police. She utilizes the word “ few strands” to justify how a woman’s hair on her head was considered provocative and therefore illegal. By wearing her veil “wrong” she does not conform to the rules even after she is told to later on in the graphic novel. Through her life experiences the reader can clearly see how women are treated in Iran, and how some of them defy the rules. Satrapi’s insertion of the ban on parties and luxury items is just one of the many ways the revolution has changed Iran. After the Islamic Revolution symbols of decadence were prohibited this included parties, wine, games and western items. Nonetheless, Satrapi loved to listen to Iron Maiden and other western artists at the time, but since the tapes are banned she has to go to the black market to get her music, “For a year now, the food shortage had been resolved by the growth of the black market. However finding the tapes was a little more complicated. On Gandhi Avenue you could find them sometimes. I bought two tapes: Kim Wilde and Camel” (Satrapi 132). Through her music choices she's advocating for the ability to make personal lifestyle choices and the freedom of expression because the government does not give her the choice. She includes “black market” to introduce the idea that her family are not the only people who opposes the new regime. Satrapi’s inclusion of “Gandhi Avenue” is interesting for the the reason that Mahatma Gandhi was a civil rights leader who fought for the freedom of India from the British. Gandhi put an emphasis on freedom of expression this stands in contrast to the new regime who oppresses these freedoms. Kim Wilde and Camel were not the only music she listened to he listened to Iron Maiden which is classified as punk rock. Punk rock is more of an idea and a style that emerged in the middle of the 1970s, and was all about going against the mainstream music and style of the time. Satrapi’s mainstream media at the time was pro-islam and very conservative while she was communist and avant-garde. Satrapi inclusion of her buying the tapes embodies the ideology behind punk rock because she is going against the government like Punk Rock goes against mainstream music and fashion. Satrapi emphasizes on the importance of freedom through her buying of the tapes and the genre of music she listens to. Satrapi emphasizes the importance of freedom of expression in Persepolis. Satrapi uses her life as an example to reveal the source of oppression in Iran. As the graphic memoir develops the audience is allowed to come to the conclusion that Islam is not the source, but the government who twists it to stay in power. Under the new government people are told that woman’s hair is the reason men rape women, and so women are forced to wear the chador whether they want to or not. As Iran and Iraq are engaged in conflict they tell boys as young as thirteen that keys will get them into heaven. They sent them off to war taking away their childhood and innocence stripping away the freedom going to war or not. The education system was changed in order to follow Islam, and stopped for two years. This denied people the right to an education that was open minded and separated from the bias of religion. All of these are ways the government stifles the freedoms of the people to stay in power. The people finds way to circumvent and go around the rules like wearing the veil “wrong” or buying western items. Satrapi’s message is still relevant today because Iran’s government is the same as it was in the 1980s. Comparing Satrapi’s childhood and today the audience is able to see the lasting effects of a leader who is close minded and leads with a bias.