Persepolis

History and Identity

• The opening of the film hints to the major theme of the film– The intertwined nature of History and Identity

• How is this represented visually in the film?

A quick scene deconstruction

What is established in this scene?

• How is Marjane’s character introduced?• What is she trying to do?• What does the film show us?

What is established in this scene?

• A binary is introduced– Marjane’s two identities: one with the veil and

one without the veil– Marjane is compared to the French woman in the

two-shot

What is established in this scene?

• Identity is questioned– The mirror is used to reflect Marjane’s “veiled”

identity back to her (and the audience)– When asked for a passport, she is being tested on

her identity– This is a test that she cannot pass; putting on the

veil is not enough

What is established in this scene?

• Marjane is caught between cultures– She cannot return home to Iran– She is “Othered” in France

• But why is she caught between cultures?– This short scene gives us a lot of information,

preparing us to explore how she has ended up without an identity that she can claim as her own

Mediated History

• Mediated History is a theme that has been important to the last few films we have seen

• In Redacted, every scene is shown through a lens that the audience is able to contextualize– We are meant to notice the fact that we are

voyeurs to a horrible experience

Mediated History

• Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir are mediated by the very fact that they are animated films

• While both films are composed traditionally, they are also unapologetic with the fact that they are not bound by the rules of reality

Marjane’s reaction to Markus’ Writing

Mediated History

• Persepolis narratively mediates history through memory– We experience history through Marjane’s personal

narrative– This mediation distances us and allows us to

consider the broader context of history, yet it also privileges Marjane’s personal narrative and allows her story to be relatable

– The film is much an artefact of history as it is an autobiography

Mediated History

• Mediated history is also seen in the structure of the narrative– The framing device of Marjane trying to fly to

Tehran is not in the graphic novel– It serves as a reminder that we are reliving

Marjane’s history – We are being told how the history of Iran has

shaped Marjane’s identity and lead to her living in France

Mediated History

• Finally, the film mediates history visually– The use of colour and the type of animation• Black and white, Shadow puppet theatre

– Each depict a layer of history and memory• Black and white representing Marjane’s personal

historical narrative• Shadow puppet theatre (and other forms of stylization)

representing Iran’s historical narrative

Mediated History

Who is Marjane?

• How does the film connect history and identity?

• Marjane and Iran “grow up” together– Both are in transition throughout the film– Majane is unable to cope with a new Iran, just as

Iranian society is unable to cope with a mature Marjane

• Some examples...

Marjane’s first of many acts of rebellion against the oppressive structures of Iran

Marjane going through puberty as war rages in Iran

Marjane compromises her beliefs by entering a loveless marriage

The “Iran of today” and the Marjane of today cannot coexist

Living on the Margin

• Marjane’s Identity is defined by Iran’s history, but she is only defined by what she is not and exists only in the margins

• She is not Iranian; she fails at her attempt to reintegrate into Iranian society and ultimately lives in exile

• She is not European; despite sharing cultural values with her European peers, she is always Othered by being racially different

Living on the Margin

Living on the Margin

Living on the Margin

• Marjane’s hybridized identity leads her to be homeless– Literally, when she lives on the streets after being

kicked out of her home– Figuratively, when she is unable to live in Iran and

is forced into exile

Living on the Margin

Living on the Margin

Living on the Margin

• The ending returns to the imagery of the beginning– The driver looks at Marjane in the mirror, but

Marjane herself does not appear in the mirror– By living on the margin, Marjane is rendered

invisible, neither Iranian or French– She comes from Iran but is driven off into Paris,

her fate is always to be in transition, never really at home

Feminism in Persepolis

• Despite the fact that history is defined by men, including Marjane’s grandfather and uncle, the moral center of the narrative lies with Marjane’s grandmother and mother– Both insist that she does not compromise her own

identity in order to assimilate into either Iranian or Austrian culture

• And of course, ultimately Persepolis is Marjane’s story

Conclusions

• Persepolis is a film that considers how history can shape identity

• Marjane is indelibly linked to Iran, but this link is highly problematic

• As such, Marjane’s experiences are mediated to remind us of the distance between her present self and her past

• Her identity on the margins is as mediated as the film itself; just as the film puts us at a distance, she is distanced from her own identity