Review of Persepolis (Morasa S.)

It is often difficult to capture the same level of emotion a novel provides to a reader through a film version of the novel. The film version of Marjane Satrapi’s, Persepolis surprisingly captures the same heart-felt emotions by her audience by being consistent with the book. The use of the comic-strip style cartoons in the movie stayed true to the originality of Marjane Satrapi’s overwhelming and raw memoir that is presented in the form of a graphic novel. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections, which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale.  The story is of Marjane growing up in the 1980s during the revolutionary war in Iran and her struggles as a rebel and standing up for her beliefs without hesitation, even when knowing the consequences of her actions.

The animated film lacks humorous monsters or talking animals, which take away from the typical comedy most animated films, have. Instead, Persepolis uses simple cartoon figures and applies genuine human emotion to them. The use of black and white in the film also heightened the intent of the film by giving it an edgier feel. Some of the more serious and graphic scenes allowed the audience to not be distracted by a cast of human characters or bold colors, which would add a sense of innocence to the film.            

The film successfully used human element with an important backdrop of history and universal social commentary, which was carried out in animation. It demonstrated Satrapi’s struggle with those around her through several techniques. One of the techniques that made the movie appealing in respects to the novel was the pacing of the scenes. During scenes that were relevant to Satrapi’s life were paced slowly with the characters moving in slow motion. To positively contrast with the speed of the scenes, differing shades of black and white highlighted Satrapi’s emotions when dialogue was not present. These techniques amplify a disillusioned and spirited woman who becomes content after becoming true to herself.

Although the film was put together with all of the elements connecting, it was upsetting to see an important scene from the novel not present in the film. The part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Persepolis Book vs. Movie

After reading Persepolis, I was very impressed with the graphic novel. I admired the author's successful attempt at showing the dilemma's of  a young woman throughout her life concerned with remembering the past during the Iran-Iraq war. It showed this through the main character, Satrapi's relationships and experiences growing up. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale. 

Prior to watching the film version of Persepolis, I anticipated a film that was not going to live up to the potential of the novel, like most films. However, I was impressed with the fact that the film was done in a comic-strip style which were reflected by the flat black and white hand drawn animations. The film continues to show Satrapi's struggle with identity during her teen yeas, loneliness, and homelessness. Nevertheless, a part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film. 

One apparent differences I found between the novel and the film was that the brisk pace of the film failed to capture the despair of Satrapi in the scenes. As McCloud mentions, comics allow for the reader to allow time to pass while reading and also gives them time to go back. 

RA Interview .... and the weather

       I had signed up to become an RA for the fall and spring semesters of 09-10. I was really nervous during the application process, wondering if I would even be given a chance at an interview. At the same time, I was also worried about whether or not I would receive on-campus housing after applying for it. Luckily, I was able to receive on-campus housing and I even got an interview to become an RA. Unfortunately, the RA interview is this weekend, which follows up a week of endless exams and homework assignments that seemed to build up so suddenly. I'm at least hoping that the weather goes nicely this week to make everything else just a little less stressful.  I think I might have winter depression because the cold air always seems to get to me. 

Chapter 1 Graff Exercise 1 & Template Practice

Exercise 1

A. Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

In the Ohio groundwater, scientists proclaim that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X.
B. My own view is that this novel has certain flaws.
Many readers believe that this novel has certain flaws.
C. Football is so boring.
Some Americans find football to be boring.
D. Male students often dominate class discussions.
Scientific statistics show that male students often dominate in class discussions.
E. In my view the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships.
Film critics say that the film relates to the problems of romantic relationships. 
F. I’m afraid that templates like the ones in this book will stifle my creativity.

Writers worry that templates like the ones suggested in this book will stifle their creativity in writing.

Templates Using Eisner/McCloud

It is a common belief that comics are largely appealing to males. I have never personally been engaged in a series of comics except for sometimes reading some in newspapers. People often do not see comics as being considered as a piece of artwork. They are often viewed as simplistic images that correspond to short phrases or words. Nevertheless, Eisner believes that the montage of words and images allow a reader to exercise their visual as well as verbal skills. This philosophy may not be apparent to most people in regard to comics. On the other hand, McCloud seems to relate to most people by agreeing with the idea that the images are crude, poorly-drawn and they're semiliterate. However, he follows it up by suggesting that the images are iconic. I believe that people should give more credibility to the images in comics because they represent a basic view on what the author is trying to get across to his or her audience by establishing a basic image.

Eisner and McCloud Response

After reading both the Eisner and the McCloud reflections on comics, I viewed comic books in a different perspective than I have perceived them before. I had always seen comics as mere implications of imbelic cartoons without a serious purpose. However, both Eisner and McCloud appealed to me in different manners.

 From Eisner's response to comics, he tried to show that through the combination of short words and images, a reader is able to exercise both his or her visual and verbal skills. I can see this in the sense that comics are more complex than picture books because they usually have an underlying meaning that needs to be seen. Eisner shows that comics give the reader an artistic perception and is able to see a more intelligent objective. Eisner greatly focuses on the graphics of comics and how they intend to correlate with the comics meaning. He puts emphasis on how the images in a comic can show the reader a time period of the event in the comical scene. He also shows the effect of balloons and panels by suggesting that in order to compress time, the number of panels would have to increase, which makes a scene more segmented. Eisner’s views summarized, suggest that a comic attain sequential art and compare it to “grammar” in writing.

         As opposed to Eisner’s views on comics, McCloud immediately proposes that comics are seen as having “crude, poorly-drawn, semiliterate” images. This view highly contradicts the emphasis put on by Eisner and the importance of comical images. However, he negates this idea by saying that the simplicity of those images allows the reader to relate and recognize it to yourself.

         In both reviews, I realized that time was a big factor for comics. Eisner states that panels allow for time and McCloud also suggests that space does for comics what time does for films. In both cases, it is apparent that comics need to portray a sense of time to make it seem film-like.